Black Walnuts!
October 15, 2021
We have been harvesting black walnuts for a week now, and it is a very good year for nuts…pun intended!
We have over 35 black walnut trees, and this year it seems like all of them have produced.
When we first bought the farm, we used to pick up the nuts individually, which was a real work out on our retired backs. We decided to give the garden weasel a try, and they are fabulous!
These just roll over the nut and then we dump in the back of the side by side.
Once the nuts are gathered, we sort for ripeness. If the husk is too green and hard, it will be difficult to remove. We choose the nuts that have the softest husk, which will most often be black, and usually split. The point is to remove the husk, then rinse the nuts until they are clear, and then dry them for a couple of weeks. Once the nut is cleaned from the husk and dried, the nuts will remain viable for over a year before cracking. Once cracked they are best stored in the freezer, as like most nuts, could turn rancid if not stored properly.
We use an antique corn sheller to remove the husk from the nuts.
The husk is removed and thrown away, and the nuts are put in a tub with holes drilled in the bottom, and washed until the water coming out the bottom is clear.
Then they are placed in a rack for drying.
That’s what’s happening for the remainder of October, here on the ridge…that, and still roasting green Anaheim peppers!
Get out and get some porch sittin done, y’all!
Sounds like a fantastic walnut harvest. And the garden weasel sounds like an excellent tool to do it. Interesting about the processing. We don't have black walnut trees, so I never really thought about it.
ReplyDeleteYes, Leigh, the weasels are a wonderful tool, for sure! The process is definitely a labor of love. We are so happy to have such fine trees that tower in our woods. Do you like black walnuts? Have a perfect weekend!
DeleteReally interested in this, as we used to live with large, mature BW trees around our town lot. We had to have a large one taken down, which was close to the house, as it split in a big storm. We had the logs milled into lumber, beautiful wood. I cursed those trees, as they encircled our yard and seemed to drop stuff in every season, inhibiting my garden, small as it was. They are beautiful trees though, so graceful looking. In a good year, we were inundated with nuts and squirrels!
ReplyDeleteHubby, explained how a corn sheller works, and says yes, a good idea. I remember hand shelling them, (brutal!), and we washed and dried and stored them like you do, but only a small amount, of course. When we cracked them, there wasn't much meat in them and felt it was a lot of work for not much reward. Do you get a lot of meat out of yours?
Hi Rosalea! Did you float your nuts befre drying, and remove the nuts that float, as they will be bad nuts. We enjoy the messy process, and the nuts are fairly consistent with a good cracker. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!
DeleteWalnuts!!!! Oh how envious am I??? That is so cool Dino! Loved all the photos!!! ♥♥♥
ReplyDelete