Here Are Some Uses

The Black Walnut

By Darin Lee

The Black Walnut is one of America’s most valuable trees.The Black Walnut produces edible nuts along with beauty.Black Walnuts grow throughout the U.S. and Canada. They grow best in soil that is deep, fertile, and moist but well drained. They do not grow well in shallow, dry, sandy, gravelly, or rocky soil. They require at least 25 inches of precipitation and 140 frost-free days each year.When choosing a site to grow a walnut, a person should look for a site with good airflow, not windy, and in the sun.

Here are some uses

The Black Walnut can be used as food, wildlife attractant, beauty, and lumber, which has been in high demand throughout the world. Walnuts also provide light shade and a bright yellow color in the fall.

The first thing in planting Black Walnut trees is to decide why you want to plant them. There are three main ways of planting Black Walnuts. Each way has a different primary use for the tree.

Lumber Production

If you are planting for timber production, you should plant your trees relatively close together.This encourages the trees to grow straight and self-prune themselves.The trees will grow more slowly, but the growth rings will be closer together; this is desirable in lumber. If you mix in white pines with walnuts, this will help control weeds. They can also be mixed in with red oak and white or green ash.Black Walnuts should be thinned out and pruned to increase the quality of lumber at 10 year intervals.

Nut Production

Walnut trees grown for nut production should be grown farther apart to increase crown size and speed of growth.Nut production sites may be grown on poorer quality sites than lumber production because their lumber value is lower. It generally takes about 10 years for trees to produce nuts and best nut production begins at 30 years of age. Sod should be eliminated because it reduces nut production.

Agroforestry

This is when you grow another crop in-between the rows of trees.Plants that can grow by Black Walnuts are Multiflora Rose, Black Raspberry, Morning Glory, Melons, etc. A list is provided here at the Ohio State University Extension web site for which plants you can plant and which you cannot.

Black walnuts can be planted as either seedlings or nuts.Seedling plantings are more reliable.

Harvesting the seed

The Black Walnut harvest takes place from August through September, in Minnesota. The nuts should be allowed to ripen on the tree.This can be observed when the husk changes from solid green to yellowish green.

The nuts should be checked for injury by placing them in water. Injured nuts will float in the water. Placing the good nuts in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area for two weeks should cure the nuts.The nuts should then be stored in a well-ventilated area at 60 degrees Fahrenheit or less.

Links to related sites:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1148.html

http://www.extension.umn.edu/info-u/nutrition/BJ511/html

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources/DD0505.html

http://www.extension.umn.edu/pipermail/mastgar/1998-July/000672.html