I’m in the process of adding another 10 acres to my 40+ acres at my new project site. Several of my friends were quick to mention that im not going to live forever. They think 85 acres is a bit much but thats barely 10% of what my grandfather owned. In my family we are used to having land and we have a hard time if we don’t have enough rather than the other way around. I have never met a person who does not see things differently from me. When that many people see things another way it is best to entertain the idea that by their perspective they are right and im wrong. I can only say that i do things my own way because it works for me.
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They aren’t making any more. Land is an investment. “Acres for your heirs.”
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I have 12 acres here with my home and own 130 acres near Hamilton AL. It gives options for planting pecans and walnuts. 
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Paid off land is wealth. I lucked out finding my property. Was v/l placed on realtor.com map in middle of swamp,actually 1 milefrom lake michigan.
Same thing with last 5 acre property I flipped. Make sure your listing agent is tops.
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Hey darrel we have 200 acres in south east georgia that once had Desirable’s, Stewart’s and Gloria’s. Hurricane got them were in the process of cleanup but looking to replant, the trees we had were planted by my father in law 40 years ago and desirables were terrible to Scab what Variety would you plant back if it was yours low maintenance
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Contact Lenny Wells and/or Patrick Conner at UGA for advice. You might also talk with Max Draughn and/or Mike Polozola. Here are the varieties and reason that I would plant.
Don’t rely on one single variety because it is putting too many eggs in a basket. Plant at least 4 varieties carefully chosen for production potential over the long term. Make sure they are pollination compatible with a mix of type 1 and 2.
Avalon - released a few years ago, scab resistance is fading with time, still good
Elliott - old but still reliably productive, small nut, super high quality, problems with defoliation by gnomonia
Excel - Can overbear, has a few flaws otherwise such as thick shell
Gafford - Can have low kernel quality, good type 1
Lakota - only significant flaw is serious alternate bearing
McMillan - Decent pecan, showing some issues in commercial production
Creek - carefully consider this one as it is a reliable producer but alternates as an older tree
Sumner - Still a good variety, very late maturity
I’m going to suggest 2 more for careful review though they are not very well known yet. Sterling was released by Max Draughn about 4 years ago as a small but good quality pecan with excellent scab resistance. I’ve seen the ortet and sampled the pecans. Sterling flavor is arguably the best I’ve tasted. The ortet tends to alternate with a large crop followed by about a half crop the next year. IMO, Sterling is going to be a strong contender in south Georgia. Woodman is from Louisiana and a very vigorous and productive tree. Kernels can be dark so prompt harvest and marketing are needed. Mike Polozola can tell you more about it. Sam Stokes nursery has Sterling and Woodman.
Please keep in mind these are for low input and low overall maintenance. If you will be commercially spraying, other varieties should be considered.
https://pecanbreeding.uga.edu/cultivars/recommended-list.html
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Additional considerations:
Since you are working with 200 acres, carefully think about managing the pecans over time. As an example, Sumner is very late maturity while Elliott is very early. Harvest will be difficult if these varieties are inter-planted because they mature about 6 weeks apart. If these two varieties are chosen, I would consider planting 50 acres of Elliott with a type 1 pollinator and 50 acres of Sumner with a type 1 pollinator. You would be able to harvest and market Elliott as an early crop and Sumner as a late crop. Flexibility would be high as you would not have to harvest the entire 200 acres all in a couple of weeks.
Consider how your pecans will be marketed. Elliott for example should almost always be sold to a processor where Avalon can be sold retail. Why? Elliott is very small by comparison. Retail buyers want pecans that are fast and easy to shell. One caveat, if you purchase a cracker and sell pecans pre-cracked ready to shell, Elliott can be viable for retail.
Desirable is a scab magnet and arguably should never be planted again in South Georgia. It is a good pecan, but production costs when having to spray 20 times in a year are just too high.
Will you have irrigation? Of all the cultural steps that can be made, the most significant are disease control and irrigation. With irrigation, your trees can reliably produce a crop every year, caveat that good varieties are chosen.
Lakota is a very good pecan but overbears and then no-shows the next year. Even with irrigation and excellent disease and pest control, Lakota is going to be problematic over the long term. Same concerns with Creek. I would treat Lakota and Creek as temporary trees with intent to remove them about 25 years old. Temporary trees have a use and a purpose to make a grove profitable as soon as possible.
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Our “big” project around here is our banana circle for my grandparents grey water.
Its probably between 3 and 4 feet deep. Haven’t planted any bananas around it yet, because its just a bad time of year to plant bananas, but we are probably going to surround it with lemongrass and sugar cane. Thought about doing sweet potatoes, but I’m not sure about eating grey water fed root crops. Its probably fine, but grosses me out.
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My new property is over 50 acres now, and i’m planning a possible future land aquisition that is adjacent to the current property. The fencing is slowly coming along. The pond is still filling. This project will take several years and a lot of money. Hopefully, i can finish it in my lifetime. The price of materials is dropping quickly after the recent changes in the country. Land is expensive, though materials like a 40x80x12 foot building have dropped to around $40,000 Get a 40x80 Metal Building, Shop, or Barn for Less - Alan’s . In some cases, they are still $50,000 https://www.bigbuildingsdirect.com/product/forest-steel-building-40x80/ . Installation and delivery are included in those prices, which is why the cost seems high even after the huge price drop.
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Hi. Just stopping by to say a big congratulations! This is an amazing & big project and as busy as you are, I hope you continue to post updates to share. What a beautiful & cool project & we are rooting for you (pun intended!) 
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I love this. I killed 3 acres of grass in the backyard and planted a wildflower meadow with a few pear trees. I want to kill most of my front yard but don’t know what to do with it yet. I would love to go the rest of my life without mowing grass.
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Lol, thanks! It’s wild for me to look at that list from just two years ago. So much has changed.
Three access, that sounds awesome! I hope the wildflower mix works out, could be really lovely.
I’ve showed down a bit on killing grass, but hopefully this year I’ll have the time to get back at it. Most of last year was just filling in the parts where I had already killed the grass. The trailer is currently out of commission which really slows down the grass killing.
I’ve mostly stopped growing greens, the deer and insects eat them and I never get much chance. Madagascar spinach is an exception, but I grow it as much as an ornament as a vegetable. Most vegetables I don’t bother growing, just some peppers, ground cherries, and a few melons. Trying Sun Gold cherry tomato this year, looking good so far. Everything else is fruit or ornamentals.
My small coast redwood died, I think the soil wasn’t quite right, not enough fungal activity with it being former lawn. Might try again in a few years. Most of my small holies and cypress trees died, we had some brutal summers that strongly favored phytophthera unfortunately. About two thirds of the Paraná pine I planted also dried from the same, just two made it, I’ll have to get a few more when I can. Lost several butterfly bushes to root rot as well. “Pakistan” mulberry was eaten by deer and then died over winter. Citrus taiwanica, Thomasville, Ten Degree Tangerine, Keraji, and Changsha have all been killed by the winters here. Several Eucalyptus trees also didn’t make it through the winter. Che got killed by deer. Several loquat seedlings were also killed by deer. Most, but not all, of my California bay laurel were winter killed, I think I have two left. Luma apiculata and Chilean guavaberry died very quickly in my summer conditions. Palo Verde proved not hardy, but that was expected. Hardy lantana was indeed hardy, but the weeds look too have finally killed it. Dahlia is a fire ant magnet, didn’t last long.
I’ve expanded my fig collection. I’ve added Atreano, LSU Strawberry, DSJG, Angelito, CLBC, Hardy Chicago, Yellow Long Neck, and one or two others.
Persimmons include Early Golden, Rosseyanka, Chocolate, Tam Kam, Coffee Cake, Cardinal, and a few others.
Put in about a dozen blueberries. I’ve got Tayberry, Thornless Loganberry, PAF, Prime Ark 45, Kiowa, Glencoe, Heritage, Bababerry, Mysore, and Sweetie Pie. Valdosta mulberry is a champ. Adding an unnamed big box store mulberry. Sowed a bunch of goumi and let them stratify over winter, some already growing. Will probably add some Japanese silverthorn as well.
Feijoas might finally fruit this year. Yellow Strawberry guava I have to protect over the winter but are worth it for how productive and tasty they are. Testing out several other guavas and guabuju. Hybrid passion fruit did great last summer, hoping for even more this year.
Jujube fruited once. Since then the deer have eaten them to the ground. Maybe one day they’ll recover. Azaleas also pretty badly set back by deer, and the mimosa, black locust, and rose of Sharon.
Meyer lemon and several satsumas are blooming like crazy now, it smells amazing. I’ve got about a dozen non hardy citrus at this point, but protecting them over the winter is fairly easy and they’re bulletproof otherwise. Enjoyed satsumas, clementines, and a few Thomasville fruit last year.
Almost lost my Torreya trees to drought their first summer. They’re doing much better now. A deer afflicted prunus mume grows nearby. Most of my
Arroyo sweetwood look great, remarkably hardy for a Mexican species from a tropical genus. Italian stone pine weirdly is happy so far. One non hardy lantana proved root hardy, which is very cool. Carolina cherry laurel is doing great, but that’s no surprise. I got one of two gingko to establish, excited about that. Also excited about the Compton oaks that I’ve now got. Bigleaf magnolia is living up to its name. A few Eucalyptus species are indeed hardy here, so far my favorite is E. neglecta, though E. camphora is pretty awesome too if just a little less hardy than I’d like.
Transplanted some wisteria this spring, going to try to keep them in check. I also transplanted a juniper, it was a little shocked but I think it’ll make it. Recently added a yucca recurvata, and I’m dipping my toes into the world of cycads with Sago palm and Coontie palm.
I’m sure there’s stuff I’m forgetting, but it’s bedtime so that’s enough for this update.
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May I ask what temperatures and durations killed the California bay trees? I thought they were quite hardy.
10 F, below freezing for a few days.
These are temperatures they would normally survive. Mine were still seedlings.
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That explains a lot. Luckily you still had some survive. How did the feijoas and the Arroyo sweetwood came out of winter?
The feijoas lost some but not all leaves. The Arroyo sweetwood had a little dieback on new growth, but they were otherwise fine–and they were all seedlings that I had sown as seed last spring, so very, very young. I expect them to be hardier as they mature, I know of one small tree in Raleigh that’s survived near 0 F.
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Still impresive. I didn’t know that Paraná pines were that cold tolerant either. Thank for this information. In my town there are a lot of mature monkey puzzle trees, but they are hardier I think, and we dont get below 17F often.
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