Growing Nuts in Cooler Climates

Nuts
Written By Steven Biggs

In this interview that first broadcast live on the Food Garden Life Radio Show in 2018, we chat with nut-growing expert Ernie Grimo from Grimo Nut Nursery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

Nut expert Ernie Grimo

Nut expert Ernie Grimo

When Grimo set out to grow nuts in his yard, he couldn’t find local nurseries selling plants.

That was the beginning of his foray into collecting, breeding, and selling nut trees.

“When I had 100 trees in my backyard, it was time to find somewhere else to put them,” he says.

Cold-Adapted Nuts

At his farm and nursery in Niagara, Grimo grows a wide variety of cold-adapted nuts including:

  • heartnut

  • butternut

  • Persian walnut

  • black walnut

  • pine nut

  • hazelnut

  • chestnut

  • beech

  • hickory

  • pecan

He also has crosses such as the “hican,” a hickory-pecan cross.

Hazelnut Industry in Ontario

Grimo talks about the potential for a hazelnut industry in Ontario, noting that some people talk about the potential to have 40,000 acres in production.

 
 
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Steven Biggs

Recognized by Garden Making Magazine as one of the "green gang" of Canadians making a difference in horticulture, Steven Biggs is a horticulturist, former college instructor, and award-winning broadcaster and author. His passion is helping home gardeners grow food in creative and attractive ways.


He’s the author of eight gardening books, including the Canadian bestseller No Guff Vegetable Gardening. His articles have appeared in Canada’s Local Gardener, Mother Earth News, Fine Gardening, Garden Making, Country Guide, Edible Toronto, and other magazines.


Along with over 30 years working in the horticultural sector and a horticultural-science major at the University of Guelph, Steven’s experience includes hands-on projects in his own garden including wicking beds, driveway strawbale gardens, and a rooftop tomato plantation—to the ongoing amusement of neighbours.


When not in the garden, you might catch him recording his award-winning Food Garden Life podcast or canoeing in Algonquin Park.

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