If there is anything more southern than a pecan pie, it’s a pecan tree. As a southern gardener, you haven’t arrived until you’ve grown at least one.
Not only does a pecan tree give nuts for good eating, but it also provides welcome summer shade.
The roots do not compete too much with nearby plantings, and the fallen leaves disintegrate so quickly that raking is a minor chord.
Choosing The Right Pecan Tree
When you choose a pecan tree, make sure of quality nuts by buying a budded tree—a named and proven variety grafted on a seedling rootstock.
The choice of variety is a regional matter—some kinds do better in one area than in another.
Ask the advice of a reliable pecan nursery or consult your agricultural experiment station. If you have space for only one tree, select a self-fertile variety.
In the Lower and Mid South, pecans begin to grow and bloom late in the spring. But the old superstition that winter is over when the pecan starts leafing out is untrue.
The trees have no built-in antenna to sense when the damaging cold is over, and in our Mississippi garden, they have often been caught by a cold spell that nipped the buds and reduced the yearly crop.
Growing Conditions For Pecan Trees
Pecans grow best in fertile sandy loam over a clay subsoil. They do not like a high water table and won’t grow on wet crawfish land, although they’ll grow right on the edge of it as some of ours do.
Pecan Tree Care
Young trees begin to bear about five years after planting. It takes years for them to reach their full spread of 50′ to 70′ feet, but long before then, you will enjoy their majestic beauty, cooling shade, and delicious nuts.
In spring, pour a complete fertilizer into holes poked into the ground beneath the tips of the branches. This spurs luxuriant growth and results in a large crop of nuts.
You can get a fairly good crop of pecans from a lawn tree that gets little care. Some giant-sized trees on our sandy soil have never been sprayed or given any special care.
During the 1947 hurricane, our prize tree was uprooted and nearly thrown to the ground. We propped it up, and gradually, its branches grew upright again in a most picturesque manner.
Pecan Pie Recipe
Considerable rivalry exists over prized pecan recipes. This takes two forms—either the recipe is a closely guarded family secret, or it is pressed upon everyone to try at least once.
Here is a recipe for southern pecan pie I hope you’ll try at least once:
- 3 eggs well beaten
- 1 tablespoon melted oleo or butter
- 1 1/2 cups blended syrup (Karo or cane)
- 1 teaspoonful vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoonful salt
Mix ingredients. Line the pie plate with your favorite pastry dough rolled thin. Pour the uncooked mixture into the pie shell.
Spread 1 1/2 cups of cut pecans over the contents. Bake in a moderate oven (350°) until approximately 40 minutes.
44659 by Frances Jolisan