Today we plant to stratify some black walnuts from the single tree in our yard. Black walnut is a useful food tree as well as a source of excellent (relatively) fast-growing hard wood. Though we’re at the bottom of its range, I would like to plant a few more trees in our yard, as well as grow some to give away.
This video from Growit Buildit is an excellent look at how to grow black walnuts from seed:
This sort of demonstration is excellent, as you can see the process from start to finish.
You can have greener thumbs by this weekend!
3 comments
Around here, that’s a squirrel driven operation.
Years ago I collected a bunch of black walnut in their husks and tried planting them on a hillside that was heavy clay where the topsoil had mostly washed off due to poor management. It was an area we had failed to get firs growing and even the blackberries were having trouble getting established.
I dug a slit with a shovel every five paces or so, and kicked the nuts into the ground to cover them
I went back a few days later and discovered that a coyote had followed my path through the pasture and dug every single nut up, eaten the husk off, and puked it up and went on to the next one. Because coyotes are strange.
I kicked the nuts back into the dirt to cover them again. One tree sprouted and survived.
I wish I had known about cold stratifying the nuts, I expect I would have had a better success rate.
I’ve heard that animals are the big enemy of germinating walnuts and pecans.
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