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)