When to pick hazelnuts

[ameno]

The hazelnuts growing around the edge of my allotment (there are tons of them, and it's not part of anyone's plot, so anyone can take them) are just starting to turn brown. I'll give them a few more weeks yet before picking. There thankfully don't seem to be any squirrels (there aren't many trees nearby, so that's probably why).

[Mark_Riga]

The hazelnuts growing around the edge of my allotment (there are tons of them, and it's not part of anyone's plot, so anyone can take them) are just starting to turn brown. I'll give them a few more weeks yet before picking. There thankfully don't seem to be any squirrels (there aren't many trees nearby, so that's probably why).

If I were you I'd pick then now if they are still there - or at least try a few first. I picked a couple yesterday that i had missed and they very easily came out of the husk when I touched them. So they could be falling to the floor very soon and something will have them. I think Jays are partial to them as well.

[ameno]

They're not even brown yet.
The ones falling off at the monent are all still the duff ones. I've tried cracking open a few, and all were hollow. I also picked a couple straight off the tree and cracked them open, and they had nice big nuts inside. They weren't ripe yet, though. They hadn't developed that nice hazelnut flavour yet, and still had quite a high water content.

Soon, though. I thnk a couple more weeks.
It'll be chestnut picking season soon, too. Got a big one near where I live, and I usually collect kilos of them. Got a couple walnut trees, too, but the squirrels get those, so I'm lucky to take home a dozen or so. I usually just pick some green in June to make pickled walnuts instead.