I have one acre of land and was thinking of planting some type of nut tree. I have a young son (4) and want to plant trees which he could work as he gets older. What would the yeild be on the nuts? I was told it takes about 10 years to start producing nuts. This might give him something to do in his teenage years to keep him out of trouble.

Greetings Mike:

Thanks for your most excellent and forward-thinking question as I applaud all parents who have the foresight to instill a strong forest conservation ethic within their family – forestry is a greatly underappreciated science and profession now of days.

The four most common nut crops grown here in the eastern US are walnut (native black walnut and the non-native English walnut), pecan (numerous cultivars), Chinese chestnut, and hazelnut. In order to provide you appropriate guidance and expertise, may I recommend that you contact an Extension Forestry specialist at Clemson University, as these kinds of questions absolutely require local expertise!

Clemson Cooperative Extension: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/natural_resources/people/index.html

Best of luck!