2009 Harvest is Here!
It’s finally here! Today we “knocked” the first variety of almond trees.
The process of shaking the almond trees is still referred to as knocking because before the days of big machines, the trees were literally knocked by hand with rubber mauls.
Briden with a maul knocking almonds by hand.
The actually knocking/shaking of the trees goes pretty quickly. Each tree is shaken for only a few seconds, and it’s like a shower of almonds falling to the ground. It really is fun to see in action. If you watch closely, you can actually see the branches raise up (even though they look like a blur) as the weight of the almonds (still inside the shells with the hulls attached) is removed.
Next we’ll be raking, blowing, and sweeping the almonds into windrows so they can be picked up by the harvester. Harvesting almonds and irrigating the trees during harvest is a very manual process. The almonds need to stay dry while they’re on the ground. If they get wet, they will become discolored, and can even get moldy if allowed to stay wet for too long. Harvest demands long hours of tedious labor, but the reward is worth it! Who wouldn’t be satisfied with a handfull of fresh crunchy almonds?!
Almond tree shaker in action.
August 17th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Oh,oh—sorry I’m not there to help :o)
August 17th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Tom, Thanks for posting these harvest videos. We love your almonds and it’s very fun to see the process of what goes on “back at the farm.” Thanks too for the free shippping offer. That’s a nice little bonus. Ron Hutton