sutton023

Hurrah!  We are anticipating a bumper crop from the hybrid hickory-pecan (a.k.a hickories)plantings... both the one near the picnic area and on the back hill.  Data from this crop will be the first of multiple years of data collection that will enable us to make well-informed decisions for our first selection cycle in this "crop-in-the-making". As with the hazels and chestnuts, we need to have baseline data as we begin/continue the process of crop domestication.  Because of the bountiful harvest and the need for attention to detail, we are in serious need of additional staffing, (volunteers), who would be interested in being part of this substantial effort.  I am changing  my schedule for the next 4 to 6 weeks to work Sundays from 10 to 5 or so collecting, husking and collecting data from the hickories. The one exception is October 12th, when I will be showcasing my Babydoll lambs on a regional Sheep and Fiber Farm Tour. For individuals inter...

The weather has been weird all year- and while it hasn't been urgent for the tree crops before; the heavy rains early, record heat later, record dry September, early frosts- all have been tolerated well; we're getting slammed now by - again, near record heat; and high winds. The chestnuts in particular, ripen and drop rapidly when the temperature hits 80° in October. It always does, and is usually welcome, to get the crop in. Right now, though, we've got a string of 80° days; and a wind warning up for tomorrow. That's not only going to have the trees throwing nuts far from the normal drop area; it's going to be ripping off leaves and burrs, making the harvest all the more tricky. So- we're in "max" harvest mode; dark to dark. Not much time for anything else for the next few days.

We've machine picked the hazels here in Minnesota for the second time; one week after the first picking, and the results were again- better than anticipated. Many bushes which refused to be picked the first time, were very successfully machine picked on the second pass. Right at the moment, though, our next emergency has arrived. We work with two other crops here, as not too many folks realize; chestnuts and hickory hybrids are also quite important to us. Because of the rather strange growing season, we've been unsure until quite recently whether we would get any chestnut crop this year or not. They flowered extremely late, in mid July, and developed slowly, as from extreme heat we shifted to cool drought. All these nut crops have the ability to alter their ripening behavior, from year to year. This year, the chestnuts have decided to all ripen at once; early and late varieties; and in a hurry; many of the nuts now dropping are not fully colored. Then, today- we...