Archive for the ‘Natchitoches Pecan Company News’ Category

Natchitoches Pecans, Inc. announces beginning of Fall 2011 harvest season and introduces new Praline Pecans

 

Family-run Natchitoches Pecans showcases this year’s superior crop with mouthwatering new line of gourmet glazed pecans

 

Natchitoches Pecans, Inc. is happy to announce an early start to this year’s fall harvest season—about three weeks earlier than last year.

Though the past few months have been quite dry overall, Natchitoches Pecans’ 2011 crop looks to be better than the 2010 crop.  “We were lucky enough to get ample rain at the critical times.  Our trees have a good load of pecans from top to bottom,” said co-owner Julie Swanson.

This family owned and operated company has been hard at work in preparation for the upcoming harvest—picking up broken limbs in the orchard, bush hogging, and more—but the Swansons are already thinking about Thanksgiving and the winter holidays as well. To highlight what is promising to be an exceptional batch of pecans this fall, Natchitoches Pecans will be offering a new product for the holiday season: Praline Pecans.

Natchitoches Pecans’ traditional-style Praline Pecans are carefully coated with a sweet, melt-in-your-mouth glaze for a fresh and delicious taste that can rival even the best New Orleans pralines. Whether eaten on their own, crumbled on top of ice cream, or chopped up and baked into homemade cookies, these gourmet pecans are sure to be a hit at any special occasion or holiday event this year.

The Natchitoches Pecans family prides itself on not only on the high quality of its products but the personalized service it offers to every customer as a small business. If you’re looking to make your holiday gift shopping easy, simply provide the Swansons with your list of addresses, and they’ll take care of the rest—they’ll even include a card with your special greeting in each box. But don’t wait too long to do it: “Demand is going be high this year,” said Swanson, “so we’re encouraging our customers to get their orders in early!”

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Established in 1987, Natchitoches Pecans, Inc. is a family owned and operated pecan orchard. Mark Swanson sees to the everyday operations, his wife, Julie, takes care of Little Eva’s Pecan Store and the mail-order business, and their mothers, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews all help wherever needed. Natchitoches Pecans is proud to provide high-quality, gourmet Louisiana pecans for all of its customers. For more information, or to place an order online, visit www.natchitochespecans.com.

 

Not only does a pecan grower monitor disease and insect pests to protect his pecan crop year in and year out, he also has to monitor crows and squirrels.

Squirrels start damaging pecans as they are sizing up in late July and early August and throughout harvest. According to the University of Florida, it has been estimated that one tiny squirrel can easily consume 50 pounds of nuts per year. These pesky critters hoard and bury up to two pounds of pecans per day not caring if the nuts are green or immature. Squirrels also damage delicate twigs, limbs and foliage of the pecan trees.  Some people utilize live traps to trap and relocate the squirrels, but we find that declaring “war” on squirrels during hunting season is the most effective.  Squirrels make good GUMBO!

One can always tell when the pecans are ready to harvest by noticing when the crows show up.  One crow can damage up to fifteen pounds of pecans per month.  Crows are very intelligent birds and can be quite a challenge to control.  We have hung dead crows from pecan trees to discourage their buddies from returning to that area.  Those hanging crows are what we call “CROW ORNAMENTS“.  We have also used propane propelled devises that go off periodically resembling the sound of a gun.  This works for a short while until the crows get used to it.

Riding through the orchard one can see many squirrels running below the trees and many crows flying above the trees so it is time to get prepared for the “WAR“!

Little Eva Pecan StoreBy Charla Jones They’ve gone completely nuts in Cloutierville, LA! “We talk nuts, we grow nuts, we crack nuts; we’re just plain nutty.”

~Shared by charlajones at http://www.americanprofile.com/spotlights/article/43539.html

They’ve gone completely nuts in Cloutierville, LA!

“We talk nuts, we grow nuts, we crack nuts; we’re just plain nutty.”

That’s Julie Swanson’s joking way of describing her family’s business Natchitoches Pecans, Inc. in the heart of pecan country along old Highway 1 in central Louisiana.

Swanson, her husband, mother, brother and sister and their spouses own and operate the pecan orchard and retail outlet, Little Eva Pecan Store, in Cloutierville, LA., providing locals and visitors a variety of pecans during the fall season, the peak of pecan harvesting.

“We sell pecan products and items with Louisiana flair,” Swanson says. “We also have a cleaning business where people bring their pecans for us to clean.”

In addition to purchasing pecans, visitors can buy many different pecan products such as pecan flour, candied pecans and pecan oil. Also, on the menu at the Little Eva Pecan Store are a variety items unique to the sound and taste of the L-shaped state. Most all items can be purchased online or through mail-order year round.

“I grew up a farm girl. My family was always in farming, but we didn’t know the first thing about a pecan orchard when we bought part of the plantation. But since we’ve been on this journey, we’ve learned a lot,” Swanson says.

Natchitoches Pecans, Inc. began when Swanson and her family bought a portion of the original Little Eva Plantation when it was put up for sale in 1986. Little Eva was owned by Sterling C. Evans and Gus Wortham in the mid-part of the 20th century.

“Evans and Wortham were friends who would buy distressed properties, bring them back to life and sell them,” Swanson says.

According to Swanson, Evans, after completing research of his property which was originally Hidden Hill Plantation, named the property Little Eva after the character Evangeline in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Area folklore states that Stowe visited Hidden Hill Plantation.

“The pecan trees were planted in the 1950s,” Swanson notes. At one time the pecan orchard was one of the largest of its kind at approximately 10,000 acres.

However, the property was put up for sale in the 1970s and eventually broken up for sale again in 1986 when the Swanson’s placed an offer for approximately 450 acres. Swanson said even Elvis Presley was interested in the property in the 1970s, but apparently Evans was not impressed with the king of rock and roll’s plans for the beloved orchard.

“When the Taylor’s owned the property in the 1970s, they tore down the plantation’s original home that had been used as a hospital during the Civil War,” Swanson adds.

Even though their pecan business has been sweet, in 2005, the Swanson’s big warehouse, where they clean and process the pecans, was destroyed by fire; but neither destruction nor tough years have deterred the family from enjoying the nutty fruit of their labor.

“We just keep growing. Our mail-order business continues to grow a little every year,” she says.

“It’s been tough years, but some really good years. It’s funny, but no two years are anyway similar. That’s just the nature of the business.”

Little Eva Pecan store  is located on Highway 1 in the small community of Cloutierville, a once thriving community along the famous Cane River in the plantation area of central Louisiana. During the peak pecan season from October to December, the store is open every day and then on Fridays and Saturdays during the rest of the year.

While visiting Little Eva, make a trip around the historical area of the Cane River to Melrose Plantation, one of the renowned plantation homes. The area is also home to the late American folk artist Clementine Hunter and late American novelist Kate Chopin. Hunter was born on Hidden Hill Plantation.

For more information about Little Eva Pecan Store, visit their website at www.natchitochespecans.com.

By Charla Jones 12/7/2010

 Our video shows an example of our pecan harvest at Natchitoches Pecans right now. We are working hard to bring you our fresh, delicious gourmet pecans!

The 2010 pecan harvest at Little Eva Plantation has finally begun. The 2010 crop is 3 weeks later maturing than the 2009 pecan crop was. The lack of rain has delayed shuck split. However the few nuts that we have pulled from some of the shucks appear to be plenty full. Our Elliott and Candy variety are coming in with the Elliotts as usual being exceptional. This variety is our favorite for all uses. Some people prefer the larger pecans but once they taste the Elliott they convert to being Elliott lovers! From what we are hearing across the pecan industry it appears that the fancy gift quality pecans will be in tight supply. With China now in the mix of competing for American grown pecans, prices are moving upward. The holiday season is upon us so if you are wondering what to give this year look no further – as PECANS are the perfect gift!! Order early and remember  We are Nuts about PECANS!!!

Natchitoches Pecans, Inc., one of Louisiana’s premier gourmet pecan orchards, is announcing the arrival of their new product: Coconut Praline Pecans. These fresh, delicious pecan candies are the perfect mix of sweet and salty glazed crunch. The bite-sized pieces make them great snacks for guests or just everyday treats that can be so addictive! The Coconut Praline Pecans are made with care from only the freshest ingredients and make an excellent gift idea for any occasion, especially during the holidays. Natchitoches Pecans creates custom corporate gourmet pecan gift orders all year around.

Natchitoches Pecans has both the online store for easy purchases from the comfort of your home or office, and the retail store. The retail store is located on their Little Eva Plantation orchard where visitors can browse all the amazing gifts and fresh, delicious gourmet pecan treats in person when visiting Natchitoches, Louisiana. Their featured products are the gourmet fancy pecan halves, the in-shell pecans, and the cracked pecans packaged in novelty burlap bags. The gourmet pecans, pecan candies, and a variety of pecan gifts are available online. Also available in their retail store are gifts including candles, Fleur De Lis themed items, an LSU corner, a New Orleans Saints corner, award winning cookbooks, and unique one-of-a-kind hand-made ornaments (some made from okra pods, some from cypress knees, some from pine cones, and even some from Louisiana oyster shells). Visitors will also find homemade jellies, honey, ribbon cane syrup, roasted pecan syrup, and even gourmet Cajun pickles. Special blends of gourmet coffee include Little Eva Blend and Southern Pecan.

Some of the gourmet pecan flavors Natchitoches Pecans offers are Grand Marnier chocolate pecans, milk chocolate pecans, rum pecans, cinnamon spice pecans, dark chocolate pecans, old fashion cane pecans, honey pecans (made with real honey), chocolate praline pecans, roasted salted pecans, yogurt pecans. Oh and let’s not forget creamy pralines, chewy pralines, divinity, pecan logs, and pecan pies. Sugar free pecans available in chocolate and cinnamon glazed. Sugar free roasted pecan flavored syrup is available also.

Join their Facebook page or visit their blog for up-to-date photos and information on what is happening at Natchitoches Pecans.

Well, summer is definitely here! Our temps are in the upper 90′s but with Louisiana’s humidity the heat index is well over 100 degrees. The orchard received 2 to 3 inches of rain last week. It was so dry before the rain that “cracks” were showing up on the orchard floor. We have had many days with lots of sunshine. Pollination appears to have been very good this pecan bloom season. The tiny nuts are really beginning to show up. Since the rain I swear it seems as if the tiny baby nutlets have doubled in size. Desirable variety looks to have a good nut set. Elliott variety is spotty. Most of Mark’s pecan tree grafts appear to have been successful. He was some upset last week because a squirrel had destroyed one of his grafts. The squirrel had torn through the aluminum foil and the parafilm that was supporting the graft and then shredded the already budded out shoot! I guess Mark will declare war on these pesky little varmits. Later this month Mark will be headed to the annual pecan meeting that is being held in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Fellow pecan growers will gather to discuss current issues concerning the pecan industry and then Ben Littlepage will give his famous pecan guesstimate for the 2010 pecan crop. This meeting has always been very informative.

We have a new flavor of Gourmet Pecans. It is Coconut Praline Pecans. The pecans are dry roasted and then glazed. The taste is sweet salty with a nice crunch. Customers that have tasted a sample quickly grab a bag to buy. If you are in the area our retail store is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm. So be sure to stop by!! All for now — Julie Swanson

Well thank goodness Springtime is here!!!  The winter of 2009 was the coldest and wettest one that I can remember since we have had the orchard.  It even snowed two times!!!

The trees are budding out with more and more “green” showing up each day.  Some trees have been cut down due to damage from wind or disease.  There are still plenty of limbs on the orchard floor that are being picked up and added to the cut up tree piles for burning.   It will only be a few more days before it will be time for Mark to start grafting.  The first application of fertilizer has been applied and within a couple of weeks it will be time for the first application of fungicide and zinc.  The fungicide helps protect the leaves from “scab” while zinc is important for healthy leaves.

There is always something happening and needing to be done in this pecan orchard!!!  Check back soon for more orchard updates.

Welcome to our new blog section of our website. Our blog will consist of updates about Natchitoches Pecan company, new products, seasonal updates, special product deals, and any news we find worthy of posting regarding pecans, pecan nutrition, pecan recipes, and anything else you want to hear about!

You can subscribe to our News Feed to receive notifications of when we post each new blog entry or just come back often.  Natchitoches Pecan sells some of the best gourmet pecans available in Louisiana.  Our pecans are a wonderful addition to your diet and your menu.

Thanks for visiting and we look forward to hearing from each of you.

Best Regards,

All of us at Natchitoches Pecan, Inc.