Another DID YOU KNOW .....

So, I checked out the river this morning.  Huge is the only word for it now.  It hasn’t overflowed the north (town side) bank but it is water as far as can be seen looking southwest.  The Colorado is standing at 43 feet and still rising.  The prediction is for 50 feet which we could still see. 

I walked around my yard.  Ick.  Major yard work ahead.  Branches of all sizes EVERYWHERE! 

Some of my plants, normally as tall as I am, are laying down on the ground from yesterday’s wind and rain. 

 

I am cursed (sometimes blessed) with 7 (SEVEN – the number after 6) large pecan trees (no, no other trees in my yard, just 7 pecan trees).  I say cursed because while they can produce pecans,  like this, that doesn’t happen every year or every other year or even every 3^rd year.  

And pecans are huge trash trees.  As soon as the young pecans start to grow, the squirrels start eating the green nuts, then drop shells and husks all over the place.  The tree shivers and shakes and dislodges the green nuts.  They drop smallish branches all the damn time.  And, they “self prune” by dropping large branches whenever they feel like it.  Too little water, too much water, wind, cold, looked at sideways ---  drop branches.

Then there are those pesky squirrels.  They will dig in my potted plants, throw out the plant in favor of a burying a pecan.  And the pecans will come up in in the pot and every flower bed or part of yard with absolutely no encouragement.   Aaaaarrrggghhh!!!   I have already cut down or dug up a forest of pecan trees.

So here’s the DID YOU KNOW part …….

"for best results when growing pecan trees, the pecan nut should be soaked in aerated water for two days prior to stratification. Nuts are placed in a container and covered with tap water. An airstone connected to a small aquarium air pump is placed in the bottom of the container. The aeration is important, otherwise the nuts will soon use up the oxygen in the water and die. After pre-soaking, the nuts should be packed in a moist material in a container that has drainage holes.  Moist sand or sawdust are traditional packing materials. The container should be kept cold, preferably between 36°F and 42°F for three months. It is important that the nuts not be allowed to dry out and that they be protected from warm temperatures, otherwise the stratification process will be delayed or even reversed. Nuts are planted outside in February or March, but not before their three months stratification is completed. Nuts are planted 3 inches deep in hills of three directly where the tree is wanted. The hills should be marked with a stake so you can find the seedlings later. Thin to one tree per hill after the first year..Seedlings will grow very slowly the first two or three years, but will develop a taproot and extensive root system during this time." 

 Right.  All I can say is, whoever wrote the above, doesn't live in southeast Texas.

Take care 
p