When i shell my hazelnuts they are nice and firm but when I roast them they are very soft and mushy and my doing something wrong? I roasted them for 12 to 15 minuets at 320
They are best roast at low heat, try this: * rinse under water to clean shells and pat dry; allow to air dry before roasting * spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in over at 135C (275F) * roast for 20 minutes then crack one to check color (should be slightly golden brown and shells dark brown) * let cool complete before handling or eating.
Still nowhere near ripe! Firm, yes, but it's all just water under pressure at the moment. Leave them on the bush for another month or so to finish maturing, before harvesting and roasting.
I'll try to leave them on the tree for another month,but I don't think the squirrels will leave me any.
We have a little different weather here, Michael, than you have there on the Island. Imagine spring and summer almost entirely without rain and temperatures reaching 40 C in the shade. I don't know where exactly in Canada the OP lives, but it is so here, in my neck of the woods. In my garden everything ripens a month earlier this year. Yesterday I was very lucky to pick up a few hazelnuts (I value my own much higher than what I can get in the store) that squirrels scattered under my Hazelnut shrub, nothing left on the shrub anymore. They know very well when it is time to harvest. The nuts are firm and sweet inside, no water under pressure at all.
I don't see how anyone can get any past the squirrels and jays without netting the tree. And I suppose squirrels might gnaw through netting. When I used to have a hazel here the birds would come well before the nuts had gone brown inside.
Use natural defense barriers such as scents, perimeters, etc. I don't know what smell keeps rodents at bay, but I do know that Vinegar works to keep dogs away. There are plenty of natural repellents to keep your desired prey at bay. Seek them out! Here is one I found in less than 5min search: http://www.ehow.com/how_4798250_homemade-squirrel-repellent.html
