Growing pecans has (fortunately in a lot of respects) been a part time occupation. It seems like every year I have tried mostly the same old techniques with a few new pseudo-scientific attempts thrown in the mix. And every October, it's like a preview of Halloween - either treats (full pecans, loaded trees) or tricks (half filled pecans, a few empty husks, or no pecans at all). I'll try to provide a view into pecan farming, give my few triumphs and frequent failures, and look for any input out there on ways to do it better. Because there has to be a better way...
Although my family has been in Texas since the 1830s, they were mostly merchants, storekeepers, and oilmen. Farming is in our blood only in the sense we are Texans, and have always had a tie to the land. In the early 80s (19, not 18), my father and my brothers and I decided to convert a small 10 acre parcel in northwest Houston into a pecan orchard. Over time, we have placed over 200 pecan trees on this property, and some are now over 24 years old.
I can't say we are "farming" pecans. We don't really till the land; rather, we keep it mowed and cleared. Mostly, we go through a ritual every year, trimming the trees in the winter, providing fertilizer and zinc in the spring, water in the summer, ending with a close mowing and a hopeful harvest in the fall. This worked out fairly well when you have a young family and a day job, and now that my family is much older, and my day job more time intensive, it still works. There are some weekends that are long and arduous - we added over 40 trees last winter, and there are some that involve wading through knee high grass trying to get a feel for how the current crop is growing.
It is an interesting occupation, and one that I'll document throughout the year. I've started the year by laying out 12 pounds of clover seed (for ground cover and to fix nitrogen) and a few bluebonnets (for that grand old Texas color). As the year goes on, I'll let you know what works, what I think has worked, and what definitely doesn't work (such as trying to harvest pecans after a hurricane). More winter work is ahead, and then we'll look forward to leaf bud in late March or early April - possibly. Leaves didn't fall from the tree until the end of December/early January, really late in the season. Looking forward to October and a full harvest (and keeping my fingers crossed)!
