A Good Year for the Cobnut Plat

My last post, on September 6th, was upbeat about the size of the crop but downbeat about the availability of pickers, so it was a great relief when Mr Dain at Hurstwood Farm agreed to send in his pickers in over the weekend of September 14-15. About two thirds of the trees were allocated and eleven keen-eyed and tireless pickers and their farm-manager got to work until rain stopped play at 4pm on the Sunday.

colourful crates to hold the nuts

Those nuts, nearly a ton and a half of them, were loaded up and taken off to be processed into the Kentish Cobnut Oil which we look forward to seeing at Farmers' Markets soon.

Meanwhile our own volunteer pickers continued on the remaining rows which had been reserved.  Some of these went to a local wholesaler, to end up in small retail outlets and more went to Ightham Mote where visitors supplied a ready market.

The September days, with few exceptions, were ideal for picking and many different individuals and groups enjoyed the satisfaction of bringing in the crop in fine weather and good company.  Here are some of those, of all ages, who played a part:-

This family group returned several times, spurred on by the youngest demanding to be allowed to 'go to nutplat!'.

Shipbourne school-children who had visited in April returned to 'pick and picnic'.
 

 
 The 'mini-beasts' they found this time were ladybirds, earwigs and families of extremely small spiders using the husks of the cobnuts as a snug hiding place.
















After picking nuts to take home the children had a great time exploring and making 'elf houses' out of branches and leaves, and head-dresses to match.

They had walked from school, across the fields to the plat but when the time came to leave were happy to be collected by their parents.

Goodbye!  Come back in the spring!

Ightham Mote's Apple and Orchard Day is a fixture at the end of September and a good opportunity to sell cobnuts from the estate.  We still had several rows left to pick and pickers were now in short supply.  The Mote's Volunteer coordinator put out a call for reinforcements and a group of volunteer room-stewards and garden helpers responded.  

  They picked with enthusiasm on one of the loveliest September days and promised to spread the word for next year.

At the end of September the cobnuts are golden brown

We were able to reach our target and three loyal volunteers manned the stall, sorting, bagging-up and selling a large quantity of nuts.




Meanwhile from early September through to mid-October a steady stream of cobnuts disappeared from the stall in the Cuttings Garden at Ightham Mote and the honesty box with its 'suggested donations' was filled and emptied regularly

When  the season's takings are banked and the accounts are made up, the financial position should be well on the way to sustainability.  It would not be sensible to count on such a good harvest - and welcome absence of squirrels -  every year however; cobnut are subject to yearly variation and are notoriously 'unreliable croppers' which means that in a good year provision has to be made for a possible poor one.  The restoration of the plat is at a half-way point, two years into a four-year project and while the really heavy work has been completed the tasks of pruning, wanding and mowing are on-going. The young birch and willow trees which had grown up between rows and were removed over the last year, are now beginning to sprout vigorously and this has to be dealt with.

A particular problem is the infestation of weevil (curculio nucum) which, at an estimate, has affected some twenty per cent of the crop: a problem which has to be dealt with.

The weevil grub feeds and grows inside the nut and bores its way out

Weevils have affected about 20% of the crop


Plenty to think about for next year.  Meanwhile I am happy to forget about cobnuts for a bit - except that is for the  not-to-be-missed Nutters Supper.An application form is available on the KCA webs or I can give you details.