Nutty Horticulture

Day 324: Most of my readers will recall that I've done a number of rather odd horticultural experiments in the past, but this one has to be the nuttiest yet. Past experience with filberts/hazelnuts strongly suggests that wildlife or worms get the meat before the nuts can be harvested, but I don't recall that I ever opened a nut while it was green to see if there was actually anything inside. Harry Lauder has developed quite a few clusters of nuts this year, so I decided to sacrifice one in the name of science. I was surprised to find a developing nut inside the shell which, it must be mentioned, was already fairly hard. I began by trying to saw off the top, but I pinched the shell so hard with the pliers that as soon as I'd broken through the exterior, it shattered. Even so, the experiment gave good results, revealing an immature filbert. Having discovered this, a second experiment suggested itself: try to keep peckers and paws off a few nuts long enough for them to ripen. It's possible they may go wormy. Experiments frequently have numerous possible outcomes. To that end, I mounted three chicken-wire cages on stakes, each cage surrounding two to four nuts. While this may not be sufficient to deter the long-beaked Steller's Jays, I am hoping to have two or three nuts mature.