22 June 2009 by Robert.

There are two basic types of pecan trees grown in Texas – native and varietals. The varietals, or cultivars, are referred to as ‘papershells’ and are a result of being propagated asexually by budding or grafting rather than propagation by seed. Native pecans produce nuts that are small but have high oil content.

For the home, pecan trees should be planted within 300 feet of another variety or a native pecan tree. Ideally, you should plant at least one early-pollen and one late-pollen shedding variety. Early-pollen shedding means that the pollen is shed before the female flowers are receptive and late-pollen shedding means the pollen is shed after the female flowers are receptive.

Below, we have listed several potential pecan varietals which are recommended by the USDA/Texas A&M for the coastal region of Texas. This list is not all-inclusive since new cultivars are continually being created to combat disease and pests and to increase the nut production. Some of these trees may not be available at your local nursery. Whichever tree you decide to purchase, buy only from reputable nurseries.

Varieties recommended for Fort Bend and surrounding counties by Texas A&M/USDA:

Late Pollen Shedding varietals: Choctaw, Forkert, Kiowa

Early Pollen Shedding varietals: Cheyenne, Desirable, Caddo, Cape Fear, Oconee, Houma

Additionally, some varieties recommendations by LSU for Louisiana homes differ significantly from those recommend by the USDA/Texas A&M even though the climates are similar. LSU recommends Candy, Elliott, Sumner, and Melrose (late pollen shedding) and Houma, Oconee, and Caddo (early pollen shedding). Further, LSU recommends we avoid Schley, Wichita and Desirable due to the high susceptibility to scab.

Various pecan pests and diseases can damage nut production. To combat these, visit the web sites listed below.

References:

Home Fruit Production for Pecans, Texas A&M, http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homefruit/pecan/pecan.html
Pecan Cultivars, Texas A&M, http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/carya/pecans/cvintro.htm
Selection and Care of Pecan Varieties for Louisiana Yards, Louisiana State University, http://www.lsuagcenter.com/nr/rdonlyres/2eb89798-5791-49af-8915-5bd0eb9edd92/2830/pub2074pecanvarieties91.pdf
Texas Pecan Growers Association http://www.tpga.org/
Pecan Kernel, Texas A&M, http://pecankernel.tamu.edu/
Texas AgriLife Bookstore, http://agrilifebookstore.org/
Fort Bend County Pecans, http://fbcp.tamu.edu/

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22 June 2009 by Robert.

On Saturday, June 13^th, my wife and I visited the small Hill Country town of Blanco to enjoy the brutal heat and the celebration of lavender.  We began our discovery of Blanco by visiting the old courthouse square and all of the booths set up selling just about anything you could think of buying.

After a refreshing lavender lemonade and seeing several artisans at work, we decided to get back into our air conditioned car and visit some of the lavender farms in the area. The first farm we visited was the Heron’s Nest Herb Farm. There, Melanie and Fred Van Aken showed off their farm to us and others. Fred spoke about his rainwater collection system that provides water for both his large garden and the gardens around his home. He also uses a solar-powered pump to provide the energy to move water through his drip system. Then, he spoke about the organic solutions needed to successfully raise his lavenders.

We moved on to the next farm on our listing, the Hill County Lavender farm with Tasha Brieger. Tasha spoke extensively about everything you would ever need to know about farming lavender. She has at least two different French lavenders and three different English lavenders available on her farm. Lots of folks were there taking scissors and making their own bunches of lavender flowers to take home.

The next farm we visited was Karen and Don Roets’ Miller Creek Lavender farm. Don greeted everyone at the parking area reminding us to sample the lavender margaritas at the store! The great part about this farm was the Texas Master Gardener who was available to talk about how to plant and maintain your lavender. She spoke to folks from the Hill Country, North Texas, and the Gulf Coast about the specific needs of these plants. Here, we also learned the differences between culinary and presentation lavenders. It was really cool to see another Master Gardener who was helping to educate the public about these wonderful plants.

After this farm, we returned to the courthouse square to enjoy local wines, beers, jellies, jams, and other great food items. The live music was wonderful and the local population was working hard to make sure all the visitors were having a great time. We even ran into another Master Gardener who was taking a well-earned rest. What a great place to be a Master Gardener!

I’m looking forward to visiting Blanco again. For sure during the next Lavender Festival but probably even before. I had a great time and came back with six different lavender plants, two different jams, souvenir cups, a new hat, and great memories!

Posted in Excursions, herbs | 3 Comments »

12 June 2009 by Robert.

In a previous article, I wrote about preserving herbs by drying them and briefly discussed the ways to do so. Now, I will discuss another option – freezing herbs to preserve them.

By freezing herbs, you get the benefit of having the herbs almost as if they were taken directly from the plant. There are really two ways of freezing herbs – one by placing in a bag and the other by immersing in olive oil.

To freeze herbs in a bag, you can either leave the leaves whole or chop them up. It doesn’t seem to matter which one as they both work well.

Prepare the herbs by picking them early in the morning before the sun dries them too much. Wash them thoroughly and allow them to dry on paper towels or pat them dry. Do not bruise the whole leaves too much. If you are going to chop the herbs, now is the time. Remove the stems as much as possible.

Once the herbs are prepared, bag ‘em, tag ‘em, and freeze ‘em.

I actually prefer to use a vacuum-sealed bag for my herbs. Take a vacuum bag and cut it down to a small size. Place about two to three days worth of herbs in it and seal the bag. This way, I only have to open one bag for a few days of fresh herbs without compromising the entire batch.

You can also use any commercial ‘zip lock’ type of bag. Just place your herbs in the bag, zip it, and you are done.

Always remember to mark each bag with contents and date of freezing. Simple reminders like “basil, 6/15/2007” work well for me. Herbs frozen in vacuum-sealed bags should be fresh for about one year or so. Herbs in zipped bags should be fresh for six to 12 months.

The second method for freezing herbs is to place the leaves in olive oil. Simply take the herbs and mix with enough olive oil to cover them completely. Then, spoon the mixture into some plastic ice cube trays and allow them to freeze. Once completely frozen, you can take the cubes and place them into a freezer bag.

If you like pestos, you can also freeze them effectively using this method. Just add the herb mixture you like into a food processor or blender, start grinding away adding olive oil into the machine until you have the consistency you desire. Again, spoon the mixture into ice cube trays and let it freeze. Voila! You now have instant pesto available to you.

Since the herbs preserved for freezing tend to be fresher than herbs dried, you should use ‘fresh’ proportions for the frozen variety when using them in recipes.

References:

“Growing Herbs in Texas”, Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas A&M University, http://jefferson-tx.tamu.edu/publications/Herbs-in.tx.PDF

“What is the Best Way to Dry Herbs?”, Laurie Winn, Galveston County Master Gardeners (1998), http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/h&v_4.htm

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