Author: Julie

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Pecans: The Perfect Gift For Any Holiday

It’s here –  Six days before Thanksgiving and only thirty three days before Christmas!  If you have not gotten your fresh pecans for your holiday baking it is time to do so.  There is a very good article by Forbes about why the pecan may be a bit pricier than last year.  This article mentions Natchitoches Pecans and quotes Mark about taking care of our customers year in and year out.  The link can be viewed online at http://www.forbes.com/sites/nadiaarumugam/2013/11/06/why-you-should-buy-pecans-for-your-thanksgiving-pie-now

Remember that you can shop from your chair by going to our secure online store 24/7 and browse our fresh pecan selections  – In Shell Pecans – Cracked Pecans – Shelled Pecans – Pecan Gift Tins – Gourmet Flavored Pecans – Pecan Praline Combinations and Pecan Cookbooks.  The 2013 pecan crop is shorter than anticipated and availability of top quality pecans will be gone soon.  Our last day for shipping will be Dec 20 but orders shipping that date will need to have been placed by Dec 15th.  Make everyone on your list happy by giving them the perfect gift – PECANS!

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2013 Natchitoches Pecans Harvest at Little Eva Plantation

Our 2013 Natchitoches Pecans’ pecan harvest is underway. We have worked very hard all year tending our orchard.  This year’s pecan crop at Little Eva Plantation looks to be good.  It is not a limb breaking crop but most all the  trees have some pecans on them.  We would rather have a good crop year in and year out as this does not stress the trees like a limb breaking crop does.

Yesterday Oct 31 (Halloween) we had over 7 inches of rain within a few hours.  We were in need of some rain but were a bit concerned when the rain kept falling and falling and falling.  Thank goodness our pecan orchard is on high ground and drains very well.  The weather is perfect today – Nov 1 – the  sun is out and temperature is in the 70’s so all should be dry enough to resume pecan picking on Monday.

Check out our newest videos on our YouTube channel that shows Mark on the pecan shaker shaking trees.  Or to see post of the pecan harvester picking pecans go to 2013 Louisiana Pecan Harvest.  All for now … post again in a few days!

 

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Pecan Harvest is Near

The 2013 pecan harvest at Little Eva Plantation is just around the corner.  Mark has been busy cleaning the pecan orchard floor of pecan limbs that have broken from the heavy load of nuts on them.  Limbs are always an ongoing chore that has to be done throughout the year.  The orchard could still use a good rain that would help with opening of the pecan shucks as well as supplying the pecan trees with the water they need right up until harvest.  The tractors,  pecan harvesters, and the  pecan shaker have all been serviced and are ready to go.  The pecan warehouse equipment has been inspected and adjusted.  All we are waiting on is the PECANS to open and fall.

Our retail store is filling up with lots of items for this holiday season.  In addition to our delicious Louisiana grown pecans and gourmet flavored pecans,  we have many unique gift items available in our store.  So if you are in the area please stop by.  You can also view our FACEBOOK page to view various items in the store as I post daily.  You can also follow us on TWITTER and GOOGLE+.

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Pecans – The Perfect Gift

The 2013 holiday season is fast approaching.  We have been busy making decisions on what pecan gift choices will be available for this holiday season.

Our trademark gold logo pecan gift tin in a 1 lb or 2 lb size makes a great corporate gift or individual gift for that special someone.  This season we are adding a new color tin – a bright metallic red. The gold  Fleur de Lis label added to the top of the gift tin adds a touch of elegance. This pecan gift tin will be available in the 1 lb or 2 lb size.

Stay tuned for more updates of what’s to come for this holiday season!

Pecan Gift Tins

Pecan Gift Tins

 

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Nutty Pecan Bark Treat

Everyone should now be aware of the health benefits of adding pecans to their diet.  This pecan treat recipe was just too scrumptious so wanted to share it with everyone on our blog!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 package graham crackers

1 cup pecan pieces ( I prefer the large pecan pieces)

1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Melt butter.  Add sugar and boil for 2 minutes.  Line a jelly roll pan with graham crackers and pour the butter and sugar mixture over the crackers.  Spread the pecan pieces evenly over the crackers and sprinkle with the sea salt.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  Cool and break or cut into triangles.  Mmmmm…. This pecan treat is something to really enjoy as it will not last long!  For the chocolate lover you could add a few chocolate chips over the top before baking.  Hope all enjoy!

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Pecan News for July

Summertime is truly here…hot and humid!  Mark has just completed our fourth scab spray of the Natchitoches Pecans’ 2013 pecan growing season.  An insecticide was included in this fourth spray as well to control  second generation pecan casebearer moths.  There are always limbs to  picked up in a pecan orchard so our crew tidies up the orchard floor every few weeks.  Our pecan orchard has gotten a couple of nice rains the past month.  With the nuts beginning to size up the orchard will need some substantial rains in the near future to ensure big full pecans come pecan harvest time.

Mark attended the annual Tri-State Pecan Conference in Vicksburg, Mississippi in late June.  He got to catch up with his pecan buddies as well as tour Raymond Smith’s pecan orchard that is currently being leased and renovated by Bill and Matt Goff.  The meeting has always been concluded with the “Official Ben Littlepage Pecan Crop Guesstimate”.  This year’s Littlepage prediction was 222 million pounds for the United States, which would be the shortest crop since 2008.  One thing we have learned through our 28 years in this “nutty pecan business” is that a short crop tends to get shorter while a large crop tends to get bigger – Best to not count yo pecans till you get them in the sack and sold!  All for now….gotta get back to the pecan orchard to watch those nuts grow!!!

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Growing Pecans in June

This pecan growing season is moving right along.  Mark has just finished applying our third scab spray.   The amount of damage caused by pecan scab varies according to each growing season and cultivar.  Pecan scab is our most costly expense during most growing seasons since our orchard is over 50% of Desirable cultivar and Desirable is not resistant to scab.  Pecan scab thrives in moist humid conditions and if not controlled both pecan yield and pecan quality are affected.  Louisiana is well known for humid conditions.  Stuart and Elliott cultivars are somewhat scab resistant which is a blessing.  New plantings of  Sumner cultivar are scab resistant also.

Within  the next couple of weeks it will be time to spray for Second Generation Pecan Casebearer…always something to monitor and do at this nut farm to bring you great quality pecans…must be why we tend to all be NUTS around here!!!

 

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May In The Pecan Orchard – Pecan Casebearer Moth

The month of May is quite busy in the pecan orchard at Little Eva Plantation. Well to tell the truth – all twelve months of the year are busy! One thing so important in May is the correct timing of an insecticide spray to control the pesky pecan casebearer moth. These moths will lay eggs on the tiny pecan nutlets and when these eggs hatch one larvae can consume all of the cluster.

One casebearer larvae can destroy this entire cluster of tiny nutlets.

One casebearer larvae can destroy this entire cluster of tiny nutlets.

The moths usually start showing up in May as the weather begins warming up. Mark hangs the casebearer traps from the pecan trees in different areas of the orchard .  The traps have phermone bait in them that attract the moths. Mark monitors the traps daily and when he starts seeing the moth count start to significantly increase, he checks the weather forecast, orders the necessary chemicals, fuels up his tractor and pecan sprayer and goes to spraying. It usually takes two to three days to completely cover all the orchard. However, we have been having 10-25 mph winds on most days this May so Mark has had to spray a lot at night when the wind dies down.  A fungicide and a mixture of micro nutrients was  included in this spray too.  The fungicide will help to control scab.  The micro nutrients will be absorbed by the leaves and contribute to a healthier tree.   It is so important to take good care of the pecan trees so that the trees will produce very good quality fancy pecans that we make available on our website and at our retail store for purchase.

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Spring in the Pecan Orchard

It is hard to believe Spring is finally here!  As always things are always busy in the pecan orchard.  The pecan trees are have been pushing noticeable leaf growth out daily.  Male catkins are showing up from top to bottom of each tree.  Catkins release pollen when mature.  Female flowers will be showing up soon.  We will monitor female flowers closely as the amount of female flowers can be a good indication as to a heavy crop, light crop or NO crop of pecans for this season.  Mark has planted most of our 2 year old pecan trees – we try and replant anywhere from 75 to 125 trees each year.  We lose some trees from year to year due to wind damage, disease, and lightning.  Some of our trees are slowly dying from damage from back to back hurricanes – Rita and Ike.   All for now – gotta ride my horse under the pecan trees –  I so love this Nut Farm!