Almonds for Backyards in the Mojave Desert

Probably the two varieties I would chose for almond production in backyards are 'Garden Prince' and 'All-in-One'. 

Almonds are some of the first fruit trees to bloom in the spring. Traditionally almonds have a white flower but the 'Garden Prince' variety has a purple hue to its color.

The nuts taste the same in my opinion (they are both sweet almonds), not the same flavors you can get from other parts of the world which focus on nut production and flavor. But both 'Garden Prince' and 'All in One' varieties stay small. There is a marketing push right now more for planting 'All-in-One' than 'Garden Prince'. Not sure of the reason but I suspect it has to do with MONEY. Just a hunch :-).

 Probably if I were to get a standard sized almond I would get 'Nonpariel' and keep it smaller through heavy pruning each winter.

Fresh market in Khujand, Tajikistan, with all the different types of nuts available. Here the different types of almonds ranged from sweet to bitter with many different types of flavors.

Almonds in the US are focused on the sweet types of almonds. Bitter almonds are ignored due to taste preferences. 

Almond selections from a major wholesale almond grower in the US.

Some of these bitter types are "dual purpose" and the fruit can be used (resembling apricots) and the nut can be consumed. Reminds me of the days at the University Orchard in North Las Vegas when I just could not get all of our almonds shelled for fresh market. So I made the decision to market them with their husks still attached....yes, the fruit. We sold it as a novelty item at reduced prices (which in actuality resulted in better profits due to no labor involved and the "oddity" of fresh almonds sold in their dried fruit (husk). People did could not believe they were almonds and bought them out of curiosity to "show their kids". 

Some almond trees can get big (up to 30 feet tall) while others remain smaller from semi-dwarfing rootstocks or by breeding. Contrary to some information on the web, the most popular dwarf and semi-dwarf almonds ('All-in-One' and 'Garden Prince') are due to plant breeding and not rootstocks. So for backyard production the smaller dwarf and semi-dwarf types are preferred.

Another picture of the market in Khujand and the varied selection of almonds, both sweet and bitter as well as dried grapes (raisins), yes, even the famous Afghan variety, 'Kismet'. Kismet is taken from the Persian word as well as the grape.

Planting of Almonds

Plant in the spring or fall months when it is cooler. Ignore the temptation to plant when it is hot. I have had luck planting as early as the end of January (early peaches will start to flower the first week of February and later varieties throughout the month). The hole is pre-dug the day before purchasing the tree so that it is AT LEAST  three times the width of any container it might come in (digging deep is not necessary unless there is a drainage problem). If it is bareroot, then make sure the hole three foot in diameter. 

Desert soil low in organics needed by nearly all plants. So add organics or compost to enrich the soil at the time of planting.

Desert soils are usually low in organics so if the color of the soil is light brown to tan then add one shovel full of organics, such as compost, together with three shovelfuls of the soil taken from the hole. If this advice is ignored then use a pre-plant soil mix such as Viragrow's Garden Soil Mix. If a rich soil mix like Viragrow's is used, no pre-plant fertilizer (high in the middle number, phosphorus) is needed. High quality compost is all inclusive and high in phosphorus. No additional fertilizer is needed. But if you create your own soil mix or plant without it then mix with it either bone meal or MAP fertilizer at the time of planting. Use lots of water when planting and stake the tree before trusting your irrigation system.

Growth of Almond Trees

Sometimes almond trees grow slowly, die or dieback after planting. This is not what should happen!

Sometimes almonds are planted too deep or any surface mulch  can cause problems with young trees.

Check to make sure it was planted at the correct depth or that woodchip mulch has caused the trunk some problems. Pull all mulch away from small trees about a foot after planting and keep it there!

Pests of Almonds

Pests of almonds in southern Nevada arent nearly as involved as they are in almond (pronounced regionally as a' mund without the "L" sound) production areas of California. Primarily it is due to our isolation from that growing region.

Aphids on almonds. Aphids like to hit up fruit trees from their overwintering locations oftentimes at the base of trees. That's one of the reasons why dormant oil applications can be so terribly important on fruit trees in particular.

Sapsucker (woodpecker) damage on 'Neplus Ultra' Almond in North Las Vegas

Probably root weevil damage on the leaves of almond. Not sure 100% since they come out at night to feed. It can be seen on ornamental trees and shrubs as well.

Ground squirrels can harvest the nuts from the tree overnight. They do this by cracking open the husk and shell and taking the nut.

Sometimes we see some squiggly sap coming from the nuts when they are immature. This can be from feeding damage by insects with piercing-sucking mouthparts (like the leaffooted plant bug or stinkbugs which are quite common in the spring or even diseases.

This feeding on young almonds results in what are called 'Blanks' or almonds that are empty of a nut. This shriveled nut can be left inside the otherwise empty husk and shell.

It takes about three years before you start harvesting the nuts from the trees if all goes well.