Harvesting Pecan Trees - Stark Bro's (2024)

FAQs

How do you know when pecans are ready to harvest? ›

When to Harvest. Harvest pecans in early September through November when they have fallen from the trees. Start your harvest in 3-8 years depending on the variety and growing conditions. Watch for a substantial portion of the husks to have split and opened and the shell to turn brown before gathering.

For pecan trees to bare nuts you will need two or more different cultivars, as they require cross pollination for maximum productivity. Pecan trees do not bear fruit until they are between the ages of four and 12 years old and that is determined by the cultivar.

Allow the pecans to dry in the shell for a couple of weeks or so. Once the nuts are dry enough, you'll be able to break open the hulls without much effort. Rounding up, always ensure to pick your pecans during the late fall. After all, you'll be able to snap the kernels effortlessly only when the nuts ripen.

Improved varieties (budded trees) range in price from $10-$25, depending on size and quantity. Purchase price of new trees is included in establishment cost of year 1 in Table 1. Annual production costs are given in Table 1.

In most cases, the nut inside a green pecan isn't edible because it hasn't had time to fully develop. You'll be able to tell if they taste bitter and have a sticky, soft texture, instead of the buttery, rich, and nutty flavor of a ripe pecan.

If the green shucks of your pecans have not started to open, they are not quite ready for you to harvest and the pecans will not likely ripen after picking at this stage.

Pecan trees are monoecious. This means that they produce separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Male flowers are located on 4-5 inch long catkins, while female flowers are small, yellowish-green, and grow on spikes at the tips of shoots.

Lack of water will reduce the production of nuts, the size of nuts, as well as leaf and shoot growth. Adequate soil moisture is important from bloom through late summer and fall. Proper fertilization of the trees is also important, especially for nitrogen and zinc.

While many fruit trees begin bearing fruit within the first 1-5 years after planting, pecan trees can take anywhere from 2-10 years.

Try Boiling Them

One last way to crack your pecans in the shell when all our other methods have failed you is to boil the pecans to soften the shell. This is a good method if you just purchased a bag of pecans in the shell and want to do them all at once.

How long are pecans good after they fall off the tree? ›

Properly stored, shelled pecans can last for up to six months, while unshelled — or in-shell — pecans can last for up to nine to 12 months.

The cost of nurturing and growing a pecan tree for up to 7 years is \$63. Now when it is harvest time, a pecan tree can produce up to 50 pounds of pecans. The average retail cost for pecans is \$3 per pound. After multiplying 50 X 3, we have $150 which is the profit.

Production. In 2022, Georgia led the nation in pecan production, with utilized production for all pecans reaching 132 million pounds, followed by New Mexico at 74.7 million pounds, Arizona at 39.1 million pounds, and Texas at 25 million pounds. (NASS, 2022).

The Average Cost of a Bag of Pecans in the US. In general, the hard shell pecans cost $6.99 per pound, and the pecans with a paper shell cost $7.49 per pound. Pecans without shells from a pecan farm can cost you nearly $13.99 per pound.

Typically, mature pecans fall from trees when shucks open around November. Nuts falling from trees in September or early October (or earlier) are often green and still retain the shuck tightly attached to the nut.

Pecans should be harvested as soon as they fall from the tree (pecan quality deteriorates rapidly if nuts remain on the ground for extended periods of time) and dried to remove excess moisture. Drying can usually be accomplished by storing the nuts in a warm dry room for approximately 2 weeks.

Before the nuts begin to drop, they look nothing like the finished product – light brown, dark-striped nuts. The nut forms inside a green husk that gradually browns as it dries and the nut matures. As the pecans mature, the husks begin to crack open, indicating the readiness of picking pecans.

Mature pecans will have intact shells and are pale brown. A black husk is typically a sign that the pecan is rotten, and a green husk that is hard to crack often means the nut is not mature. If the nuts are ready, shaking the tree with a machine can help it to drop more nuts.