PS~ You Can Add "Interesting" Succulents & Water Garden Plants & Starts Of Trees / Plants Suitable For Bonsai To My Want List Just NO Cactus Of Any Kind Haven't been able to walk right for a week After stepping on one of my last two cactus bare foot I Hate Cactus LOL PEACE...

Sounds like a winner. Mine gives about 3 crops a year. When the flowers form, and the bees finish pollinating them, there will be a lot of little "sticks" left hanging on the tree. Don't despair! They will soon show signs of having little bumps that form on the sticks, which will grow, and grow, and produce a green - golf ball shaped hull, filled with a brown nut inside. When this drops from the tree, and usually with a split outer hull, it is time to harvest. I save them until there are enough to dry - I put them in the bottom of my oven (I have a warmer drawer - usually used for bread and bun warming), but the oven on low - with door propped open, could also be used (as for drying fruit, etc.). The macadamia has a reputation for being a hard nut to crack, so I find the drying technique helps considerably to loosen the nut from the wall of the shell (somewhat!). But when I have enough saved up to take the time, I use a hammer, a brick and a pointed knife - find a nice place in the shade of my garden, and crack the nuts. It is difficult to get a whole nut out intact, with that method, but as I will only be using them ground up anyway, it isn't that important. If one were going into the chocolate covered macadamia business, then I would suggest something a bit more sophisticated, a nut cracker perhaps (strong one). When I have finished cracking all that I can, I store them in half pint freezer containers and freeze them until ready for use. When ready to use, I place the amount in a toaster oven and brown slightly, carefully - as they can burn easily. Then grind in my food processor until the right consistency for my recipe. And - that's all there is to it. Macadamias are fun - they like it here. Just my 2 c's. Bejay

Aloha Sandpounder, Lisa, Ilima and Farmfreedom, It is beginning to sound like pistachios might be the next nut tree I'll try in the back yard. The health food store sells them "raw" so I'll get a few and plant them and see if they sprout. Hmm, anybody know if they are a hybrid and if they self-pollinate? Thanks for the peanut idea, Ilima. When I finally get the official garden (it still needs a fence to keep out chickens and a hose bibb installed for watering) put together, then I will have a space for peanuts. Until then, maybe they could grow in the flower bed by the house? Do they take up a lot of room? Farmfreedom, those are some good ideas, however not all of them would work in Hawaii. We have difficulties getting things such as chestnuts, walnuts and filberts cold enough in the winter. Actually, there are a LOT of mainland plants and trees we don't have enough "chill hours" for. We can't get them cold enough for them to flower and set fruit. Most apples, peaches, pears and cherries can't be grown here. There are about three varieties of apple and peaches which can be grown, but we have to be really selective and get a "low chill" cultivar or they don't get enough chill hours. Peonies and lilacs are two more which don't survive, although I've ordered a "low chill" lilac which I hope will live and produce flowers. The Big Island of Hawaii has most of the climates available on the planet, but they are only in small spots on the island and no one spot has all the climates. I'm down near the ocean in an area with dirt and rain so it is a better growing area than most. However, I don't have the winter time cold and we do have some ferocious snails, insects, fungus and molds to deal with as well as the occasional nematode and those pesky chickens, too. A hui hou, Cathy

New leaves are a good sign. Acclimatising slowly for sun is the way to go. Soil varies a lot across my place, this area is notorious for that. Where the Macadamia is it's a sort of lateritic gravel overlaying a fine type of "clay-like" soil. The "clay" doesn't retain water except during the wet season, really a matter of the water table being high. During the dry season it sets like concrete. The tree's about 3 metres tall, so not big. But it's in an awkward position. What I'm planning is using my tractor. I have a couple of augers (post hole drillers) and can drill a series of holes around the tree. After joining up the holes I can wrap the soil/root mass and lift the lot out. That's the theory, anyway. But I need to prepare where it's going to go.