It’s raining nuts
A macadamia tree can be a gift that keeps on giving
Our neighbour in Chintsa East, Bjarne Backlund, is going nuts trying to cope with the fruit “raining” down from his macadamia tree.
The problem is he has so many nuts which fall as they ripen, there are too many for his kitchen or to share with friends.
And there is going to be much more activity in the Backlund garden for the next five months because the nut harvesting season begins in March and continues through to July.
BJ said 2024 has been a bumper crop year of what is believed to be the most expensive nut in South Africa.
This now 6m-high macadamia nut tree has certainly proved itself to be a gift that keeps on giving. It was a 50th birthday present from BJ’s late brother, Neil, 25 years ago.
Neil was a much-loved character with a sense of humour who sadly passed away last year.
He’s probably enjoying a huge chuckle from heaven as he watches BJ dodge the nuts pelleting down at random as he walks under the tree.
Every morning BJ and Jenny Backlund waken to a new crop of fallen nuts.
Things have got out of control. Especially as they do not know of an outlet for these rich, crunchy buttery nuts appreciated for their culinary use or simply for eating as a snack.
“There is no use cutting off the nuts from the tree. You have to wait for them to fall,” said BJ, who has experimented with this, finding if the nuts aren’t ready to be cracked open, they are white inside, rather than a ripe chocolate brown.
The ripe freshly fallen nuts are enclosed in a green casing which breaks open when it is ready to reveal the perfectly round chocolate brown shell. The hard shell needs to be cracked to reach the nut inside.
That in itself is a problem because if you use a rock or hammer to crack the shell open the nut inside breaks. Hence BJ’s experiment with a vice from his workshop.
“This works but it is time-consuming,” he said.
If you can find a way to get around this, your macadamia tree could be a worthwhile investment.
BJ told of the high value of the oil extracted from macadamia nuts.
“A cupful of cold pressed macadamia oil has a market price of about R70. It is valued for its light nutty flavour and that it is high in monounsaturated fats.”
The oil has a “high smoke point” which means it can withstand high temperatures, making it ideal for searing and sautéing.
It can also be used for hightemperature cooking without smoking or developing a rancid flavour.
That macadamia nut growing has caught on in the Eastern Cape can be seen not too far from home.
Fields where a pineapple plantation was once planted near Kidds Beach outside East London have been redeveloped with plantings of macadamia nut trees.
Macadamia nut trees originate from the subtropical regions of Australia.
They are an adaptable tree which can be grown in parts of South Africa which receive good summer rainfall, high humidity in summer and little or no frost.
Because it is difficult to tell the difference between mature and immature nuts, farmers either pick up the nuts from the floor beneath the tree or use mechanical shakers to shake the mature nuts onto nets.
If macadamia nut trees are grown in the right climate they need very little attention to thrive.
BJ’s tips on growing a macadamia tree
Though there are ideal ways of planting a macadamia tree to ensure its harvest, laid back and obviously green-fingered BJ did not bother with this.
“I just dug a planting hole and put it in. No fertiliser or any growth enhancers were added to the hole,” he said.
The tree has since shot up but was only 30cm tall on planting.
“It produced nuts twice a year since it was just five years old,” said Jenny, BJ’s wife, who heads for the dense shade it provides with a deck chair when she needs to escape the summer heat.
Looking closely at their macadamia tree we noticed that just a single flower had already appeared.
The flowers are self-pollinating. Growing more than one tree will give you a bigger harvest and you can also increase the crop by growing plants that attract butterflies, bees and other pollinators in the area.
BJ’s tree had been grafted, which means it matured more quickly than those that are grown from seed. Grafted trees begin producing nuts within four to five years after planting.
Advice on planting
Dig a hole twice the size of the root ball. Fill it with water, allowing it to soak away before lowering the young tree into the hole.
Fill in around it with good quality soil. Tramp it down around the plant with your feet.
If you wish to plant more than one tree allow a spacing of 6 to 10 metres and keep the rows just on 11 metres apart.
Stake the tree on planting to secure it and protect it from strong winds.
Pruning
While the macadamia tree is young, you can prune it to shape. Once the leader shoot is about one metre in length, snip it at the top to promote branching out at the sides.
Pruning the tree also accelerates growth and fruit production.
Take care not to prune off too much foliage as it could result in vigorous regrowth and a lack in the crop of nuts forming.
Also, prune off any diseased or damaged branches or those extending too far out of the “tree shape”.
As it grows prune upward to about one metre or more from the base to make it easier to gather fallen nuts.
If you’ve planted a grafted tree, you should get a good-size harvest in about three years. By the seventh year, you will be getting big yields.