West Coast Nut September 2019

Telly Wirth measures the whip of a young
hazelnut tree.
One of Mid-Valley Farm's hazelnut orchards
under a bright, cloudy sky.
Hazelnut Research Agronomist Joe Cacka (center) talks
to hazelnut growers about orchard nutrition during a
tour of one of Mid-Valley Farm's orchards.
as the 2019 Hazelnut Grower of the Year.
But in 1981, there were some folks who
thought the ryegrass farmer was crazy
for planting hazelnuts in the heavy soil,
flatland area of the valley. Dennis didn’t
let other people’s opinions stop him. He
went on ahead and planted a Barcelona
orchard that year, making him a pioneer
in growing hazelnuts in the Mid-
Willamette Valley.
“It all started because we were putting
(drain) tile in the ground, looking for
an alternative crop to grass seed. This
is an alternative crop,” Dennis said.
Besides, he saw growers in the Newburg
area having success with hazelnuts.
He figured why not give it a try
further south?
Trial and Error Fertilization
How did Dennis go about fertilizing
his new valley-floor orchard? It was a
brand new world—one of trial and error.
No one quite knew how to feed these
young hazelnut trees in heavy soil. “I
remember my cousins in North Albany
putting 100 pounds of Urea on. That’s it,”
Dennis said.
Dennis and his son, Ryan, switched
to drip irrigation five or six years ago.
“Started with hand line,” Dennis said. “It
was a pain, but we did it for about
30 years.”
Fertigation Program
Now that Glasers have made the
switch, besides laying down bands of
nutrients, they’re also able to fertigate
through the drip system. They start irrigating
in mid-July. As far as water and
fertigation, Ryan said, “I’m on the trickle
theory. I alternate sides of the tree, right
or wrong. Theory being I don’t want to
concentrate all the roots on one side”
Ryan gives three shots—one each
in June, July and August—of a 5-12-5
spray “kicker.” His trees also get a shot
of Levitate—which is the brand name
Continued on Page 40
September 2019
www.wcngg.com
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