Photos bordered in blue are thumbnails.  Click on photo to see the full size. Then click your browser's BACK button to return to this page.

See end of the page for general growing and harvesting information.

Almond trees begin their bloom period from mid to late February. Almonds are one of the first fruit bearing trees to bloom. Honey bees are brought in to promote fertilization. Several stages of almond trees in bloom are shown below. What is not shown is all the rain storms Fresno Co. had in the month of February!!


Young almond trees are in the foreground, while mature almond trees are in back.


Young almond orchard in bloom.


Flower and leaf buds on an almond tree branch.


A cluster of almond blossoms.


A detailed look at almond blossoms.

Orchard after the bloom period when all the leaves have come out.

The fruit of an almond tree in late May - doesn't it look kinda like a green peach? both almonds and peaches below to the stone fruit family.  The fields are periodically treated for weeds and irrigated in late spring and summer.

 
Later in the summer the fruit part of the almond dries up and splits. This is when the almonds are ready to pick (if you taste one it shouldn't be moist at all).

Here's my daughter, Lindsey, helping pick some "rocks," her name for almonds when she was a year and a half.  Actually, when almonds are picked commercially, it's all done by machine.

All pictures � Lisa Goodell, all rights reserved.

Back to Top

Growing Information

According to the Western Garden Book (goes as far east as MT, WY, CO, and NM), for best nut production, almond trees should be grown in the following zones:  8-10,12,14-16,19-21

Here are some answers to some questions I commonly receive regarding almond trees.  

Disclaimer: I am no expert on almond trees.  Your local county farm bureau is a great resource to get information for your specific location.  

QUESTION #1: I live on 5 acres in --, CA. I have a small family orchard, which includes almonds. I have been surfing the web, without success for information on growing these nuts. Can you give me a clue where I should look? Thank you for your trouble. -JB

ANSWER: You may find that the information you are seeking is easier to find offline. However, there are some websites where I would suggest you look. Unfortunately, I don't know for sure if they would have the information you are looking for. Nevertheless, you may be able to contact them by email and get some useful information.

• California Dept. of Food and Agriculture
• Almond Board of California
• Burchell Nursery Burchell is located in Fresno County at Clovis Ave. and FWY 99 south of Fresno, and also up north in Oakdale. Their phone number is 1-800-828-TREE. They work with growers throughout the Central Valley, specializing in trees.  Click here for other maps to their two locations (also in Oakdale) and other contact info. 
• Altavista Search Engine Have you used search engines to search the net? If not, try Altavista and ask the question, "How do I grow almond trees?" or something similar. There are lots of other search engines to try also.  You can also the the Google Search Engine.

Where to find information not on the internet...
In the Sunset Western Garden Book, there is some general information on almonds... excerpted below:

Almonds do well in any type of soil except heavy, poorly drained soil, where they are subject to root rot. Need deep soil, at least 6 feet. Will exist on less water than most fruit trees, water deeply but infrequently. Almonds need spraying to control mites. Two varieties are needed for pollination (if you don't have room, plant two or three in one hole).

If that is the type of info you want, see the Sunset Western Garden book. It is available at any bookstore or store with garden area (Wal-Mart, Target, home improvement stores, etc.) I saw it on sale at Costco/Price Club for $14.99 recently. There are probably other books specific to growing trees in stores like Home Depot, etc.

Others have emailed me with the same question, this is the best answer I've come up with, using the internet. If you find something, I would be really grateful if you would pass the information to me so I can post it on my website. Best of luck with your search! Please let me know what you find. -Lisa

REPLY: I obtained a copy of the Sunset book and my problem is solved, thanks to your advice. Best regards and many thanks, -JB

QUESTION #2: I was doing some research on the net and I cannot find anywhere for information on whether I should be pruning my almond tree every year...its about 4 years old now... any idea? --Mike C.

ANSWER: Judging from your signature file, I assume you're in the Phoenix area.

Yes, almond trees should be pruned every year. In the Fresno area, they are being pruned right now [Dec]. There is a special way of pruning almonds, which doesn't mean cutting all wood off, but some lower branches and stuff (I don't know the specifics). Your best bet would be to call the agricultural cooperative extension office in your area. It may be through U of A in Tucson. You could also look under the Agriculture Dept for Maricopa County. Fresno County has a "master gardener" program which will provide resources for people.

Almond trees don't have the strongest root system, so they are susceptible to blowing over in strong winds. This past year there was a very heavy crop and the weight on trees made them even more vulnerable. Ropes can also be  tied around the tree to give it some support, and well as using long pieces of wood to prop up the limbs. This was done the the orchard behind our house - which is about  4 years old.  You can also use wire to attach the main limbs to each other - click on small  photo below to see full size.

So, you can see if you don't prune them they will just be more vulnerable to the wind.

Almonds and any stone fruit need a certain amount of hours of cold weather while they're dormant to really produce a good crop. Assuming you're from the Phoenix area, did you have a crop this past year? It may not get cold enough there. But if you're outside of Phoenix in the hills somewhere you'll be all right.

Another thing, do you know if you have a self-fertile strain of tree? Because if you don't, then you need 2 different varieties for pollination (both can be planted together in the same hole).

Best wishes with your tree,

Lisa
Food and Ag Page
www.geocities.com/lisargood/ag.htm

QUESTION #3:

You have the most informative website I have found on almond trees. Thank you for doing that. I still don't know what they're supposed to look like when you pick them. I have a lone almond tree in the backyard and an 8 year old daughter who wants to know when to pick almonds. Do you wait until they're brown or falling off or do you pick them when they're still green? Any info would be appreciated.  Thanks -- Jim P.

ANSWER:  Hello, thanks for the email and the kudos!!!  I appreciate it.  In the Fresno area,  almonds are picked about late Aug. - Sept, I don't know where you live so I can't say a specific time of year for you.  Here's a photo I took of our almonds on July 27.  

The green part isn't dried up yet, so  it's too soon to pick them.  Go back up to the photo of almonds sitting on a table.  Click on the two photos there to see them close up - that's when they ready to pick.

 Once they split, wait until the skin part dries up.  Then pick one and take the shriveled part off.  Then open the woody part, inside it should look like a normal almond.  If it looks or tastes moist, then it needs to dry longer.  If it's not crunchy it needs to dry longer.

You can leave them on the tree to dry or pick them and just let them sit somewhere to dry.  After they're dry, you can freeze them or use them in any cooking.

Hope that helps!

Lisa

 QUESTION #4:

ANSWER:  The outer hull has to fully develop and split open before the nut inside will be ripe enough to pick.  At that point you can pick them and leave them out in the garage for the hull to completely dry.  Then open up the "pit" and the almond nut should be dried out, too.  

My best suggestion, which may or may not work, is to put some netting over the tree. You can also put up metallic tape that flashes in the breeze and sun.  In ag areas sometimes farmers will have some type of thing that makes a booming sound every so often to discourage birds from getting fruit.  You can also search for information of getting rid of squirrels on the internet. Here are two links:

http://users.bestweb.net/~habitat/squirrels.htm

http://home.earthlink.net/~lisamhutchins/SquirrelMania.htm (this is about squirrel proofing bird feeder, but it does have good information).

Hope that helps, Lisa

  Go to Grape photos  
  Go to Cotton photos  

Back to Top

Back to Fresno Country Ag page

Feel free to check out the rest of my website:

Lisa's Links Page