Almonds - how much per tonne?

[Faire d'Income]

Made a good attempt at pruning the almond trees last week and intend to fully clear the land so that next year we can generate some income to pay for a new door.

Question is - how much per tonne on average (don't get all complicated on me about relative humidity/nut contamination etc) can you get for almonds?

Also, when is the best time of year to prune the trees and get the land cleared of scrub by ploughing with one of those mini-bulldozer type thingies?

[Trooperman]

Having spent ages, with resultant severely damaged finger nails, cracking almonds to extract the kernel, I vowed never to complain at the price of packaged almonds again!

I cannot give an answer to all your questions but when it comes to pruning, I have some knowledge to impart.

The almond is a prunus dulcis, and with all the prunus family - peach; nectarine; plum; etc - pruning when dormant (i.e. in winter) is NOT the thing to do, as wounds allow the ingress of a fatal disease known as silver leaf. Wait until the sap is rising - the RHS suggests summer - and tackle them then. (Obviously wait until plums etc have been collected!) Start with the 3 "Ds" - dead, damaged & diseased wood, progress to the elimination of crossing branches and then generally aim to create a well balanced open framework to allow the free passage of air.

Having said that, I can imagine the Spanish have their own regime and, as often, laugh at our strange Northern European ways:

[Faire d'Income]

Cheers. I pruned some last Christmas and have had great results in terms of the crop this year (I know, in winter!) so I've pruned about twenty of the most inaccessible ones at the top of the hill.

I'm working on the basis that a 'swallow can fly unimpeded through the branches' not sure if this applies to almonds or olives but they look tidier.

Any ideas on ploughing the soil? I guess in the next few weeks would be good? Also, how much are the almond cracking machines that take the husk off?

How much per tonne?

[daisylulu]

When do you harvest almonds....we have a few trees and the outer husk has split open now but I don't know when we should pick them?

[concorde]

Fair Dinkum, can you not make a door out of the almond wood?

Save a lot of hard work, it seems to me.!!!!!

[Faire d'Income]

When do you harvest almonds....we have a few trees and the outer husk has split open now but I don't know when we should pick them?

Now. You can use the husks as a garden mulch.

[swerve]

The husks will make good for burning in the winter or even sell them by the bag.

[daisylulu]

Oh ok thanks for that......Mum and Dad are visiting next week so now I have a job for them

Will certainly keep the husks for the fire

[Grouser]

Would say that the ideal shape you are trying to create when pruning is like a hand palm upwards with the fingers and thumb streched out and upwards in an even fan. Get rid of central vertical growth so that light penetrates to all parts of the tree.

[Retro P]

Made a good attempt at pruning the almond trees last week and intend to fully clear the land so that next year we can generate some income to pay for a new door.

Question is - how much per tonne on average (don't get all complicated on me about relative humidity/nut contamination etc) can you get for almonds?

Also, when is the best time of year to prune the trees and get the land cleared of scrub by ploughing with one of those mini-bulldozer type thingies?

Are you out of you mind mate, do you have any idea how long it will take your missus to splite the husk in order to get a tonne of almonds

[Faire d'Income]

Depends really. She was doing around 10 kilos per hour but I'm going to invest in one of those machines so that she can just keep feeding them in, separating the almonds from the husks and increase her productivity.

That way she can spread the husks on the garden for mulching, whilst bagging the nuts up. Also, she was making too much noise last week with just the rolling pin banging up and down on the almonds whilst muttering about 'being on holiday too, you know' so with the machine I can get her away from the pool area where she won't disturb me.

[mhic]

Do you mean you have let her near the pool whilst shelling almonds???
What if she had been a little careless and dropped some broken shell, you could have suffered a nasty cut to the foot.

Mhic.

[antonia]

shame on you guys!!

[Faire d'Income]

Do you mean you have let her near the pool whilst shelling almonds???
Mhic.

Carrot and stick mate. First rule of man management.

[Retro P]

Depends really. She was doing around 10 kilos per hour but I'm going to invest in one of those machines so that she can just keep feeding them in, separating the almonds from the husks and increase her productivity.

That way she can spread the husks on the garden for mulching, whilst bagging the nuts up. Also, she was making too much noise last week with just the rolling pin banging up and down on the almonds whilst muttering about 'being on holiday too, you know' so with the machine I can get her away from the pool area where she won't disturb me.

Mmm!!, you might want to consider a productivity bonus to increase her performance, try offering her an extra hour of "physical attention" every week, or offer to "go to the pub more often , to give her more personal space"

[Faire d'Income]

Wise words. Wise words. Deffo up for the personal space issue. I think she'd appreciate that.

Anyway. Back to the almonds - does anyone know the correct time for 'ploughing' the soil because if I don't get an answer soon, I'm going to instruct my man to start in a couple of weeks?

[AndyM]

Being about to buy an ex Almond Farm (not to make money from the Almonds!), did we ever find out how much they are actually worth once they've been picked and de-husked??