We all love pecans here, and of course we’d prefer you buy our locally-grown Louisiana pecans, but another joy is seeing someone grow their own pecans, joining us in our craft. Today, we’re going to tell you how to grow your own pecan trees and enjoy the nuts of your own labor.
How to Start
Many colleges have easy-to-understand guides for planting pecan trees. There are two ways to start growing your own pecans, but both take about two years before you can start a real harvest. The first way is to start with a fresh pecan in the shell. Plant your fresh pecans in the fall, as the nut germinates in cold weather and will be ready in the spring. Alternatively, you can use stratification to quickly germinate the nuts, making them ready for spring planting.
The other way to plant pecan trees is to plant a seedling. Instructions on how to test your soil and plant correctly can be found online, but the process is relatively easy. Soak your seedling’s roots for an hour, then dig a hole larger than your roots and place the seedling in it, just covering up to the plant. Water your trees immediately after planting,
Using either method, you should space your plantings about 30 to 35 feet apart to make sure your trees won’t squelch each others’ growth.
Seedling
Once you have a seedling, stake down the tree with rope and three stakes, watering at least once a week. If you want to have a “clean cultivar,” a plant that is perfect for nut production, it’s important to graft your seedling to a known variety. One method is the four-flap graft, shown here. You can graft seedlings when a tree is budding, usually between April and June.
Because pecan trees are soil-tolerant, you can use a variety of fertilizers. A simple 10-10-10 fertilizer gives you a base for healthy soil and zinc fertilizer to build nutmeat. Prune your trees of extra branches and dead wood regularly, and your tree should star growing quality nuts in a few years.
Harvesting
After your tree is mature, your nuts will open slightly while on the tree. Just lightly knock the nuts off the tree with a thin rod, such as a small fishing pole. Then, dry your pecans and store — your payoff is finally here. You too can enjoy fresh from the tree pecans, with some diligence and patience.