The Gillespie County Extension Office is pleased to announce the 2022 Gillespie County Pecan Show on December 15th. Entries are due on December 14th at noon. Commercial and home tree entries are both welcome.

To enter, please bring to the Gillespie County Extension Office (38 Business Court) a brown paper bag of 40-42 pecans of the same variety that were grown by you in Gillespie County. Seedlings, known hybrids and native pecans can be entered too, but will have their own categories respectively. Smallest pecan entries need to have at least a pound of nuts present.

What happens to your pecans when they arrive? Pecan show volunteers and extension agents will crack them. If entering, you are welcome to help us crack pecans on December 15th at 9 am, though it is not necessary to do so.

Your pecans will be judged based on weight, kernel size and shape, damage/disease presence, uniformity and color. Pecans are categorized according to variety, so don’t worry, your “Mahan” pecans aren’t going to be judged against someone else’s “Pawnee” until the championship round.

If your entries contain more than one variety of pecan, they will be disqualified.  If you don’t know what variety of pecan you have, please bring them by the office ahead of time so and we can identify them for you.  Just be certain you collect from only one tree. You can enter only one entry per variety, except for natives, seedlings and hybrids. Pecans that have been altered in any way, including but not limited to sanding, cut, or polished will be disqualified. Pecans must be from the 2022 crop.

The champions from the natives, classic/new and commercial divisions will be awarded Champion Pecan Yard Signs. Finalists from the county show will move on to the Central Texas Regional Pecan show in early January. Finalists from this competition will move onto the state competition in June 2023.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Gillespie County Extension Office at 830-997-3452.