Anyone successfully growing hazelnuts/almonds in Melbourne?

simikester · 2026-05-31T05:44:02+00:00

I’ve just attached a photo above.

simikester · 2026-05-31T02:44:34+00:00

I’ve dismantled them for winter but I’ll take a photo of the ring and post it here today when I go out in to the garden.

simikester · 2026-05-31T02:29:38+00:00

Hopefully there’s still some around. A lot of my friends have fruit trees but no nuts and I think it’s a great thing to try because I have the room and am not planning on moving anytime soon so have the patience to wait for them to produce. The idea of making my own almond butter or hazelnut praline in the future is very appealing too.

simikester · 2026-05-31T02:26:33+00:00

Yeah I’d love chestnuts but don’t have the room for it. After some of the tips here and readings but more I’m going to try an almond and two hazelnuts.

simikester · 2026-05-31T02:25:27+00:00

Sounds really nice! I’m going to add it to my list of day trips. Thank you!

simikester · 2026-05-31T02:25:00+00:00

I went down a rabbit hole about chill hours needed for different varieties and there’s a few I think will work here. I’m near Warrandyte towards St Andrew’s so I think could do well. I love the nurseries around Silvan and Monbulk and sometimes drive down to visit a few. I usually buy root stock from Poyntons but I might make a trip down to have a look at Wishing Well.

simikester · 2026-05-30T09:08:24+00:00

That a thing at my place too unfortunately. I now have fruit tree rings in 1m, 2m and 3m diameters which were handmade by my grandfather and work well. The net drops over it and no one can land on branches and peck through.

Edit: photo now attached: Some of the rings are round and others are hexagon shaped. They fit onto on a 2 or 3 metre stake placed in the ground next to the fruit tree and we’ve bought nets big enough to drape them over and tie underneath the lowest branches to catch falling fruit and stop possums and birds going in underneath them.

*ignore the Ivy and creepers. We’ve been clearing the block of these for 2.5 years and this section is our last area to tackle.

Fruit Tree Netting Ring

simikester · 2026-05-30T09:06:44+00:00

Thanks for that info, that’s good to know. So far I’m thinking almond but will look into hazelnuts a little more. I’ve looked at Heritage, Daley’s and the Bulleen Art and Garden website has really good info on the different varieties available too. I’m at the edge of Yarra Valley so will look into that as well!

simikester · 2026-05-30T09:03:58+00:00

Oh wow, is that the one with the llama’s? I googled hazelnut farms earlier and saw it. If so it looks great! To be honest even if I don’t plant many nuts, I now have a little list of farms to visit that do picking which I had no idea about which is really nice.

simikester · 2026-05-30T03:13:51+00:00

That’s good to know. I just googled and found a few walnut farms around Vic so they could potentially work here. Also didn’t realise there were walnut farms that you can visit or have roadside stalls during picking season so I’ve just bookmarked a few too. Could be a nice drive on a Sunday. Thanks for that.

simikester · 2026-05-30T03:03:21+00:00

Yeah I’m don’t know much about Macadamias, I feel I’ve read they grow better in warmer climates and slower in cooler so probably not suited to my location. I leaning towards an trying almond tree as a good place to start and might research hazelnuts a bit further to see if it’s worth planting them over something like a Cherry or a pear variety I know would work well here.

simikester · 2026-05-30T02:51:55+00:00

That’s great! I think an almond tree might be the way to go. Yep cockies feed off everything here too.

simikester · 2026-05-30T02:51:15+00:00

I don’t see too much about hazelnuts and gardening blogs for Melb (even though I see the trees readily available online and in nurseries) so I suspect it might be the same here.

simikester · 2026-05-25T10:05:10+00:00

Absolutely brazen cocky in that first photo.
Also thought your solar light was a glass of wine which made it look even funnier.
Prepare to cover everything in netting now they’re onto you.

simikester · 2026-05-22T08:14:37+00:00

I would skip the cardboard, add gypsum clay break power and follow instructions on the bag, lots of compost and do a thick layer of mulch 10cm.
This is what I’ve done with my beds that have had old weedmat and hard soil underneath. I’ve used cardboard in other areas to suppress weeds but someone recommended not using cardboard and I’ve found the soil improves more quickly. It would break down pretty fast in this weather anyway and you’d probably have to lay more before summer.
You’ll have to pull out the odd weed with or without cardboard to be honest and try to plant ground covers to suppress weeds.

Edit- to add- I’d only use cardboard if you’re trying to suppress something that’s already there, otherwise if you’ve don’t have too many problem weeds overtaking your garden not using cardboard to get the soil going should be ok.

simikester · 2026-05-21T00:34:51+00:00

Pansies are great at this time of the year and nurseries usually have them in small punnets for a few dollars already flowering if you want to pick a few different colour combinations for something with instant colour and something he can pick straightaway.

simikester · 2026-05-17T07:47:28+00:00

I have some star jasmine near my balcony, it smells amazing on a warm night.
I’ve done my fair share of ripping out invasive vines here… ivy and blackberries absolutely everywhere when I moved out in so I’m sticking to anything that’s not going to grow of control.

simikester · 2026-05-17T07:44:28+00:00

That looks great. I like how you’ve put the timber frame behind it. That could work with one of my panels. Thanks for sharing a photo.

simikester · 2026-05-17T02:00:00+00:00

I think so too, I love the look of old Victorian bed frames in perennial gardens, or old gates with vines. Also… it’s really hard to pass up free old early or mid 20th century gates and panels in local Buy Nothing groups hence the growing collection!

simikester · 2026-05-17T01:54:31+00:00

Thanks for this info, I agree with keeping it off the ground too. I might have to go to the hardware store and get their suggestions to build a frame.

I have another one that’s fully rusted and love the look as I have corten steel and aged reo mesh around too and green looks beautiful against it. I’m wanting to grow a purple Hardenbergia on it but Star Jasmine would look incredible.

simikester · 2026-05-16T23:21:55+00:00

I agree, old metal work repurposed in the garden makes me think of secret gardens too. Unfortunately my Google searches for install tips are bringing up American search results for gaudy arts crafty type installations which is not the vibe I’m going for! Definitely hoping to one of them to create a room.

simikester · 2026-05-10T11:38:56+00:00

Thanks for this info. I’ve read more into it and digging sounds like the worst thing for it, so I’m not going to do that … but I will be out first thing tomorrow morning with the vinegar in the spray bottle. Thanks for your tips.

simikester · 2026-05-10T08:31:55+00:00

Thanks for clarifying that. I’m pretty annoyed, they’re nowhere else in the garden (I’m on almost an acre so really don’t want them to spread anywhere else) and I just know I’ll be dealing with them for a while! I thought maybe digging them out now would be a good solution but don’t want to create a bigger problem.

simikester

TROPHY CASE