This is what a pecan looks like in May.

 
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A Trip to Pecan Land

Mr. Pape is extremely knowledgeable about all phases of the production of pecans so it was a learning experience with him.  He also has a large nutcracker collection which you can view at the Pape Pecan House. 

Pecan is the singular tree nut that is native only to the United States.  The early settlers found them along the rivers, and the pecan became a part of their regular diet.  A pecan tree can grow to the age of 500 years, and have a spread of 120 feet!  They are used in yards and parks because they make wonderful shade trees as well as providing delicious nuts.  The city park of Seguin will produce 200,000 pounds of pecans each year to be enjoyed by the residents!

Planted pecan trees in orchards are grafted to produce a larger and finer nut, and these trees will blossom in March.  The nuts will ripen beginning in September, and the outer husk splits open to show the nut.  Then the task of harvesting the nuts begins. 

The ground under the trees is cleared of sticks, leaves and loose dirt, and then the ground smoothed and packed with heavy rollers.  The “shaker” then comes into play.  A gigantic arm reaches out from a large tractor, and clamps onto the base of the tree.  As it shakes the three, the nuts fall to the ground.  Then a “harvester”, which is like a large lawn sweeper, picks up the nuts.  They are loaded onto trailers, and taken to the packing shed.  Here they are dumped into a holding bin, then they are cleaned and sorted.  They are even washed if necessary!

After they are cleaned, they are sorted, and any bad nut is discarded (or bagged to be used to feed the squirrels). The nuts to be sold in the shells are then bagged.  If they are to be shelled, they go to a “sizer” where they roll past holes that get larger and larger in size.  The nuts will fall through the holes and into bags.

In the shelling room, the nuts move up a conveyer belt to a large machine which will crack the nuts with quick strikes simultaneously from both ends.  The nuts will fall into a container, then onto conveyer belts to the sorting tables where women in white aprons and caps finish removing the shells, to make a perfect half.  Again they are sized and bagged, and put in cold storage for later shipment to stores all around the  world.

Arlene Wagner, the Nutcracker Lady

Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum
735 Front Street, P. O. Box 129  Leavenworth, WA 98826
(509) 548-4573