My home place has about 10 old black walnut trees on it. They produce a large amount of fruit. So far the boys and I have just picked up or left to rot. This year I would like to harvest them and give as gifts to my mother-in-law and others who like black walnuts. Could someone tell me when to know they are ready and how to go about getting the nuts out. Thanks a lot. Ivy in NW AR

-- Ivy (balch84@cox-internet.com), October 01, 2001

Answers

We just purchased a house with walnut trees in the yard. My mother says pick the green ones off the ground, put them in the driveway and run over them with the car to break off the outer hull. I haven't tried it yet, but plan to.

-- Jo (mamamia2kids@msn.com), October 01, 2001.

We also run over the green hulls with the car to remove the walnuts. Be sure to wear an old pair of gloves to pick them up afterward. They will stain your hands. That's the easy part, though. Getting them out of the shell is another story. We used to use a hammer and a nut pick, which often crushed the nuts and rendered them useless. We bought a lever type nutcracker from Lehman's. It was guaranteed to crack black walnuts and, to my amazement, it did. We have been using it several years and won't have anything else.

-- Gayle Smith (gayleannesmith@yahoo.com), October 01, 2001.

If you can find a old hand crank corn sheller, that is what I use and it works great for taking that outer shell off. my wife feeds them in and I just keep turning the handle

-- phillip (raines@rainesridgefarm.com), October 01, 2001.

Gayle, Do you have more details about the nutcracker from Lehman's? Name, item #, etc., would be handy. I've searched their site and can't seem to find it.

Or does anyone know where else you can find a nutcracker that works well on black walnuts?

-- Marvin in Nebraska (brinmg@hotmail.com), October 01, 2001.

Never mind. Found it. Thanks!

-- Marvin in Nebraska (brinmg@hotmail.com), October 01, 2001.

Here in Missouri you get 10.oo per hundred lbs. The kids out here load there pickup trucks full and turn them in. I hear if you want to use them yourself, after the hulls dry and fall off you can put them in the freezer and after a couple of days hit them with a hammer and the crack easyer. I have never tryed it, we don't use black walnuts but anything it worth a try. Those things are tough.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), October 01, 2001.

My grandad used to put some rocks in a cement mixer (three-point mounted)and toss in the black walnuts. Took those green hulls right off. Then let 'em dry for a while before shelling them out.

-- Marv (mcheim@lewiston.com), October 02, 2001.

You just get those green hulls off. Then soak them for an hour in warm water. Then you need to dry the the walnuts in the shell for a while. Put them no more than 3 deep in a box with some holes in it, or use a milk crate. Dry in a airy place out of the sun for 2 weeks. Makes for better nuts and also easier to crack.

-- Karen (db0421@yahoo.com), October 02, 2001.

Making sure I have this right: you get the green part off. You let the nut dry (how long?) Then you crack them to get at the meat? The meat is inside the hard part?

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), October 02, 2001.

Yes, the meat is inside the hard part--which looks much like the English Walnuts you buy in the shell at the store. There usually isn't a lot of meat in each nut. I have had success storing them loosely bagged in netting. In the past I had some a long time (12 months) since I hate shelling them. I have found it more cost effective for us to buy a five pound bag (yes, they sell black walnuts that way, as well as the English kind) from a warehouse shopping center than to shell the equivalent from free nuts.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), October 02, 2001.