Not one of the more easy kinds unless climate etc. are very suitable. First question is why, specifically pears died and how this might affect replacement plantings. Second is are almond trees hardy in Utah. And also will you be able to keep up with the crop, including protecting it from rodents and other humans, including those that might object to a mess in a public area - in Seattle there have been regulations in the past prohibiting the planting of orchard fruits on public streets. Although, of course, people do it anyway, probably most of the time not even being aware that street tree plantings are supposed to be run by the city arborist beforehand.

I'd like to suggest the book "Not Milk... NUT MILKS!" by Candia Lea Cole if you are interested in making your own nut milks (cost savings - and fresh always seems to be best). She has some really great "milks" in her book besides the run-of-the-mill almond milk. Along with rice, there are other grain milks you can make (spelt, wheat, oats). Use a variety of nuts and even sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds for non-dairy milks. You can also fortify your non-dairy "milk" products with things like mesquite meal, flaxmeal, chia seeds...which all have health benefits. Just two ounces of Chia seeds contain 600 mg of Calcium, compared with 120 mg for milk and they are high in other minerals (including Boron) helpful for bone health. Oat milk, although pretty tasty, great on cereal, has more protein than rice milk, but doesn't work well in cooking/baking. Rice milk doesn't work well in cooking/baking either. Hemp milk has enough protein to work fairly well in cooking. The protein content, and the type of protein, is where you may find you miss milk in cooking and baking. Milk proteins coagulate or precipate to form a solid clot or curd under certain circumstances. Some sauces may work well using a non-dairy milk substitute, some won't. To make pudding you will need to use a thickener like arrowroot, agar-agar or cornstarch. Almond Milk Pudding is actually very easy to make and you can find recipes on-line. Milk, in bread and many baked goods, is a tenderizer, adds protein and contributes to crust color, and you may miss some of those attributes, but it depends on how much milk you are substituting in any given recipe and what it contributes to the recipe. Look at the labels of the commercial non-dairy milks. Some of them are so loaded with ingredients to thicken and fortify it, and who knows what else, I'd tend to make my own. There may also be a down-side - there are many allergens associated with the nut milks, and many people who may be sensitive to avenin protein found in oats should avoid oat milk. If you are also avoiding butter, may I suggest coconut oil. It works not only in cooking and baking, but you can also use it as a bread-spread. You will find lots of recipes for using nut/seed/grain milks if you visit raw food sites, or check out vegan recipes. Sometimes it's easier to use recipes designed for those ingredients, to get accustomed to them, then start incorporating it into your favorite recipes. As a YUMMY non-dairy substitute for yogurt I have been fermenting coconut milk with real kefir grains, just like I make kefir with milk. I use coconut milk from reconstituted coconut milk powder. If you don't like the taste of coconut, this won't be a good substitute for you. Be sure to share more of your personal experiences using non-dairy milk alternatives. I, for one, would be interested in hearing your real experiences.... -Grainlady

The pulp will still be just damp enough to pack together, kinda' like clay, but still crumble under pressure. You shouldn't see any visible moisture if pressed. What is left? Fat, protein, fiber, and much of the nutrition. I like to dry nut pulp at a fairly low heat - 125-degrees F and under. It dries fairly quickly and works in nearly any recipe that calls for almond flour. I dry it on the fruit roll-up sheets. I usually make it finer after it's completely dry by placing it in a mini food processor (if necessary - not all recipes require fine almond flour, but most do). You could also place it in a bag and roll it with a rolling pin into a finer flour just by rolling the clumpy mixture. You can also use raw pulp and make a number of things like "cereal", crackers, snack foods, and a whole lot of other interesting things. Many will be dehydrated at a fairly low temperature - especially if you follow RAW food recipes - and raw foods recipes are a great resource. Some of the recipes I've gleaned, and you can find these and more on-line: -Almond Pulp Freezer Fudge -Almond Pulp Crackers -Raw Almond Pulp Cookies -Almond Pulp Crunch -Homemade Almond Butter (but you need a high-speed blender like a Vitamix) -Almond Pulp Breakfast Power Bread -Cinnamon Peanut Butter Almond Pulp Crackers The link below is a great place to find recipes using almond flour. Honeyville Grain Almond Flour is superior to homemade, but homemade is soooooooo much cheaper. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Elanas Pantry

They make good seed/plant starters. They hold enough soil to get good root growth on the plants before setting them out. And you tear off the carton when planting, no tipping plants out of pots, losing soil or damaging roots. I also use them them with some of my concrete projects. Among other things they make good molds for edging "bricks". I have a friend who filled them with concrete and used the resulting "brick" vertically to support and hide an ugly raised bed in her garden.