So , you ’ve engraft your almond treefollowing our handy guidepacked full of growing recommendations , thanks to which you now have a beautiful and openhanded harvest .
Now the dubiousness is , how and when is best to harvest your almonds to make the most of them ?
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Be on the lookout for the hulls to start splitting open in August or September. When most have split, it’s time to harvest.
Well , the way that you harvest , process , and store your nuts can have a huge effect on the timbre and quantity that you are able to enjoy from your tree , so it ’s important to know the in force proficiency .
What You’ll Learn
Don’t be Duped by Your Drupes
You might roll in the hay that peanuts are n’t nuts , but it might occur as a surprise to you ( as it did to me when I found this out ! ) that almond trees do n’t really bring about nuts . Instead , they produce something calleddrupes .
A drupe is a case of fruit that has an outer sarcoid part around a carapace , which in turn protects the seed inside . Peaches , plums , andcherriesare all typically well - have it off drupes , but somewhat more astonishingly , so are walnut , sweet almond , andpecans – they ’re just drupes from which we run through the seeded player inside the pit instead of the yield !
Drupes grow from the tree ’s fertilise flowers and mature in autumn . Almond drupes have a green , leathery hull that surrounds them .
Be on the lookout for the hulls to start splitting open in August or September. When most have split, it’s time to harvest.
To help your stone fruit along , it ’s best to give your almonds a healthy watering just before harvest , as this advance the stone fruit to dissever .
Signs of Splitting? It’s Time to Get Picking
If you want to know when to pick your sweet almond , you just require to honor your drupes . When the outer stalk prohibitionist and splits , and the stone fruit start to fall from the tree , it ’s meter to start thinking about pick almond freak .
A secure stakes is to start picking when you see that most ( around the 75 % mark ) of your drupes have start to split . This commonly happens during August or September , bet on the change of Prunus amygdalus .
But , mind – do n’t be duped by your drupes ! A top tip is to ensure you do n’t just contain your trees at centre - level . Because almonds ripen from the top of the tree down , by the time you see that they are quick , you may well be too tardy .
Although you technically do n’t have to reap immediately , your nuts will spoil if they get fuddled , so it ’s best to find fault them before any peril of pelting . Also , Prunus dulcis provide an irresistible delicacy for hungry squirrels and some dame , so you ’ll need to get there before they do !
Regardless of this , it ’s generally preferable to harvest them when you see that they are quick , as it has been shown that a previous harvest abbreviate crop volume , nut caliber , and also abbreviate their shelf lifespan . The good option is to harvest what ’s ripe as presently as you see sign of splitting .
How to Harvest Your Haul
Thanks to their protective eggshell , harvesting almonds is well-to-do . All you have to do is knock or throw off them from the tree and countenance them fall to the ground , where you’re able to put a tarp or ground cloth in place for ease of collecting .
Commercial farmers often have machines made just for agitate the nuts to the ground . But for backyard crop , all you really demand is a heavy stick to bang the branches with .
This works really well on small branches . It ’s best to find a wooden , fibreglass , or charge plate perch .
For the larger branches it might be a bit trickier , in which case you could tapdance them with a rubber mallet .
Obviously , determine out for fall fruity command processing overhead . This can be a bit of a hazard , but one that is easily work by hold out a gruelling hat or glasses to protect your eye ( always well dependable than sorry ! ) .
Hulling and Drying
Straight away after harvesting , the Isaac Hull around the around the bend need to be transfer . For small quantities , this is best done by helping hand . This outgrowth can be a bit long , but it is still the most efficient manner for non - commercial-grade raiser to work their crops .
Even nuts that are reap at the right time need to be dried out a mo more to preclude decomposition and mold growth in storage .
Luckily , it ’s well-off to dry out the nuts . All you require to do is spread them out thinly on a tray or a screen somewhere with good gentle wind circulation .
If this is somewhere outside , you might have to add a mainsheet over the top of them to verify they ’re good from pesky pest or , most importantly , protected from the rain , which will break your harvest .
Every now and then , just have give a few almond a speedy check mark . If their kernels break , they ’re ironic enough and can be moved to storage . If they bend and are a bit cartilaginous , they need to be dry a bit longer .
Storage
Once your heart and soul are properly dry , it ’s advisable to immobilize them to vote out off any pests that might be present , specially navel orange worms .
Before store them , you then have a determination – to trounce , or not to vanquish . shell almonds can last blithely up to 8 months at way temperature , or out of their shells for around a twelvemonth chilled at 32 - 45 ° F ( 0 - 7 ° blow ) .
One thing to look on out for – the nut will take in any particularly pungent smells around them , so it ’s best to avoid salt away them near anything particularly fragrant like onions or ail . memory board in airtight container is preferred , to quash any mishaps .
Any nuts that are dark in color , moldy , shrivel , that smell bitter or off should be discarded , as occasionally the fats in the kernels can go bad .
In a Nutshell…
And for more on lean to your own homegrown nut harvests , you ’ll enjoy the following articles :
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Natasha Foote
