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.
5 Likes
They aren’t making any more. Land is an investment. “Acres for your heirs.”
4 Likes
I have 12 acres here with my home and own 130 acres near Hamilton AL. It gives options for planting pecans and walnuts. 
4 Likes
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.
2 Likes
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
3 Likes
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
1 Like
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.
1 Like
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.
2 Likes