I will buy hickory nuts up to $9/pound!

There are two factors as to whether I will buy your nuts.

1. I only buy shagbark or shellbark hickory nuts.

2. I only buy within two hours of Fairfield, PA?

Are your Hickory nuts Shagbark or Shellbark? (see pics below)

If no, then chances are you have an inedible hickory species. Sorry.

There are other types of edible hickory nuts. They are very rare. If you have another type of hickory tree, then take a picture of the nut, tree trunk (bark), and leaves (if possible) and email me.

I’m looking for shagbark and shellbark hickory nuts. If the bark of your tree is shaggy then I may buy your nuts!

If your trees look like this, with shaggy bark, then I may buy your viable hickory nuts! First, answer…

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Are you within a 2-hour drive of Fairfield, PA? Or willing to deliver to Fairfield, PA?

If no, then I’m sorry. At this time it doesn’t make sense to ship hickory nuts. I will only buy them within reasonable driving distance.

Obviously, the higher quality the more likely I am to drive. Also, the fewer nuts I harvest from the wild trees the more likely I am to drive.

Of course, you can deliver to me (for an extra $1/pound too). More info below.

If you answered “Yes” to the questions above then let’s chat! Just fill out the form below to get the conversation going!

Just a heads up, I cannot guarantee that I will purchase nuts from you. I’ve had an overwhelming response. This is my first season buying hickory nuts, so I’m still figuring out how to do this right. Right now I’m prioritizing purchases by,

1. the quality of the nut. The higher the quality, the more likely I am to buy from you.
2. Frankly, how easy it is for me. I have so much interest that I don’t really need to drive far this season. So the closer you bring them to me the more likely I am to buy.

I will try to be as upfront as possible about whether I’m able to buy nuts from you. Right now I can’t get a sense of how it will all pan out.

Go ahead and fill out the form below now to get the conversation going. But I will be purchasing after the dust has settled (mid- to late-October). I recommend that you spend the autumn season harvesting the hickory nuts, float test them (read below), get final weights for Grade A and Grade B. Just store the nuts somewhere where they can dry. Then later in October reach out again so we have a better idea of what we’re dealing with. I think that will help smooth the transaction.

More Info About the Perfect Nut That I Buy

• I do not pay for hulls. Sorry. Every tree is different. Some fall out of hull in the tree and some never come out of the hull. See my video for more info.
• They are a clean nut. They shouldn’t have mud or dirt on them. Some stains from hulls are fine.
• Typically, a Grade A shagbark nut is white. If the nut is dark brown the chances are it’s not a viable nut (although as I say sometimes it’s stained from the hulls). Unless it’s a shellbark or sweet pignut. They are darker and redder even when viable. It sounds confusing, but just crack a few dozen nuts and see what’s inside. Take note of the shells on the good ones and rotten ones. After a little bit you start to get a sense for which nuts are rotten.Of course you can remove guess work by float testing! Send pics if you’re wondering.
• There are no hulls.Sometimes the tree makes a super tight hull or they are the season’s first drops. Nuts that you can’t get out of the hull are no use to me.
• There are no holes (or worms). If you find a nut with a little hole in it, that means there was a weevil larva. Just throw them out right away. It’s ok. Even weevil larvae need to eat too.

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Process

Step 1: Harvest Hickory Nuts

Visit this page about harvesting hickory nuts. This is a new page, and I’m working on fleshing it out for the 2021 season. Sorry if it’s not complete yet.

I strongly recommend getting a Nut Weasel to harvest nuts. It will save you so much time and from bending over.

Step 2: Float Test

prefer that you float test your hickory nuts. Float testing helps separate the Grade A from the Grade B and rejects. Float testing also affects the price (see below). You can see more about float testing on the How to Harvest page.

I recommend that you harvest all season and then do one or two float tests towards the end of the season. Why? As they sit there for the first few weeks the weevil larvae will bore out of the shell. That automatically disqualifies all of those duds. Many of the nuts that float are good, and you can set them aside as Grade B. However, if you float them right away with weevil larvae and the float and you set them aside, and then they will crawl out and you will have wasted your time separating those nuts. I

Suffice it to say, it’s simple to conduct a float test. Just put the hickory nuts in water. The Grade A nuts will sink. The Grade B nuts will float.

At this point, I recommend cracking a few of each grade just to see what you’re dealing with. You can get a pretty good sense for how many Grade B are rotten and how many are viable.

I would like to see pictures of the nuts in the water before I buy from you.

Step 3: Weigh the Hickory Nuts

If you’re going to be harvesting a lot of nuts, I recommend this scale.

I prefer to see pictures of the hickory nuts on the scale. I will weigh them again when we hand off.

Step 4: Drying Hickory Nuts

Drying hickory nuts is an important step. If you don’t properly dry your hickory nuts they can rot or get moldy. This happens pretty fast too.

Try store them to get as much air flow on as much surface area. So big flat mesh shelves or racks are best. The next best is mesh bags or even a mesh trash can.

Warm air is good if you can manage it. At the very least keep them dry.

Hopefully you won’t have your nuts for too long before I buy them, but you could really help me out by taking care of those nuts!

Long-Term Storage of Hickory Nuts

You can read more about long-term storage on this page. Obviously, if you’re reading this page then you probably don’t plan on storing them long-term. I thought I’d just put this info here in case.

Price

The price varies depending on quality of the hickory nuts. The nuts need to be float tested to determine their quality. Pictures during float test and during weighing required.

Quality	Price
Grade A (Everything that sinks in float test)	$8/lb
Grade B (Everything that floats in float test)	$5/lb
Not float tested	$4/lb
If you bring the nuts to me	+$1/lb

To make it worth my time I require a minimum of five pounds for pickup (within Adams County).

I reserve the right to either charge a fee or ask for a discount if you live far.

Drop Off Location for Hickory Nuts

If you bring the nuts to me I will add $1 to every pound. You can bring the hickory nuts to 3255 Bullfrog Rd, Fairfield, PA 17320.

* How far I am willing to drive is directly related to how many quality nuts you have and how many I harvest from other sources. If you only have five pounds I’m obviously not going to drive two hours; however, if you have two hundred pounds then let’s talk. Just contact me and we can talk.

Contact me to sell your hickory nuts!

Please fill out this form if you would like to sell your hickory nuts.

FAQ

OK. This can be confusing. There are many questions