Growing Nuts at Home

[TEG Project Manager]

Fruits, vegetables, and herbs are some of the things that homesteaders focus on growing themselves. Nuts are a great choice for those who enjoy growing their own food. Many nuts can be grown in your home right now if you have the right soil and climate. You will learn about three of the easiest nut trees you can grow at home in this article.

Are all nuts tree-borne?​

You may not believe where nuts actually come from if you like peanut butter sandwiches, homemade granola, or morning oatmeal with fresh fruit and nuts.

Although peanuts are called nuts, they are actually legumes. Peanuts grow in pods, just like soybeans, lentils, and other legumes. The majority of people still refer to them as nuts. Almonds, cashews, walnuts, and pistachios are classified as seeds (fruit) of the trees they grow on."

Your local supermarket is likely to charge more for nuts due to them being a good source of nutrients. The definition of a nut is "a hard, dry fruit or seed with a rind or shell and a kernel inside."

In spite of the fact that nut cultivation requires some specific conditions, you can be sure that harvest time will bring you and your family a lot of joy.

Here are easy nut trees you can grow at home​

You can grow the following nut trees at home:

Almonds​

Almonds are a great healthy food to eat. Nuts such as these are considered superfoods. Whether you're on a low-carb diet and need fiber without carbs or a vegetarian or vegan diet that needs more protein and iron, almonds are a perfect choice.

The majority of almonds in the United States are grown in California, but you can grow them anywhere. Almond trees thrive in a variety of environments, but they require a hot and dry climate to grow.

Hazelnuts​

You should be able to grow hazelnuts at home if you don't live in the deep south. A moderate climate is ideal, where it does not get too cold or too hot. For hazelnuts to flower, you need at least 1,200 hours of chill.

Hazelnuts often top lists of the easiest nut trees to grow. For someone with patience and the time, growing hazelnuts isn't impossible. If you want the best hazelnut crops, use different cultivars.

Generally, hazelnut trees are harvested between September and October, when the soil is moderately acidic.

Walnuts​

The walnut is another nut that can be grown by yourself and is very nutritious. A variety of walnuts are available, including heartnuts and black walnuts. The return on investment for walnut trees will take some time if you're wondering how fast they grow.

In order to grow walnuts, you need a good deal of cold temperature and soil that is deep and sunny. The growing season for walnuts requires full sunlight. Cross-pollination is necessary for walnuts to grow completely, which can take years.

An average walnut tree produces between 50 and 80 pounds of nuts per year. Some of these may be taken by squirrels, however. Due to their height, these are best suited for large yards. Harvest time is a great time to have them.

Macadamia Nuts​

You can either grow macadamia trees by seed or through a more advanced technique called grafting. The tree grows best in coastal areas with temperatures between 50°F and 80°F. It takes about 6 to 7 years for your trees to begin bearing fruit, and you will need to water them regularly.

The macadamia tree, however, can provide shade to your home in the meantime. During the spring, the creamy white or pink blossoms are absolutely stunning.

Conclusion​

Gardeners who enjoy growing nuts find it a rewarding hobby, despite it being more challenging than growing fruits and vegetables. With your own organic nuts, you will be able to enjoy a healthy snack, cook different dishes, and create different flavor combinations.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Actually, macadamias can be hard even if you DO live somewhere warm enough. They're a member of the Protea family, and things in the protea family have this real problem with soil phosphorous, along the line of them shriveling up and dying at the slightest trace of them (something I learned when trying to grow my Chilean Hazel.)

Speaking of "hard" CRACKING a macadamia nut in it's shell can be a challenge as well, as they are INCREDIBLY tough, WAY beyond what a standard nutcracker can handle. They need more than 200lbs/sq. inch to crack. Industrial growers use special high-powered machines to do it. Natives used to put them at the bottom of cliffs and drop boulders on them.

Also botanically, only the Hazelnut on that list is a true "nut". Almonds and walnuts are botanically classified as drupes (just like plums and peaches). Chestnuts are also true nuts.

And why limit yourself to only the well known nuts. Depending on where you are, go native, or even exotic. If your climate is sort of Southeast Asian, try Pili nuts (Canarium ovatum). If you are Australian, look into Qandong (Santalum acuminatum or spicatum) (though, as that is a parasite, like all sandalwoods, you'll have to lay down a nice thick coat of the host grass first) Africa has the pseudo-nutty cucurbit the Oyster Nut (Telfeia) Be creative!

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I purchased two filbert trees from a local fella. I'll be planting them this late fall. They are about 5 ft tall right now.

 

[flowerbug]

Generally, hazelnut trees are harvested between September and October, when the soil is moderately acidic.

the above is a very strange comment as harvest time and soil acidity would be a very unusual aspect to consider...

 

[ducks4you]

I was Horrified to discover a 15 ft tall black walnut growing just west of my pasture fencing.
The nuts are toxic to horses, you can see my emotion.
But, then...I figured that I hadn't noticed it growing, and it Must be several years old, AND it tilts aWAY from the fencing, no sick horses, so...it gets to live.
Last winter, when I discovered it, I harvest 130 nuts.
I saved them, but decided that they wouldn't taste very good being not stored correctly, but sitting in melting snow, so I decided to burn them this week.
I look forward to a nice walnut Fall harvest, from a tree planted by a squirrel, for which I have done ZERO cultivation.

 

[Dahlia]

Fruits, vegetables, and herbs are some of the things that homesteaders focus on growing themselves. Nuts are a great choice for those who enjoy growing their own food. Many nuts can be grown in your home right now if you have the right soil and climate. You will learn about three of the easiest nut trees you can grow at home in this article.

Are all nuts tree-borne?​

You may not believe where nuts actually come from if you like peanut butter sandwiches, homemade granola, or morning oatmeal with fresh fruit and nuts.

Although peanuts are called nuts, they are actually legumes. Peanuts grow in pods, just like soybeans, lentils, and other legumes. The majority of people still refer to them as nuts. Almonds, cashews, walnuts, and pistachios are classified as seeds (fruit) of the trees they grow on."

Your local supermarket is likely to charge more for nuts due to them being a good source of nutrients. The definition of a nut is "a hard, dry fruit or seed with a rind or shell and a kernel inside."

In spite of the fact that nut cultivation requires some specific conditions, you can be sure that harvest time will bring you and your family a lot of joy.

Here are easy nut trees you can grow at home​

You can grow the following nut trees at home:

Almonds​

View attachment 50747

Almonds are a great healthy food to eat. Nuts such as these are considered superfoods. Whether you're on a low-carb diet and need fiber without carbs or a vegetarian or vegan diet that needs more protein and iron, almonds are a perfect choice.

The majority of almonds in the United States are grown in California, but you can grow them anywhere. Almond trees thrive in a variety of environments, but they require a hot and dry climate to grow.

Hazelnuts​

View attachment 50748

You should be able to grow hazelnuts at home if you don't live in the deep south. A moderate climate is ideal, where it does not get too cold or too hot. For hazelnuts to flower, you need at least 1,200 hours of chill.

Hazelnuts often top lists of the easiest nut trees to grow. For someone with patience and the time, growing hazelnuts isn't impossible. If you want the best hazelnut crops, use different cultivars.

Generally, hazelnut trees are harvested between September and October, when the soil is moderately acidic.

Walnuts​

View attachment 50749

The walnut is another nut that can be grown by yourself and is very nutritious. A variety of walnuts are available, including heartnuts and black walnuts. The return on investment for walnut trees will take some time if you're wondering how fast they grow.

In order to grow walnuts, you need a good deal of cold temperature and soil that is deep and sunny. The growing season for walnuts requires full sunlight. Cross-pollination is necessary for walnuts to grow completely, which can take years.

An average walnut tree produces between 50 and 80 pounds of nuts per year. Some of these may be taken by squirrels, however. Due to their height, these are best suited for large yards. Harvest time is a great time to have them.

Macadamia Nuts​

View attachment 50750

You can either grow macadamia trees by seed or through a more advanced technique called grafting. The tree grows best in coastal areas with temperatures between 50°F and 80°F. It takes about 6 to 7 years for your trees to begin bearing fruit, and you will need to water them regularly.

The macadamia tree, however, can provide shade to your home in the meantime. During the spring, the creamy white or pink blossoms are absolutely stunning.

Conclusion​

Gardeners who enjoy growing nuts find it a rewarding hobby, despite it being more challenging than growing fruits and vegetables. With your own organic nuts, you will be able to enjoy a healthy snack, cook different dishes, and create different flavor combinations.

When I lived in Northern California we grew almond trees. I remember cracking the nuts open while sitting on the couch watching T.V. Wow! They were so good!!! We had 6 trees and got lots of almonds!!!

 

[Pulsegleaner]

When I lived in Northern California we grew almond trees. I remember cracking the nuts open while sitting on the couch watching T.V. Wow! They were so good!!! We had 6 trees and got lots of almonds!!!

In my larger seed jar, I have a somewhat "different" looking almond that I found in a bag of dried Indian apricots, and which I have always planned to plant. However besides climate issues (and the difficulty of growing ANY nut in our squirrel heavy area) I have always worried about the fact that, as it DOES look different, and I am not well versed in Almond types it COULD be a bitter almond (they do grow those commercially as well) and I would be setting myself up for accidentally killing myself down the road.

Actually, if it WAS a bitter almond, it would be sort of ironic, since the apricot pack I got it out of was of the so called "sweet pit" apricots whose seed kernels are also edible, and used for an almond substitute in much of Eastern Asia.

 

[R2elk]

The majority of almonds in the United States are grown in California, but you can grow them anywhere. Almond trees thrive in a variety of environments, but they require a hot and dry climate to grow.

Almond trees do not and will not grow here. Many nut trees that are claimed to be hardy enough to grow in the colder zones will not grow here due to soil and water quality.

Russian Almond is a shrub and does grow here.

 

[digitS']

Northern California, @Dahlia ? My earliest years were there and I knew almonds .

I've told this story on TEG before: How I identified an almond tree growing beside my elementary school playground later, in southern Oregon. I was impatient to carry off the nuts and eat them! They were never good and must not have had the growing season necessary.

Do you think filberts would work for you, @R2elk ? I've seen healthy ones here. English walnuts sure don't amount to what our trees were capable of back on the southern Oregon farm.

Steve

 

[R2elk]

Northern California, @Dahlia ? My earliest years were there and I knew almonds .

I've told this story on TEG before: How I identified an almond tree growing beside my elementary school playground later, in southern Oregon. I was impatient to carry off the nuts and eat them! They were never good and must not have had the growing season necessary.

Do you think filberts would work for you, @R2elk ? I've seen healthy ones here. English walnuts sure don't amount to what our trees were capable of back on the southern Oregon farm.

Steve

This is a very cold zone 4. Many trees that are claimed to be able to grow here will not. The real killer here is the January thaw followed by sub zero temperatures followed by a February thaw followed by sub zero temperatures. The last couple of years we have had sub zero temps happen briefly in April finishing off anything that seemed like it was going to survive the winter.

The alkaline soils and water does not help matters either. In better protected areas there are a few Black Walnuts. I have tried and they won't grow here. I have tried Hazelnuts with failure of everyone. I have managed to keep a Turkish Tree Hazel alive through 4 winters. It is now over 6' tall.

The Russian Almond shrub produces tiny little almonds that may or may not have cyanide in them. The ones that don't have cyanide takes like good almonds except the almond flavor is much more concentrated. The ones that have cyanide in them taste bitter. Both can come off of the same bush.