Pecans are ready to harvest when they begin to drop from the trees, usually around the time when the tree begins losing its leaves for the winter. Mature pecans have green husks which have turned brown and crack open. That’s how you know they are ready.
To harvest pecans properly you need to be ready for them before they start falling from the trees. This typically occurs sometime between the months of October and December (depending on where you live), although the weather and other environmental conditions may impact the exact dates for the harvest in your area. But the harvest begins before the nuts begin falling from the trees.
Preparing for the Fresh Pecan Harvest
About a month before the harvest it is important to mow and clear the area surrounding each of the trees to make sure that you can see the pecans when they fall from the trees. It is a good idea to clear an area of up to 15 feet beyond the tree canopy itself so you can see the nuts that may be blown by the wind or be flung away from the tree during the harvest.
Once the pecans begin to drop you need to gather them quickly because damp weather can cause them to get stale and rancid, not to mention that the local wildlife such as squirrels and crows love pecans as much as we do. You can’t wait and harvest them later. So, it is important to pick up the pecans that fall to the ground immediately.
At Stahmann’s, we help this process along by using special farm equipment that uses a hydraulic arm to shake the trees, bringing the ripe pecans cascading down and ready to be collected. You can speed the process along yourself by shaking the branches of the tree or using a long pole to knock them down and gather them.
Learn more about the pecan harvesting process next month and come back for Part 2 of our series on How Pecans are Harvested.
Looking for Best Place to Buy Pecans?
Look no further than Stahmanns Pecans. At Stahmanns, we wait until the pecans are literally bursting out of their shells to harvest them. This is when our light pecans are the reach maturity and have the perfect color and texture that our clients expect.
We are a level 3 SQF certified pecan grower suppling pecans for commercial and industrial markets. For more information about our bulk pecans, call us at 844-739-6887 or contact us using our simple online form.