The process of solidification of the nut meats continues to advance from the tip of the almond toward the base.  This is visible as the gelatinous material becomes opaque.  As this process continues the nuts become heavier.  This is an early-harvesting Nonpareil nut.  Interestingly, the later-maturing Monterey and Woods Colony nuts are just as far along in this process.

Here are our young Candycot trees.  They are trained to a "V" trellis.  Growing the limbs at just the right angle increases fruitfulness and assures penetration of sunlight for even ripening and better fruit color.  Like almonds, Candycots are not self fertile and so we plant two varieties together to pollinate one another.  In this orchard, Anya and Yulia are planted in alternating rows.  Anya leaves are a darker green and the trees are a little less vigorous.

4th Leaf Almonds

NICE!

Freeze Damage on young Tulare Walnut tree

The cold dry December we had in 2011 caused freezing damage on some young walnuts.  This is a walnut entering its' second leaf.  The lowest buds are OK but the upper part of the tree will need to be removed.  If left behind, the tree would grow around the dead wood and create a weak trunk.  The roots are unaffected and the tree will regrow vigorously. The interesting thing is that the freeze damage happened seemingly at random to only 11 trees on 30 acres.  Good soil moisture during the cold winter months, and not pruning too early are freeze-prevention measures for young walnuts.

Subjective Crop Estimate Released Today

The results of this years subjective crop estimate were published today.  This is a telephone survey of a few hundred almond growers asking their estimate of crop size.  The resulting estimate for this year’s crop is 2 billion pounds of almond meats (shelled nuts). The survey is conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service.  If the estimate is correct, that would put the crop at slightly less that last years production of 2.03 billion pounds.  Last year the subjective estimate was 1.75 billion pounds, so the growers underestimated last years crop.  Judging from what I see in my little part of the world, I think the crop will be higher than the estimate once again.

Monterey Variety

Ahhh, now that is a nice looking cluster of nuts!  I'm very optimistic about the crop from this orchard.

First mowing of the season, dust already. Earlier I saw pictures of hail in the Atwater area last Friday where the ground looked like snow. Apparently it banged up some trees badly. We were fortunate it missed us.

A significant drop has occurred over the last week while we have enjoyed a bit more than an inch of rain. A drop happens every year but this appears to be more than last year. Could this be because we set more nutlets than last year during bloom?  There still are many nuts in the trees.