I may be the only one that LOVES this walnut tree. It’s technically our neighbor’s tree but since it’s just over the fence, I get to claim the half that hangs over my yard. The reason everyone dislikes the tree is because of the mess.
I just can’t get over how beautiful the tree is and really don’t care about the mess.
Because we get so many nuts, I’m ashamed to admit we haven’t harvested any until this year – but it’s better late than never. So, instead of simply tossing the nuts in our yard waste bin, like we normally do, we collected a big pile of nuts and stomped on them to loosen the nut from the husk. Then, we went to work removing the nuts from the husk and set the nuts in a bin for washing.
Once the nuts were rinsed and remaining chunks of husk removed, I placed the nuts on a wire rack to dry. Again, since we’ve never done this before, we have no idea how long they’ll need to dry. We assume they’ll be ready in time for Christmas.
On a side note, if you ever plan to harvest your own walnuts, be sure to wear gloves. I don’t like to wear gloves and now my hands and nails are stained a dirty yellow/brown color.
Apparently, the husks are also used as a permanent dye for reed used to make baskets, like the ones my friend Kari Lonning makes. I just hope the dye washes off my hands soon, since it was a little embarrassing having dirty “looking” hands at work today.
Below are a couple pictures to help you visualize the process. Enjoy.