Pecan Picker

3 gallons of pecans

As you may know, I love pecans. From the age of seven to eighteen, We lived in two places that each had a dozen or so pecan trees. When I was a teen, I would hear pecans pouring from one bucket to another in my sleep. It was intense. People are amazed I can pick the good from bad pecans without cracking the pecan first.

 

I was young and lithe and needed no assistance to bend an pick hour after hour of my own volition, never pressured to pick more. Now, I have a new device to help me.

Tool in use, picking up pecans
about $12

Three or four years ago, I picked up 75 lbs of free pecans. I bent from the waist, not easily, but not in pain. I bought a tool to help for the next year. The next year, I had few pecans because there was just no crop at my free trees. Last year, I bought pecan halves. This year, I am finding a few pecans. My goal is 5 gallons of pecans for the year. So far, I am over 3 gallons toward my goal--maybe less. The harvest is not over.

at the house behind my neighbor

I let exbf use the tool because he has more trouble than I bending over and reaching to the ground. He is overdue for a hip replacement. He enjoyed using the picker. Okay, that is what I am telling myself. We went to a pecan orchard on semi-public property and ate a picnic lunch and did not find one pecan. I spent 5 minutes under pecan trees and called it a day, a waste as far as pecans at that location goes.

We went to the house behind my neighbor. I let him use the pecan picker because he had a harder time bending to the ground than I do. He is about three years overdue for a hip replacement.

When we finished, he had picked up 56 pecans in the picker. I never count pecans, but I was curious as to how many the picker would hold. So, he counted them for me. For a person not suffering with back or hip o other orthopedic problems, picking up pecans is good exercise.


Just press the end on the pecan and it pops through the little blades. Then, to get the pecans out, you just hold the picker over a bucket and use fingers to pull it apart. That part is sort of a pain and the skill gets easier with practice.

springs, hinges, blades--works well to capture pecans
When full, hold it over a  bucket or bag and pull back the black metal rods

When I bought the picker, the guy went into the back and got a rubber cane tip to the top end. He said it makes it more comfortable to press over and over again. He is right. You can see that in the full picture of the picker.

Even if I planted a pecan tree today, I would not see many pecans from harvests. Do you have a pecan tree?

Your turn
Have you ever used a pecan picker, or do you own one? Do you have a pecan tree?