Well if you want walnuts, it's probably a lot faster to just buy them at the store... If you want to see what it would be like to have some around, get a couple large bags of shelled walnuts and spread them across your lawn; then try to rake up as many as you can and mow. I tried that, but I just ended up with a bunch of corn growing in my yard... Actually the squirrels and chippies I think have been responsible for many of the oak saplings I have growing around my yard.
I threw over 250 walnuts around my fence row. If 25 grow I'd be happy. It just fun doing it with my boy. I'd like enough to grow eventually to mark the property line and remove the fencing. I hate all the grass growing around it. I also sowed 15 groups of 3 walnuts in the yard this year. We'll see what grows and I'll cul the two worst from each group. I've planted over 400 seeds/nuts/acorns and 30 saplings this year in my 6.5 acres. I'd be happy with 100 to pop up. I had one cottonwood when we moved in three years ago. I doubt much pops up as I'm letting nature take its course. I didnt do any boiling/freezing/stratification. Just planted them. When I retire I'll have a woods hopefully. I know there wasn't much advice there but planting some sounds like a good idea to me!
We live in the woods, and although we have yards, they're not all manicured and stuff, so not too worried about a mess. If that becomes a problem, I'll cut 'em down. I've heard they're good for firewood. No plan to get rich from the wood either, as I'm sure they'd take a while to get mature enough. Breechlock1 , where'd you get the walnuts? Time for some research..........
papadave there is a little cemetery down the road from me and there is a giant open grown black walnut that drops thousands of walnuts every year. The caretaker is always cleaning them up. My kids love the smell of them and the adventure of going down there and collecting pail fulls of them.
We planted black Walnut saplings some 20ish years ago at the wood lot. We had about 50% success rate....and they don't play well with other young trees. We love them. Good luck man!
Don't park a vehicle under the spreading dripping branches. campinspecter had to cut polish my car to get the sticky off.
Do some reading on it beforehand. Walnut trees put off a chemical that inhibits growth underneath them. Depending on your planting location, that may or may not come into play.
My parents own some acreage and contacted the DNR several years ago about tree seedlings. They were able to get several hundred for very cheap, and select the species they wanted to plant. This may be something for you to look into. The hardest part is keeping the deer away from them when they are young.
Soft wood a bit harder than Silver maple- about a couple notches up on the btu scale. takes a long time to get anything to produce lumber wise . the nuts will drive you crazy long before.
Walnut trees are allelopathic. They inhibit other plants from growing under them by means of biochemical warfare. Black walnut was/is used to make stains. If you pick them up they will turn your hands black and it's hard to get off. They are a mess to clean up. They grow so slooowly and they burn like smoldering garbage. Hope I didn't put you off the walnut trees, Dave.
My inlaws have many behind their house and along their fence rows. They do drop tons of walnuts and are annoying, especially when the kids and I walk through the yard. The fall colors are nice, yellow orange. I like it for firewood. Only problem is it produces more ash than other species. Some people don't like the smell of it burning but I think it smells good, although I've heard it is poisonous( what smoke isn't?). It dries quickly and doesn't rot very fast. It can stay in contact with the ground and not suffer too much damage. The bark can be somewhat messy, but I normally knock it off outside after it has sat for couple of years.
Very early spring I go along the bottom land by the stream that borders my property and dig walnut, sycamore and a few silver maple seedlings and replant them on my property where the ash trees have been killed by the EAB. Time will tell.
When i was looking into it they have certain breeds that grow "rapidly" but are expensive. I also know the nut must be frozen to activate it. They grow well in stands together I have a row of 4 small 10-15 inch black walnuts, wildlife love them the squirrels love them! They do smell great and I never have to mow under them!
I am a self proclaimed Juglans Nigra expert. I've removed a whole crapload of black walnuts from my property. Why? Well, they produce Juglone, a substance that inhibits, prevents, and kills a long list of other species, both trees, shrubs, flowers, and garden crops. An internet search will give up detailed lists. Did you know that black walnut, in PA mind you, is one of, if not THE tree that is last to get leaves, and first to lose em? Walnut husks, when green, stain stuff up, and if you happen to be weed whackin' around 'em, and stir up some of that tannin/juglone, spittin' it into your eye, well, you'll have to log on here afterward and I'll tell you that you're not going to go blind, or die, but it'll make you think you're going to do both Black walnut drops lots of walnuts, LOTS of walnuts. They'll have an on year, and an off year, kinda like wild raspberries, one year is a bumper crop, the next year is lighter, etc. They can be a pain if you intend to mow around/under them, but only for a period of a few weeks in late fall, mower blades spittin' em out, chuckin' 'em sideways, etc. I still have a bunch on my ground, I'd say 75 to 100 growing around here, but I've cleared them back from my home, flower beds, and garden, and thinned them otherwise. If planted in a field away from your home, I'd say you'd be fine. My guess is you'll get a tree 12 to 18 inches in diameter in about 40 years or so. I'll take the largest ones when the drop, throw 'em in the driveway, and run over them with the truck tires when I go in and out, this busts up the green husks, allows them to dry out, then in about a week go and collect the inner nut. You need a serious hammer to break 'em open if you want to eat 'em. hoooowheee, that was a long post Oh yeah, walnut smells good, burns good, and is real nice for bowl turnin'
Don't know much about planting them but as far as firewood I have cut some and in my opinion the btu charts show it around the same as cherry I say bullpucky......I'm not too crazy about it. It is very nice for woodworking though.
Everyone talks about junk trees and how much work one tree is while others are maintenance free. The truth of the matter is, if its a tree your heart wants you want care about the maintenance. I love my mulberry tree and my catalpa, even though others think they are trashy nuisance trees.
