2022 / 23 Hazelnut Trees

Posted on May 14, 2020 by

BIRKEMEIER NURSERY LLC is taking orders for the coming fall/winter planting season. I have all varieties available for sale at this time. Please place your order as soon as possible to be sure you get the trees you want for your fall/winter planting. Our McDONALD, POLLY-O, WEPSTER, YAMHILL and JEFFERSON, along with all the pollinizers: YORK, DORRIS, ETA, THETA and FELIX, are Bare-Root trees. Numbers are still limited of new released bare-root POLLY-O trees. I am taking WAIT-LIST orders for those at this time. I will have a better idea of how many are left to sell in June. BUT get on the wait list if you are interested. I approve orders according to the date on my list.

A #1 tree has a minimum planting height of 34″ and is well rooted all around. The majority of the trees are over that height. We sort them and pack them into tote boxes and protect the roots with sawdust. Trees will be available for pick up from early December into February.

Order while they are available. Ask around, we have GREAT trees.

WE DO NOT SHIP TREES. WE SELL TO OREGON AND WASHINGTON STATES.

Feel free to give me a call at 503-313-1368 or email Nancy@BirkemeierFarms.com for more information.

We provide a CERTIFICATE OF QUARANTINE COMPLIANCE for legal entry into the state of Washington.

Posted in Hazelnuts | Tagged , , , ,

1895 Magazine

Posted on August 6, 2018 by

We had a very nice article in Oregon 1895 Magazine. The March/April 2017 publication.

 

 

Posted in Hazelnuts, Just For Fun

Pacific Nut Producer

Posted on August 6, 2018 by

The Birkemeier family was featured in the July 2017 Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.  Nice article!

 

Posted in Hazelnuts

Hazelnut Breeding Program Video

Posted on October 18, 2014 by

Fall of 2014 Dr. Shawn Mehlenbacher made a video about the Hazelnut Breeding Program.  It was just released.  Short and Sweet and very well done.

VIDEO

Posted in Hazelnuts, Just For Fun

What you get with Birkemeier Nursery …

Posted on May 19, 2013 by

When purchasing trees from Birkemeier Nursery, LLC, you get more than just great filbert trees.

We have the advantage of experience from the prospective of a grower, nurseryman and processor. Let me briefly explain.

Rich has been active in the hazelnut industry for over 40 years. He served as President of the Nut Society in 1979, was Nut Grower of the year in 1988 and has served on the Hazelnut Commission for over 12 years. In many industry meetings you will see him up front sharing his experience.

In 1978, Willamette Filbert Growers, Inc. was established in Newberg. Along with the Mitchell and Newell farms, we became processors then shellers, with the start-up of Willamette Shelling.

In 1990, with heavy Eastern Filbert Blight pressure in our Ennis orchard, Rich was “forced” to learn propagation. We learned to graft with OSU experimental variety 243.002 (later released as Lewis) for replacement trees on our farm. In 2003 we planted the first ever micropropatated filbert orchard, later to become Yamhill. Since then our nursery has expanded with stool-beds and greenhouses.

So, what do you get?

*  #1 filbert trees that are graded for quality.

*  Replacement policy. (Please no tractor blight!)

*  Personal consultation for questions, support and encouragement for planning, establishing and maintaining your orchard.

And There Is More…..

IN a separate business, our son (Loren Birkemeier) does custom planting in your scribed, prepared field.  North Willamette Valley – Limited availability. Conditions Apply.   Email for more information.      Loren_Birkemeier@hotmail.com

SO, When you are searching for a FULL SERVICE nursery for your hazelnut trees, please consider Birkemeier Nursery.  We are nurserymen with a Growers’ perspective.

Posted in Hazelnuts, How To, New Tree Care, Nursery | Tagged , , ,

Orchard Floor Prep

Posted on September 10, 2012 by

During the month of August, we prepare the Filbert orchard floor for harvesting the hazelnuts.  All season we have been spraying out the weeds and suckers in the tree rows, so they are pretty much clean at this point. We take one last time through with sucker spray just before the nuts fall.

This year we made a tire drag (see photo) to pull between our trees to break up dirt clods and knock down mole hills in the tree row.  This is pulled by the quad or gator. We are removing trees in the orchard (10X20 spacing) as they get seriously sick from EFB, so we have open spaces in our close planted orchards.  These spaces are also smoothed with our tire drag.  This allows the blower on the sweeper to move the nuts in the tree row more effectively.

We have also been scraping the alleyway between the tree rows.  The idea is to get it as clean and flat as possible. This makes fewer dips for the hazelnuts to lay in and be missed by the harvester.  We go through the orchards between 3 and 6 times with our scraper in the 6 weeks before the nuts fall.

3 large truck tires bolted together with back plates, pulled between the close planted trees.

The orchard floor ready for nut fall.

Posted in Harvest, Hazelnuts, How To, Orchard Care | Tagged

New Growers’ Forum

Posted on September 10, 2012 by

Rich Birkemeier and Ben Mitchell, hosted by Willamette Hazelnut Growers, Inc. conducted our 4th New Grower’s and Planting Forum on Saturday, Sept. 8.  We had over 70 in attendance, many whom indicated they were new to the hazelnut industry.

Michael Severeid, Sales Manager for WHG, gave a brief presentation on his recent sales trip to China.  He had slides of the hazelnuts grown in China and many samples of hazelnuts marketed in China.

Rich and Ben presented information on varieties, spacing, blight and new plantings.  Pizza, veggies and cookies were served at lunchtime. Ben took those interested into the field to see blight in Jefferson and a pruning demonstration for new plantings.  The feedback was great.  We decided it was much warmer to hold our meeting in September than November. The weather was beautiful.

If you are interested in attending a grower forum with WHG, please contact Michael at Juliana@willamettehazelnuts.com to be put on the notification list.  We have conducted these forums in the early spring and late fall.  As long as we have interest, we will continue to present this information.  Our goal is to help each and every one of our new hazelnut growers to succeed.

Over 70 hazelnut growers attended our 4th New Growers’ Forum at Willamette Hazelnut Growers

Posted in Hazelnuts, How To | Tagged

British Columbia Filbert Tour

Posted on September 10, 2012 by

Rich and Nancy had the privilege of attending the British Columbia Hazelnut Tour in Agassi / Chilliwack, B.C. on Aug 23.  Pentti and Deborah Hanninen invited us to bunk at their beautiful home, overlooking a mature Barcelona orchard, in Chilliwack.

The BC hazelnut growers, about 800 acres total, are facing the same Eastern Filbert Blight issues that have concerned Oregon growers, they are just about 10 years behind us. Due to import restrictions, they are having to start the new varieties in-vitro.  They are doing some testing on OSU released varieties to determine pollen shed and bloom timing for their area.  All in all, we see an industry that is moving forward. They have blight, in some cases it is pretty serious, but they have the advantage of watching to see how we have handled it in the states, so they are a huge step ahead of where we were in the beginning.

In part, due to very high land prices, most of the hazelnut orchards are small organic farms. Many of the growers have integrated operations from growing to value added products.  Their variety of products is impressive – and tasty!

The Fraser River Valley is an amazingly beautiful area.  The growers, though few in number, are warm, hospitable people.  We enjoyed our visit immensely.

Chipping demonstration of mature filbert tree infected with Eastern Filbert Blight.

Posted in Hazelnuts, Just For Fun | Tagged

P.S.U. Farmscapes

Posted on August 13, 2012 by

Today we had the pleasure of hosting a group of Portland State University students from Barbara Brower’s Geography “Farmscapes” class.   Each summer Ms. Brower takes a group of her students on an Agricultural tour of the Willamette Valley.  This year Hazelnuts were one of the crops they learned about.

Rich visited with the students about the history of Hazelnuts in Oregon, our personal history as a family farm and the good, bad and ugly of farming Hazelnuts today. The students asked many intelligent questions and seemed very interested in spite of the very “summer” day we were having.  It is heartening to be able to share some farm with urban residents.

Portland State University students learn about Hazelnut farming.

Posted in Hazelnuts, Just For Fun | Tagged

Hazelnut Farm Visit

Posted on July 12, 2012 by

This week we had the honor of being on the tour agenda for the OSU “Discovering Willamette Valley Agriculture” course. This class is offered through Oregon State University and is designed for K-12 educators, county commissioners, state legislators, high school and university students, as well as interested community members with little or no agricultural background.

The objective of the course was to learn about agriculture from farmers, what it takes to make a living as a member of a farming family, and the kind of decisions that impact your financial success.  We were only one of many farm businesses that were visited.

Rich spoke about the history of our farm, the involvement of the members of our family, and the biggest trials and challenges that we face as an agricultural business.  We had a beautiful sunny morning to meet in the orchard. Later, we joined the group at St. Josef’s Winery for a very nice lunch.

Discovering Willamette Valley Agriculture

July 10 visit from OSU discovering ag group

Posted in Hazelnuts, Just For Fun | Tagged