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Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Got Walnut?

I've been thinking of trying my hand at carving walking sticks or staffs, (is that the correct plural?)
and have a few ash and elm saplings well dried in the garage waiting patiently.  There are also a couple walnut trees in the neighborhood, and though I do not want them on my property due to the mess they make (I watched a huge walnut tree drop every leaf in a day- left a one foot thick carpet on the ground, and that's not to mention what happens to a walnut when you run over it with the lawnmower...) I thought I'd like to grow a few to staff size and harvest them.

I've tried for about 5 years to sprout some walnuts since harvesting them is easy I typically try up to 10 nuts at a time.  Tried 'em in pots, no sprouts, tried 'em in th eground, either no sprouts or the squirrels dug them up.  Put bricks on top when I planted them in the fall, moved the bricks in the spring- the squirrels dug 'em up the day after I moved the bricks.

I've heard squirrels taste good....

FINALLY had some success this year, I hope I haven't jinxed the little trees by saying so.  I cut the bottom out of a 6 gallon bucket, buried the bucket half way in the yard, drilled a mess of holes in the lid and planted the nuts inside and snapped the lid on.  Hole let the snow melt and rain in, snap on lid let me look in every week.  As of today 3 of the six nuts i planted have hatched!  WOOHOOO!

I took the bucket away today and surrounded the younglings with wire fence this morning.

Now to find some basswood seeds....

Stay tuned.