Allens Farm
Plaxtol
Nr Sevenoaks
Kent TN15 0QZ

Tel: (weekdays only)
01732 810526

Email:
info@cobnuts.co.uk
Organic Green Cobnuts  **SOLD OUT**

We have sold out of Organic Green Cobnuts. We are now waiting for the Golden, which will be ready in another 3 to 4 weeks.

 

 

Golden Cobnuts  **SOLD OUT**

We are sorry to say that we are not taking any more orders for Golden Cobnuts. This is due to the poor quality of the Cobnuts necessitating throwing away a considerable quantity when sorting. The Cobnuts are later than usual in turning Golden, so we will not be despatching for 3 to 4 weeks.
We will be fulfilling all orders which have  been received up to 26th Sept, and we appologise for the delay in despatch. 


The Cobnut Harvest is now complete with the nuts turning Golden in the Barn. The crop has been of average size with a large number of empty nuts and a few weevils.

Please note that our Cobnuts are delivered by Courier, we ask for deliveries to be ‘LEFT SAFE’ if no one is around, please give special instructions if this is not satisfactory. As the nuts are perishable we do not normally resend, if they are returned undelivered

Deliveries are to the UK Mainland. offshore Islands (including Isle of Wight) 1Kg or 10Kg orders only, please. Overseas orders are not accepted.

Organic or Not Organic? - 1st August 2012

We are looking forward to a good nut harvest in 2012,  and hopefully a disease free crop. The nuts are formed and we are waiting for the nuts to fill out during the next 4-6 weeks. The weather has been good for the nuts so far, with a mild and dry spring followed by a wet summer, not too wet as it will rot the nuts

Due to the difficulties experienced last year and our advancing years (we are approaching 70) we have decided to reduce Allens Farm Organic Cobnuts under our direct control to approx 600 trees out of a total of 2,500. In the last few years we have not been able manage all the remaining 1,900 trees, and as we have had an offer from our neighbour (one of the largest nut growers locally) to manage them, we have decided to pass the management over to him.

We have withdrawn the two Nut Plats concerned from our organic acreage, however we will continue to offer Organic Green Cobnuts from the remaining Organic Plat. As far as Golden Cobnuts are concerned they will not qualify as organic, although bearing in mind the difficulties with nut weevil last year, we think that the very benign treatments which will be used, and the fact that the nut is not itself subject to chemical contact means that this will not be a major concern to our customers. The other point to bear in mind is that we are saving over 800 trees from being grubbed by passing over the management, (these are Cobnut trees which were falling into disrepair and therefore no longer useful). We hope by this strategy to preserve Allens Farm Cobnuts for future generations.  

Once again, thank you to all our loyal customers for your continued support. To all those of you who have left encouraging comments on Google Checkout a special ‘Thank You’, it is your support which keeps us going.

We will see how we get on with the reduced Organic acreage,  if not successful we may consider giving up Mail Order in the future.
   

Please phone 01732 810526 and leave a message, or send an email to info@cobnuts.co.uk if you want to contact us. The office is not manned everyday so some delay may occur.

 

The Nut Weevil  - Curculio nucum  (Robert Burton)

A
   
S if watching the squirrels harvesting my walnuts was not enough, my hazelnuts have also been snatched from under my nose. The squirrels were not to blame; nor were dormice (which are not, alas, found in this part of the country), or nuthatches, neither tits nor woodpeckers. Like Macavity, this culprit works unseen, and the theft is revealed only after it has left the scene of crime.

The felon was the nut weevil. In past ages, when hazelnuts formed an important store of winter food rather than a Christmas extra, its presence in the ripened nut crop must have been a disaster.

The nut weevil, like all weevils, is a beetle with a long snout or proboscis which has positively elephantine proportions in the female. She uses it to drill a hole into the young nut as soon as it is set and the shell is still soft. A single egg is laid in the developing kernel, and the hole heals over so there is no sign of infestation. The egg hatches into a grub which feasts on the kernel until the nut falls. My father told me how he was once sitting by a hedge when he heard a faint, crunching sound. He looked around and realised it was coming from a hazelnut on the ground.

Then he saw a tiny hole open in the shell and a head emerge. The rest of the body squeezed out after it and the weevil grub crawled away under leaves. It would have buried itself and turned into a pupa.