Paano Magtanim ng Almond: How to Plant Almond the Traditional Way
Paano magtanim ng almond? Here is how traditional Filipino farmers usually plant almendras (almond), step by step from getting the field ready to the harvest, with the day of each step and what to change for a higher yield.
This guide shows how traditional farmers usually plant almendras. Use it as a starting point. For a higher yield, update it: plant certified seed or clean planting material, test your soil, and follow the right spacing and fertilizer.
True almond is not grown in the Philippines: it needs a cold winter and a long dry summer, so only a rare hobby tree is kept in the cool highlands, such as around Baguio, and it seldom bears. The tree many Filipinos call almond or almendras is talisay, a different coastal tree that grows anywhere here. This short guide covers the few highland attempts with true almond.
Before you plant, get the field ready with our land preparation guide for fruit and plantation trees. For more on the crop, read pagtatanim ng puno.
When to plant almendras
Trees are set out at the start of the rains, about May to July, in the highlands, on the driest, sunniest slope available. Rain at flowering spoils the nuts.
What you plant
Grafted trees of low chill almond types from a specialty nursery. Two types that flower together are needed, since most almonds need a partner to set nuts.
Paano magtanim ng almond, step by step
We count the first harvest at about 40 months (1,200 days). Most trees here never bear well. The crop is ready about 40 months after planting.
Before planting (Bago magtanim)
14 days before planting: Choose a dry, sunny slope
Pick the sunniest, driest high ground with deep soil that drains fast. Dig holes about 50 cm wide and deep with compost.
Planting day (Pagtatanim)
Planting day: Plant two types together
Set two grafted trees of different types about 5 m apart at the same depth they grew, graft joint above the soil. Firm, water, stake and mulch.
Care while it grows (Pag aalaga)
Month 3: Prune to an open bowl
Keep three or four spreading branches, feed compost and a little complete fertilizer (14 14 14) every few months, and water only in long dry spells.
Harvest (Anihan)
Month 40: Gather the nuts
We count the first crop at about 40 months. Pick nuts when the green hulls split open, and dry them in the sun before storing.
Watering almendras, stage by stage
The rare almond trees here are planted on the driest, sunniest slopes of the highlands and live on rain. Almond dislikes wet soil and rain at flowering, so growers water only in long dry spells. A pail or hose into a ring basin, on the soil only, in the morning.
Flowering to about four weeks after bloom, when nut set is decided. Nut filling in a long dry spell.
| Stage | When | How often | How much |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planting to 3 months | Planting day to month 3 | Soak at planting, then whenever the soil dries in a dry spell, until the tree is clearly growing | A good soak of the mulched ring around the stem |
| Rest of the first year | Month 3 to 12 | Only in dry spells, when the soil a hand deep is dry | A deep soak of the ring, never leaving water standing |
| Flowering (in a year it flowers) | Month 33 to 34 | Water only at the base if the soil is dry. Never sprinkle over the tree | A deep soak of the ring |
| Nut filling to hull split | Month 34 to 40 | A deep soak in long dry spells. Stop once the hulls start to split | A deep soak of the ring |
Without irrigation. Plant as the rains begin on a dry, sunny slope with deep soil that drains fast, and mulch the ring. Almond is drought hardy and lives on rain, with a deep soak only in long dry spells.
In the dry season. Water only when the soil a hand deep is dry, most of all while the nuts fill.
In the rainy season. Almond hates wet soil and rain at flowering. Plant on the driest ground you have and never let water stand around the trunk.
- Too little water: Leaves droop and drop early, and the nuts stay small.
- Too much water: Yellow leaves, gum on the trunk and rotting roots on soggy ground.
To water better for a higher yield: Water at the base in long dry spells from flowering to nut filling, and keep the ground dry once the hulls split.
Spacing, water and fertilizer for almendras
Spacing
About 5 m between trees, at least two types close together.
Water
Mostly rain fed. Almond dislikes wet soil and rain at flowering.
Fertilizer
Compost and small amounts of complete fertilizer (14 14 14). To read what a bag really gives, see our guide to fertilizer for this crop.
Care and harvest
Care while it grows
Open bowl pruning, light feeding, keeping the ground dry and weed free.
When and how to harvest
Nuts are picked when the hulls split, dried in the sun, and shelled.
Common mistakes when planting almendras
- Confusing talisay with true almond.
- Planting a single almond tree, which sets few or no nuts.
- Planting in the wet lowlands.
How to get a higher yield of almendras
The traditional way gets a crop, but small changes add up. These are the first things to change, one season at a time.
- For a nut tree that bears here, consider pili or cashew instead.
- If you try almond, use low chill grafted types on dry highland slopes and keep notes.
- Test the soil and feed by the result.
anee.io helps with each of these. The NPK Plus calculator checks that your fertilizer plan feeds the yield you want, the pest and disease finders tell you what is on the leaves before you spray, and Anee, the smart farm technician answers your questions in Tagalog or English.
Members open this guide in the How to Plant tool and send every step to the Protocol Builder in one tap, each on its own day. There you can change the seed, the spacing and the fertilizer, then turn it into a cropping calendar for your lots.
Start from the traditional way, make it better, and let anee.io date every task from your own planting day. Free to start.
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