The term nut is popularly applied to a number of hard-shelled fruit and seeds. My college botany book describes a nut as "a one-seed, indehiscent dry fruit with a hard or stony pericarp, the shell." In Utah, nuts produced better this season than they have in many years. The absence of spring frost plus the long growing season produced an abundant harvest.
Nut trees serve as large shade trees and provide a harvest. Utah nuts (at least on the trees) include almonds, filberts, walnuts and occasionally pecans. Consider the large nut trees a part of the landscape, rather than the orchard, because they take so much room. Nut trees can be grown as ornamentals out of their hardness zone but may not produce crops in those areas. Almonds and pecans require long, hot summers to fill their shells, even if the tree flowers normally. Large nut trees require a professional pest control applicator, as homeowner equipment is not adequate to reach the tree tops.Almonds are relatives of peaches. They grow to about the size of a peach tree and are trained about the same way. Grow them in well-drained soils and in warm areas with little danger from spring frost. They are the earliest blooming deciduous trees; if you seldom get apricots, don't plant almonds. The immature nuts are even more frost-tender than the blossoms.
Harvest almonds after the hulls have cracked open or partially dried. Nuts can be knocked or shaken from the tree or allowed to fall but must be harvested before fall rains. Remove the hulls from the outside and allow the nuts to dry in the sun for several days. When kernels rattle in their shells, they are dry enough for storage and will store up to six months in a cool, dry place.
Filberts also do well in our area. For best growth, train the filbert as a large shrub similar in shape to a lilac. Crops may be light and unpredictable, but they still make beautiful plants with interesting blossoms. All filberts require pollinizers, so plant two. They need little if any pruning to assume a lovely, graceful shape. Gather nuts as they fall to the ground, dry and store them.
Pecan trees are large and beautiful specimens reaching 100 feet in height. Pecans grow in Salt Lake Valley, but nut production is low most years. Pollinators are required, so plant two of these giants. Nuts must be shaken down or allowed to fall and be picked up regularly. Remove meats from the hulls as soon as possible.
Walnuts also grow very large. Black walnuts grow well, but the difficulty of cracking them makes them unpopular. English walnuts come in many different varieties, but the Carpathian strains, originating from the Carpathian mountains of Eastern Europe, are the hardiest. They grow 40-60 feet high with a similar spread. English walnuts are self-fertilizing, so one tree is ample for most gardens. Walnuts routinely develop aphid problems. This does not destroy the nuts, but never plant them where they will drip on sidewalks, automobiles or other structures.
Mature nuts fall naturally when the green hulls crack open or split. Better quality nuts are obtained if they are harvested when the nuts are mature but the hulls are still intact. Remove hulls and rinse with water to remove the tannin that stains the shells, then dry them in the sun. If the kernels break cleanly when bent, they are ready for storage. Walnut hulls often adhere tightly to the shell because of walnut husk fly damage. The husk fly does not normally damage the nuts, but harvesting and hulling the nuts is much easier without the worms.
Chestnuts should be able to grow in northern Utah. These trees reach 40 feet with beautiful spreading leaves and interesting nuts. American chestnuts were a common native tree but were victimized by chestnut blight. This disease does not occur west of the Rocky Mountains, so chestnuts here might not be affected. European, Chinese and Japanese chestnuts should also grow here. My own experience with them has been rather limited. I tried one in my garden, but the heavy, clay, alkaline soil caused severe iron chlorosis, and the tree did not survive the first winter. I would be interested in hearing from any readers who have grown edible chestnuts successfully in this area. Write me in care of the Deseret News, P.O. Box 1267, Salt Lake City, UT 84110. Of course, the common horse chestnut grows very well here, but the nuts are not edible, so don't write about them!
Nuts are great additions to the landscape and the backyard orchard. Make sure you have the room and the ability to care for the large trees. Pick a planting site carefully to avoid problems with spring frost and early frost in the fall. Growing nuts is interesting and provides welcome treats for winter nights.