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Water, nutrients, insects, and many other
factors affect nut production. Typically, black walnut trees bear nuts no earlier
than their twelfth year. Annual nut production increases as the crown widens and
reaches its maximum at about 30 years. Annual nut production of each tree will
fluctuate, but total production for a plantation is fairly consistent.
The
exact time to harvest depends upon factors such as markets, weather, your tax
status, and the needs for other enterprises. Harvest trees by clear cutting at
ages 60 to 75, whether grown for timber only or for nuts and timber.
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| What | When |
| Sow seeds,
plant seedlings | December to March |
| Plant root
stocks | Early spring for at least the first 3
years | | Fertilization | (1)
After thinning of pole-size trees
(2) In later years to improve nut production
(optional) | | Pruning
| Late winter or early spring |
| Thinning | When competition
reduces growth | | Insect,
disease protection | Depends on management objectives |
| Harvesting | Commercial
tree harvest begins at age 25-30
Commercial nut harvest begins around age
20 | |
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The leaves and bark. The leaves are stripped
off the tree singly, in June and July and dried.
Gather the leaves only in
fine weather, in the morning, after the dew has been dried by the sun. The prevalence
of an east wind is favorable, as the dry air facilitates the process of drying.
Reject all stained leaves.
Drying may be done in warm, sunny weather, out-of-doors,
but in half-shade as leaves dried in the shade retain their color better than
those dried in the sun and do not become so tinder.
They may be placed on
wire sieves, or frames covered with wire or garden netting - at a height of about
3 or 4 feet from the ground, to ensure a current of air - and must be taken indoors
to a dry room or shed, before there is any chance of them becoming damp from dew
or showers.
The juice of the green husks, boiled with honey, is also a good
gargle for a sore mouth and inflamed throat, and the distilled water of the green
husks is good for quinsy and as and application for wounds and internally is a
cooling drink in agues.
The thin, yellow skin which clothes the inner nut
is a notable remedy for colic, being first dried, and then rubbed into powder.
It is administered in doses of 30 grains, with a tablespoonful of peppermint water.
The oil extracted from the ripe kernels, taken inwardly in 1/2 OZ. doses,
has also proved good for colic and is efficacious, applied externally, for skin
diseases of the leprous type and wounds and gangrenes. |
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