Plant Black Walnuts

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If your plot's vegetation is thick, cut and remove it in the fall, and plow or disk the area. Then, if you're planting seedlings in the spring, disk the site again beforehand, just as you would a garden. (You're going to have to keep the weeds down after your trees are in, too!)

PLANTING THEM

To start your woodlot from seed, you'll first have to husk the nuts. Some people drive back and forth over them with their cars. A corn huller will also do the job. And I know of one old-timer who husks walnuts by setting a board with a 1-1/2" opening over a bucket and forcing each nut through the wood's "hulling hole".

Because nuts must endure a cold period and be kept moist if they're to germinate when warm weather comes, it's best to plant them in the fall ... and let Old Man Winter take care of the rest.

If the nuts are allowed to dry, they'll keep almost indefinitely for eating purposes . . . but will never germinate. You'll need to pick them up off the ground and plant them in the ground without letting them dry out. (The average germination rate of fresh wild walnuts is about 30 to 50%. So, by starting three nuts at each site, you'll probably get at least one seedling per spot.)

To plant the nuts, first loosen the soil to a depth of about a foot, and then place the seeds two to three inches below the soil surface. Cover them and step on the earth to firm it. Put a foot of mulch — hay is fine — over the planting sites before winter hits, and then remove it in the spring.

Don't forget that squirrels have been known to dig up entire black walnut planting sites. You can outwit the pesky devils by placing an 18-inch square of heavy wire mesh over each buried cluster of seeds ... or by simply burning the coating off No. 2 tin cans, and using the cleansed seed "collars" to protect your walnuts (leave sharp points on the cans' lids and remove the bottoms). And don't fertilize your newly planted crop. By doing so, you'd feed the weeds, which would probably crowd out your young trees.

If you've elected to start your forest from seedlings, you won't have to worry about germination or squirrels. Plan to get your tree tots in the ground by the end of May (in the North) or the end of April (in the South). A late frost can kill the terminal buds and deform your tree . . . so you'll be better off being late than early.

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