North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[alexis@conev.org]

Folks,
I am wondering who has experience with Hall's Hardy almonds? I have been 
growing them for a couple of years and I love them. They are not as 
sweet as commercial almonds, but I like the flavor. Slight bitter 
overtones, more "almondy" flavor than an ordinary almond. The nuts are 
hard to crack, but I got a good nutcracker (Lehman's "best") and it 
walks through them effortlessly -- cracks them consistently and easily 
without damaging the nut.
I have been reading on the web that some people think you need to boil 
the because of the supposed amount of amygdalin in them (amygdalin is 
present in many fruit seeds and breaks down into cyanide). That one is 
hard to figure out as the information on amygdalin on the web is flatly 
contradictory.
Does anyone grow Hall's Hardy in any volume? I think they are great and 
would like to grow and eat a lot of them. Mine are growing like weeds 
and producing well, even under really bad conditions. I have one tree in 
a very dry spot that has done well. This year's frosts have left them 
untouched.
Thanks,
Alexis (central VA, zone 7)