“The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn't still be a farmer.” - Will Rogers

It's time to get ready for our green walnut harvest. Though actual harvesting won't begin for a while, I've promised our customers that I would keep them informed of our progress here on my blog. The picture on the left shows the walnut catkins in early to middle April. They somewhat resemble miniature pine cones at this stage, only 1 inch in length. The picture on the far right was taken just days ago, April 28th. Notice the cluster of male catkins. They are about three inches long and bear a large number of closely packed, minute developing flowers.

When asked the question, "When can we order?" or "How many pounds will we be able to put up online at our LocalHarvest storefront?" I have to answer, "it depends." My El Dorado County Master Gardener friends will understand the significance of that answer! It didn't look like the catkins were ready to release pollen and the female flowers weren't yet fully developed, so the recent rains and cold weather probably didn't compromise pollination. Will Rogers was right. We are optimists.

108 Years Later - The Work Continues

30 years ago this summer, my father built a little cabin on the southwestern-most corner of the original ranch. 6 acres of Franquette walnut trees were put in by my parents, Paul and Alice Clary, shortly after. Each year, after we harvested the BIG orchard, we would harvest "our" orchard. Over the years, as more and more of our spare time was required on the BIG orchard, "our" little orchard was a bit neglected. What would we do? Read more about how a dream to keep the ranch for another hundred years led us to green walnut harvests on our website: www.claryridgeranch.com

We are busy fertilizing and tending to the trees that aren't so little anymore. They yielded a small but healthy green harvest this past June. We sold them locally and via LocalHarvest. There is a market for these green walnuts, throughout the United States and even Canada. You can make your own with our green walnuts, but we believe you'll love Clary Ridge Ranch Vin de Noix, made in collaboration with my brother, Paul Clary, Owner and Winemaker of Clary Ranch Wines.