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NEWS |
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The Story of a Macadamia Tree Excerpt from April 2001 newsletter Patsy Flanigan
The year was 1981. The dream was to have a macadamia orchard at the "Little Farm" in San Diego County. Five pounds of Macadamia nuts in the shell were purchased. They were soaked overnight in warm water and then each nut was planted in a deep container to allow for the development of a deep tap root. Roots develop long before anything shows above the ground, so there was a long wait for the new sprouts. The containers were watered regularly and watched during this time.
Then it happened, almost all at once. Amazingly, little green sprouts appeared in 95% of the containers. When these little baby trees reached their first birthday, they were taken to the Little Farm where the land had been prepared for them. An irrigation system had been installed. Each planting hole had a wire mesh to protect the new trees from under ground predators.
One more step had to be taken. The next year the trees were all to be grafted to a known variety so that their yield would be consistent. It was on the night of December 28, 1983 that there was a major freeze at the Little Farm. That night 80 trees were killed by the cold. It was then that we decided that it might not be a good idea to fight nature. Better to plant something that would be happier at this place. Yes, persimmons.
Yet, somehow five of the trees survived that deep cold night. Since these trees were seedlings, (not grafted) we could not know what they would be like. Years went by while we continued to nurture these survivor trees. In 1999, sixteen years after that fateful night, two of the trees bloomed. Little green nuts started to develop. On one of the trees, these nuts were very small and the husks stuck tight to the nuts, so they were not usable.
This year, on one tree, out of the original 85, we saw large green nuts. When they drop to the ground and dry, the husks split open easily. Macadamia expert, Al Snider, did an experimental crack-out. He determined, that yes, these are good nuts. Well done little tree. It took 20 years, but the cycle is complete. |
