The Dog Days of Summer are upon us here at the Farm. Zenithland is always HOT n the summer but late August can be absolutely stifling with all the heat and humidity that only middle Georgia can provide. These final summer days on the Farm are filled with tractors slowly mowing rows and rows in pecan orchards, hammers and saws working on building renovations and vehicle repairs as well as farmers spending time in pecan orchards with their eyes pointed skyward checking on the progress of the new crop. Right now the pecans are still in the shucks but their shells are completely developed. Inside those shucks, the shells are full of water which is turning into oil that will eventually become a delicious pecan. The trees at Pearson Farm are looking full which means we are anticipating a good crop.
You might be asking yourself, "Why post pictures of orchards with limbs on the ground if the season is looking so good?" Here's the answer..... A good crop can be a blessing and a curse. When the pecan shells have reached maturity and are full of water like they are now, the limbs are super heavy. In fact, they are the heaviest they will be all season. You take trees with a good crop of nuts, plus all their leaves, add in some rain and a little wind, you end up with orchards that have limbs on the ground like these pictured. We must do our best to prune the trees when they are younger to make them less susceptible to breakage, and we need to cut the limbs off the trees as quickly as we see them down so the limbs won't tear and cause damage to the tree. The nuts that were growing on these limbs are lost since they will never reach maturity. However, as crazy as it looks and sounds, scenes like this are a good sign that the 2017 Pecan Crop will be a good one.We are still several weeks away from this crop reaching full maturity. Until then, we will keep looking up in those magnificent branches. We will pray for good weather, and maybe even sit back and enjoy some of the sights and sounds of the Farm, as it is preparing for harvest.........
