Well I would try the permaculture approach. To begin with, it would help to get a timber type of chestnut. Hybrids with american chestnut would work like the ones Okios tree crops sells. 'Dustan' Chestnut might work as well. Then you plant pecan with the chestnuts. Space them out 15-20 feet apart. They will eventually form a forest with a canopy. AFter that you plant hazel nuts underneath them (go with the american hazelnut) since they can handle shade and are considered understory trees/shrubs. So in end you will have a nut forest. I would stay away from walnut since they produce toxins that can poison other trees. Almonds need sun but are short growing so they wouldnt do well in this "forest". You could try hickory, there are some good tasting variesties. Also beech would work;their nuts are high in fat.

I use to live in Texas by the border of Mexico and I am totally surprised that you got back into the USA with any kind of seed. They even cut open Avacados and remove the seed before you can cross back over. Be very very care eating these seeds. They dont always tell you the truth about their stuff in Mexico. They just want your money. Is your sister losing weight or poisoning herself?

Aloha Sandpounder, Lisa, Ilima and Farmfreedom, It is beginning to sound like pistachios might be the next nut tree I'll try in the back yard. The health food store sells them "raw" so I'll get a few and plant them and see if they sprout. Hmm, anybody know if they are a hybrid and if they self-pollinate? Thanks for the peanut idea, Ilima. When I finally get the official garden (it still needs a fence to keep out chickens and a hose bibb installed for watering) put together, then I will have a space for peanuts. Until then, maybe they could grow in the flower bed by the house? Do they take up a lot of room? Farmfreedom, those are some good ideas, however not all of them would work in Hawaii. We have difficulties getting things such as chestnuts, walnuts and filberts cold enough in the winter. Actually, there are a LOT of mainland plants and trees we don't have enough "chill hours" for. We can't get them cold enough for them to flower and set fruit. Most apples, peaches, pears and cherries can't be grown here. There are about three varieties of apple and peaches which can be grown, but we have to be really selective and get a "low chill" cultivar or they don't get enough chill hours. Peonies and lilacs are two more which don't survive, although I've ordered a "low chill" lilac which I hope will live and produce flowers. The Big Island of Hawaii has most of the climates available on the planet, but they are only in small spots on the island and no one spot has all the climates. I'm down near the ocean in an area with dirt and rain so it is a better growing area than most. However, I don't have the winter time cold and we do have some ferocious snails, insects, fungus and molds to deal with as well as the occasional nematode and those pesky chickens, too. A hui hou, Cathy

i had a purple plum ... that flowered for 15 years ... and did not set fruit.. until the season it died ... nothing to do with lack of pollinators ... it was an ornamental, rather than fruit tree ... and frankly.. i dont know what to make about that graft job in the second pic ... i spent the first 6 years in my new house.. harboring everything the prior owners left... you know.. for the history ... bahhh on that.. the happiest day in that garden was when i finally got rid of the last nightmare the prior owners planted .. lol ... if you want a fruit tree... plant some fruit trees .. talk to the fruit nuts in that forum ... and if you want a good landscape tree or shrub ... but dont spend too much energy.. trying to rescue this overly mature.. horribly grafted plant ... [btw ... the 'good' plant may have died long ago ... this might be a reversion of the rootstock] ken