Lamb - Blossom - Mom Day - Authors, Artists, And Activities - Oh My!

This May 8th; Mothers Day, Badgersett will hold our First 

Annual Lamb - Blossom - Mom Day!

10 AM  to 7 PM

May 1 - On Schedule!

We intend that this will become an Annual event - there will always be apple blossoms; there will always be new lambs, there will always be Moms who need a little time to enjoy the world with their kids, and there will always be friends we want to share it all with.

            We have a Spectacular Day arranged for you! 

Look below here for Authors, Artists, Things To See, Things To Do; and Things To Buy.

— Authors — Artists  —

Beth Dooley - One of Minnesota's most beloved food writers - WILL BE HERE - to sign her new book In Winter's Kitchen !  How do we rate such wonderfulness?   Well.  One of the chapters in Winter's Kitchen is - "Chestnuts".  And we get mentioned a bit.  So she'll be signing her books- under chestnut trees for you.  (We hope you're bringing some of your other books too, Beth!)

Tom Teller - a wood turner of considerable reputation - will be showing and selling his work.  Tom has been interested in transforming several of the unusual woods we can provide into his art for several years.  Not too surprisingly, some of our wood has proved - difficult.  But you'll see from his other work how gorgeous his results can be- and you'll understand why we're not giving up.

Dee Teller - Internationally known Asian Brush Stroke artist - will be showing and selling her work.  Her paintings of Horses - continue to win important prizes, and you will see why!

Josh Landy - Award-winning Mead and Cider Maker - will be here to talk about the cider he made from these trees last fall - and the hopes for scaling those test batches up.  Beth Dooley got a little taste of it last November...  All but a few of our apple trees are Heritage varieties; Golden Russet, Roxbury Russet, Westfield-Seek-No-Further - the cider they can produce is as different from regular commercial ciders as champagne is from grape juice...  all starting with the blossoms.

And - More!  We still have artists/artisans letting us know.  Are you one?  Let us know!  What's Mother's Day without a sale or two for Mom to look at??

We - will of course be selling and signing our new book from Chelsea Green, Growing Hybrid Hazelnuts.  This would be the one where Joel Salatin's enthusiastic comment was "Sign me up!", and John Torgrimson of Seed Savers: "Apply Johnny Appleseed’s pioneering spirit to the science of breeding and cultivating hazelnuts, and you’ll begin to understand..."

Speaking of Seed Savers!  You should be aware of the chance for a great weekend here; their annual Spring Plant Sale; and Spring Garden School - happen May 7 - the day before Lamb-Blossom-Mom.   And Seed Savers, in case you didn't know - is just 20 miles away from us.

— Things To See —

•  Lambs - The big problem with young Icelandic lambs is that they are so adorable - you can just watch, and watch.  They are distilled, purified, Life; and will light up any face.  We will have a couple of the ewes penned close enough so that petting their little ones should be easy; though after they're about 3 days old they can get seriously frisky.  We'll try; and we have several of the adults who love to be petted at all times, so some contact is guaranteed.

•  The Running Of The Rams (And Lambs) - Something we've always wanted to share- when the sheep are let into their new paddock - with lots of fresh grass - they usually put on a show for us; not only racing in and around, but usually with a great deal of leaping and sheer exuberant kicking; the big rams included.  It's fun to see Buster - 3 feet up in the air, forelegs going north, hind legs going south; doing a half-gainer with a half-twist before hitting the ground and chasing everything again.  We're going to have the next paddock set up and waiting - and we'll do the Running about 2 PM, for you to see.

•  Apple Blossom Time - Endless poems, stories, and songs have been written about apple blossom time - now you can find out why.



Come and wander anywhere you like under our full sized Heritage apples - which we expect to be in full bloom on May 8.  Take all the time you like- in fact- bring a picnic.

•  Chestnut trees, Hybrid Pecan trees, hazel bushes, solar greenhouse, horses, biodiverse ecosystem crop management -  All the things we normally feature during our open house days are here of course; there's 160 acres of things to see..

•  The Mystery Not-An-Orchid - It looks like there's an excellent chance we can see some on May 8.  We'll introduce you.



•  Biomass Harvest - Coppice - In Progress - We've been complaining for several years now that we were drowning in biomass.  This year we've started harvesting it seriously; turning the chestnut and hazel wood into usable/salable products: fence posts, bamboo replacements, and biochar.  Never heard of biochar?  Then you should come.  Know lots about biochar?  Come.  And yes, we'll have some of the products on sale.

— Things To DO —

•  Bring The Brunch! - Mother's Day Brunch is a tradition for many - this year - why not bring Mom, and brunch, and a blanket - and settle under an apple tree for a picnic?  Please do.  And ->

•  Blossoms For Mom - We have dozens of big apple trees- most of which actually need some pruning - if you ask us, we will cut a good branch (about 2 feet) of apple blossoms for you to give your Mom; either here, or to take home to her if she wasn't able to come out with you.  Put it in water like any cut flowers and they can keep for at least a week.

•  Your Mom Wants Nettles!  Even if you didn't know that.  Part of our sharing with you - you are welcome to pick plenty of nettles to feed your family, free.  Lots of folks would love to have good spring nettles; but it's hard to find a place to just go and pick enough.  Here we are!

Don't know about nettles?  Beth Dooley does - she says that was the thing that pushed her over the top on her decision to come.  Michael Pollan has eaten our nettles - harvested from under our hazel bushes.  He's not sure he remembers the soup (likely 10 years ago), served to him in a restaurant in Minneapolis - but he loves nettles, and told me a new way to eat them, when I was asking his permission to tell you this story - on pizza.  "I love nettles -in soup, on pizza- so fine."

So- with that in mind, Beth Dooley has a recipe for Forager's Pizza With Nettles - which we'll be handing out to those who come and pick.

We have never had so many beautiful, easily picked nettles as this year.  They are one of the few things that grow well in the dense shade of the hazel bushes; and our Biodiverse Management means we let them grow there- they're not only good food for us; but for the entire ecosystem here.  Picking them won't hurt a thing; they'll grow back; they're a crop.

As food - they are crazy delicious, and astonishingly nutritious.  It's because they're so good that they  have such effective defenses; but just wear leather gloves while picking, and before they're cooked, and they're easy to work with.  Boiled or steamed - 100% of the sting is gone.  We're nettle experts here, and we'll show you how- it takes about 20 seconds for the whole class.

Come- and pick - all you want.  Well- all you want to feed your own family; if you're interested in harvesting and selling our nettles as a business; we need to talk.  Yes, we have that much.  We're doing a lot of hazel coppice right now; and as a result, the young nettles are incredibly easy to get to; and abundant.   BRING - gloves, scissors or a knife to cut them off, and something to put them in; any bag or bucket will do.

Oh; and if while you're harvesting nettles you should happen to run into some gorgeous Dandelion Greens - you're welcome to harvest those, free, too.

•  Wildflower Scavenger Hunt - KIDS - All our tree crops are growing on land that was corn and beans.  But now - we have wildflowers coming back into the almost-forests of our groves; things like Jack-In-The-Pulpit, Mayapple - and more.  Meg is the organizer of this hunt, and will hand your kids a list of wildflowers to find.  If the find them all - and they can pick them and bring them to show - there will be small prizes.

•  New Wildflower Species Hunt - Adults - Every year we find a new species of wildflower or other wild plants that have found their way to co-exist with our crops; and we can use your help finding and identifying them.  If you're a native plant enthusiast - this is for you.  We'd like to do this every year; it's part of the science, too.  We can get you started, and point you; but we really need a good baseline list launched.

• Help Us Plant Hybrid Pecans - we've got tubelings overwintered in the greenhouse that need to get out, now.  You'll need to plant at least 10 for it to be worth while for us to show you how and where; but if you want to plant 100 - we can arrange that, too!

• Learn to divide and propagate hybrid hazels - This will likely be a one-time demonstration, around 3 PM.  We developed this technique of springtime, direct in-field propagation; and will show you how.  If you're interested enough - we could use some volunteer help to get a serious amount of this done here this year; not on May 8; but very soon.

•  Things You Could Teach US -  One of the things we're doing with our coppice chestnut wood is building horse corral, using split rails.  We know about 10 ways to do it- and don't like any of them.  Some take too much wood, some are unstable- If you know how, or have suggestions - Come Teach Us!  Another thing - we're novices at handling wool; and we have all of this year's Icelandic fleeces waiting for us to do right by them.  We don't even really know how to "skirt" a fleece- can you show us?  This would be a good time!

•  Solar Greenhouse - We think we are the oldest solar off-grid business in Minnesota, and our entirely solar heated and powered, earth-sheltered greenhouse is a big part of that; you're welcome to take a look inside and hear about it.

— Things To BUY —

   Badgersett Farm is in a transition phase; we're not stopping the Research - but we are adding to the Farm part - real production, real sales.  The crops are all at the point where that is the next step - they work (after 30 years of proof) - now we need to DO it.  So you can expect an increasing diversity of things that we have to offer you.  Here is a partial list.

Hazelnut Oil — this is what hazel oil should be; artisan made oil from France, not our own.



Icelandic sheep products - raw fleece, tanned skins, horns, and registered breeding stock














Hazel wood - hiking staff/ wizard staff / quarterstaff  unfinished blanks.  Did you know that hazel is the #1 choice of wood of the British Quarterstaff Association?  Yep.  Garden stakes; pea, bean, tomato poles; marshmallow sticks - We're calling this "Minnesota Bamboo" - because you can use it just like bamboo - but it wasn't shipped from the other side of the world...

Chestnut wood - shiitake logs, fence posts, heavy stakes, some very small saw logs, carving bolts

Live plants- sweetgrass, highbush cranberry, and our special "Sheep-o-Lantern" pumpkins.  (no, sorry, we will have not nut seedlings ready to sell yet)

Nuts To Eat - NOW

Badgersett Hybrid Pecans - these are at peak flavor, and stored in our freezer to keep them there - EXCLUSIVE with us; no one else in North America has these.

Fresh Chestnuts - If you think chestnuts are just for the winter holidays - you should buy Beth Dooley's book!  We have these available May 8th, in fresh condition.  The Atlantic Monthly used them to make a chestnut-asparagus dish; we think chestnuts and nettles are likely to work well too.

AND - There's a good chance we will have a NEW chestnut product available for you to try, and buy; something no one has ever produced or marketed before.  Not our chestnut polenta - something else.

And Don't Forget -

Books — Wood Turnings — Art — And MORE ...

May 8th, 2016; 10 AM to 7 PM

How To Get Here:  Map

Updates to all this will appear here on this blog and on our Facebook sites; and hopefully our website.

Phones: 

Greenhouse; 507-743-8570

Meg's cell: 507-481-6946

Hazel genetics in the pipeline-

We have a whole lot of directions we work on with the hazels; including "big nuts", "really thin shells" and "great flavor" - oh, and "a crop, that ripens no matter what".  Here, for example is one of our research plants - fully ripe now, although so many hazels are ripening very late this year:

It doesn't look that impressive- until you crack it- and it's pretty nearly all kernel...

Don't forget!  This Saturday is Field Day.  Tons to see, although most hazels are not ripe.  And; be aware, starting this year, we're having TWO Field Days; 3rd Sat in August for hazels, and now last Sat in Sept, for chestnuts and hickory/pecans.  Come to both is you can!

Nut Predator Warning

An urgent note to all hazel growers- we're seeing increased nut theft this year, and it's accelerating.

We're talking about rodents and birds, primarily.  In all years, there will be "theft"; but this year it seems to be exceptional to us.  The nuts are disappearing.

In our experience, less experienced hazel growers tend to see hazel bushes with few nuts, and assume the bush simply never had many.  Often this is not the case- predators remove them; and very stealthily, so the gradual loss is not noticed.

As a reminder; one of the papers I submitted for my Masters was an original piece of Ethology; a summer long field study of Black Tern social behavior- I basically minored in Animal Behavior, and am a trained observer.

Which has turned out critically important on several occasions; in one, it took us weeks to discover that bluejays had deciphered our plant marking process- and were using it to harvest the best nuts, and best plants, before we actually got to them.  Sounds hard to believe; but we proved it.  Amateur observers would not have noticed the jays' behavior- it was silent, (very unlike jays) concentrated (25 jays in a flock) and limited to very early morning hours only- when humans were not in the field, because of heavy dew.

A couple of years later, our local crows started behaving similarly; though they did not need pre-marked plants; and their restriction on time in the field was even more acute- they started specifically at sunrise, and left the fields before any humans were (normally) out of bed.  I discovered this by following the rules of animal behavior research- get out and watch, until you find out- all night if necessary.

We teach numerous ways to intercept nut thieves in our Short Course; but the #1 tool is "Be Aware!" - and take action of some kind; most effectively quick harvest.  The nuts can disappear rapidly once the thieves get focused.

We think this year is exceptional because of the drought.  Corn usually abundantly available to crows is far less available, and often of poor quality- the animals are hungry, and the hazels may represent the only easy food source available for miles.

This photo was taken by Brandon, one morning a few days ago.  If Blogger is working right, you should be able to click on it and get access to the full file size.  If you zoom in- the crows become visible.

This photo is a "blow up" of the previous one, doctored with editing software to bump up contrast and sharpness; so the crows can be seen.  If you do the same to the rest of the photo- there are about 30 in this one snippet, about 100 crows in the entire picture when you count; Brandon estimated only 60...

They only flew and revealed themselves when Brandon responded to 2 watch crows, and "chased them".  Two calling crows turned into a flock of 100 hiding birds.  .

REALIZE- YOUR CROWS KNOW YOU.  They watch you.  Do you hear a crow cawing a minute or so after you step outside?  That's the "watchman", telling the others you're moving.  No, I'm not making this up, or delusional- crows are extraordinarily intelligent, as researchers have finally been documenting in the past few years.

That's one of the few good points to crows- ours know for a fact that we will shoot them if we have the least chance.  They also know we go to great lengths to sneak up on them (not easy).  When sufficiently harassed, the flock will usually decide other food is less dangerous, and quit (for a while).  They'll be back, though

We have not succeeded in training bluejays to stay away- and they become very quiet and fly furtively when stealing nuts- if you're not looking for them, you will not see them.  We have slowed them down with various techniques, and we no longer mark bushes- for them.

BE AWARE.  This is a tough year; the theft can be extensive.

Hazel Ripening- Early Warning...

Thanks to Lois Braun for the nudge that we'd neglected to post our observations on hazel ripening this year.  Sorry about that; I'd actually thought we had.

Yes- the hazels are ripening well ahead of "normal" this year, due to the extreme heat, and likely also due to drought.  The drought here at Badgersett has been sufficiently severe that we have immediate neighbors whose corn is looking like a dead loss; maybe salvageable as silage, but no grain; but the hazels, chestnuts, and hickory/pecans are just unaffected (vegetatively) by it.

The hazels ARE getting ripe early, though; and some of them are ripening this year before the nuts turn fully brown.  I've seen that happen both in hazels and chestnuts, in years with varying kinds of stress; "color" is not as important as other factors, apparently; and nuts may be fully ripe and separated from the tree long before they turn the colors you expect.

The critters, however, know perfectly well when they are ready, and don't wait for the color.  Be aware; and beware- the drought and heat may INCREASE the critter pressure on your nut crops.  When other food sources fail, they will come where the food is.

When watching out for animal thieves, also keep in mind- their behaviors will change, from year to year.  Old crows teach young ones- this is now accepted by the fussiest scientists; and they learn how to avoid YOU.  Crows learn when you are likely to be in the field; and will time their visits so you'll never see them.  They carry clusters away; so you won't see nut shells or husks; the clusters will just gradually vanish from the field.  Our crows are in the hazels field at dawn- until we convince them we're there too; waiting for them.  They are also smart enough that they will stay away, if they know you're waiting with the shotgun.  But you have to prove it.

Our biggest pest problem right now is red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus).  When I moved here in the '70s, no one had ever seen one here.  But; maybe it's climate change? - they have invaded, and are now established; and are much faster and more evasive than gray or fox squirrels.  Harder not only for us to catch; but harder for the hawks, too.  They're getting more hazels than I like right now; and they don't wait for full ripeness before starting to steal.

Other pests will also vary from year to year; bluejays, deer mice, and "striped gophers" - will do varying amounts of thieving; changing with the year, the acorn crop, and the size of your planting.

So- NOW is the time to be checking your crops!  Don't take it for granted that just because there was a heavy crop on last week- it will still be there next week.

Field Day, Oil Drum

We've got an article posted today on The Oil Drum, where we address Woody Ag and energy production more completely than has been available in print before. For those of you who made it to Philip Rutter's talk at the International Biomass Conference in Denver earlier this year, this article started with that talk as a framework.  Welcome new visitors, and if you haven't visited that site, go on over and take a look at The Oil Drum.

Also of import, the field day page has been updated with a tentative schedule and tour info.  New this year: a completely harvest-oriented tour, and of course a demonstration of the mechanical harvester. Our hazels have a very serious crop set this year; come and see a little bit of what they can do!

Finally, a catalog update!

If you're on our catalog email list, you should already have seen this little note from orders@badgersett.com. If you want us to add you to the list, just send an email to that address! And, so you don't have to go looking any further, here is a link to the YouTube full preview of the 2011 Short Course introductory talk.

Hello Folks,

For the first time in six years, we've updated our plant catalog! And in addition, we once again offer other products for order on the web. This includes the 2011 SHORT COURSE DVD-ROM, which I know many of you have been waiting for. This crazy weather may be too hot and dry for some of you to plant, but now is a great time to get your order in for 2013 so you can be close to the front of the shipping queue come next May. If you're in a place where it is less extreme, or you have no problem getting enough water on, we do have quite a few plants available– the availability notices on the catalog pages are now current.

Scroll down for a little more info on the updates, or go straight to a page with the newest catalog links at
http://badgersett.com/catalog/

As always, check for the latest news and plant availability at
http://badgersettresearch.blogspot.com

Good Growing,
From the Folks at Badgersett Research


NEW! Badgersett Marketplace  http://badgersett.com/catalog/
---------------------------
This new order page has products grown and made here Badgersett Farm, and a selection of excellent other products we've found for Woody Ag growers and nut enthusiasts. Badgersett T-Shirts! The best hazel oil from France! Visit the link above to see more, and there'll be even more than that coming soon.

PLANT CATALOG UPDATE   http://badgersett.com/plants/
--------------------
HAZELS: http://badgersett.com/plants/orderhazels.html
Our NeoHybrid(TM) hazels were the first, and still offer the widest selection, best-tracked, best-vetted and most advanced genetics for hybrid hazels available anywhere.
Now includes MACHINE PICKED (first time available anywhere) and JUST PLAIN HAZELS (so you don't have to worry about all the different types).

CHESTNUTS: http://badgersett.com/plants/orderchestnuts.html
Our chestnuts are the most cold-and-dry adapted available. Now includes SELECT PARENT chestnuts so you can be choosier, as well as JUST PLAIN CHESTNUTS so you don't have to choose at all.

HICKORIES: Now available as regular standard tubelings. http://badgersett.com/plants/orderhickories.html

HEAT = WATER ?

We're spending a great deal of time right now watering - but only hazels (or other) that were planted THIS year.  Anything planted last year, for us, is not stressed - yet.  Though it might be.  Anything planted 2 years ago; we consider safe and not in need of supplemental water except perhaps in extreme circumstances (or on sandy soils, maybe).

But; yes; this kind of extreme heat and dry weather can kill tubelings planted this year; they're still tiny. Get them watered if you have ANY doubts about it.

Meanwhile:

Our friend Hank Roberts made this comment on the last post:

"I know you're too busy to be blogging these days, just thinking about y'all while watching the weather. I know a tiny bit about heat stress on corn and soy (both the limits during critical periods and the overall degree days, I think?), but nothing at all about what factors combine to affect success with your woody crops."

Yah, busy, but it takes a while for the pickup water tank to fill; 450 gallons-

We're expecting this to be a year when the hazel crop really shines- so far, the hazel crop is in no danger at all; not even stressed; while the prices of corn and soybeans go up every day it doesn't rain-

Take a look here to get an excellent idea of how heat and drought affect the corn crop: and note that's from August of last year.  The corn this year; having been planted earlier, may actually be more at risk.

Very quickly; the hazels share almost none of those risks.  The crop pollinated and the nuts were set in March and April.  Currently they are sizing, and filling.  Yes, it's known that some hazels may suffer decreased size, or even abort the embryo, if exposed to high heat at the wrong time.  But- our hybrids include genetics that appear to be immune to those problems.  So far.  Hazels are C3 plants, not C4 like corn- which we can and do argue is a great advantage (twice the Growing Degree Days in the same locations); but precise effects of heat are not well studied.

What is known about heat stress in hazels is only on a cultivar by cultivar basis- and our populations of diverse hybrids confound the desire to make broad sweeping statements.

One thing for growers to do- keep an eye on your hazels!  Those that come through this summer with good solid crops- are going to be important for future of food, as the climate warms.