advice needed on black walnut tree

[Bill Douglas]

Beautiful tree.

Could some local kid be paid cash to do the picking up.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Beautiful tree.
Could some local kid be paid cash to do the picking up.

A few years back...a family stopped and asked if they could pick up the nuts.
They wanted to dry the skin out and harvest the nut.

I told them "ok" and they spent an afternoon picking them up.
Never seen them since!

There are no kids that want to make money around here.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

They make these..



They are only useful for small amounts.

Exactly. I was wondering if there was a larger scale version of that that could be mounted to the front or back of the tractor.

[pavulon]

No squirrels? Between acorns and walnuts, the squirrels and chipmnks guarantee that there is no clean up around here.

[Crowbob]

I'm told they do make vacuums to suck the nuts up. I think they're sometimes called Wanda or Cynthia.

For some unknown reason, trees 'mast' every so often. That is they produce unusually huge numbers of seeds, up to 10X normal. Usually abuncha trees of the same species and in close proximity to each other do it all at the same time. It probably has some ecological purpose.

[stevej37]

Picking them up today...I spent 2 hrs raking and shoveling.
I'm 67 and it's getting old.
Pushing a 6 cu/ft wheelbarrow, full of walnuts, 100 yds away...is not my idea of a good afternoon.

I have better things to do.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by pavulon

No squirrels? Between acorns and walnuts, the squirrels and chipmnks guarantee that there is no clean up around here.

The squirrels come around to get them later on....right now they are watching and laughing.

[stevej37]

[QUOTE=Crowbob;11482154]I'm told they do make vacuums to suck the nuts up. I think they're sometimes called Wanda or Cynthia.

I will look for that.

[Crowbob]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Picking them up today...I spent 2 hrs raking and shoveling.
I'm 67 and it's getting old.
Pushing a 6 cu/ft wheelbarrow, full of walnuts, 100 yds away...is not my idea of a good afternoon.

I have better things to do.

So does the wife, I assume.

[stevej37]

^^^ lol

[john70t]

Originally Posted by stevej37

I want the lawn to look good at that spot (right next to the road)
How would I pick them up after letting the grass grow?

You wouldn't have to pick them up hopefully.
That was the entire point. Let nature do her thing.
You control the rest.

Tree bases often look stark and empty (a plain horizontal intersecting a series of vertical) without a cushion.
That is a good thing when the yard needs to seamless and larger. You would probably want a view of the street.
But a big enough plot can be broken up.

Plant hearty bushy perennials at the edge of the tree base perimeter to cover and soften it up from the street view.
Not a botanist here.
PM me if transplants(extra butterfly bush and rose-of-sharon) are even worth a full days drive.

[drcoastline]

First, please don't cut that tree down.

2nd, I would suggest working on your core. Back pains generally are weak core muscles.

3rd, If that doesn't sound appealing try a billygoat lawn vacuum. When I was in the lawn business many, many years ago we used leaf vacums. This was in the day before the landscapers used blowers to blow everything in the street.




Looks like this guy made his own with a trailer?

[stevej37]

^^^ John
I see your point....would prob work for a smaller tree.
This tree drops so many nuts that I can't even walk under the tree (without twisting an ankle)

The ground is completely covered with nuts until I remove them...which has to happen before mowing.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

First, please don't cut that tree down.

2nd, I would suggest working on your core. Back pains generally are weak core muscles.

3rd, If that doesn't sound appealing try a billygoat lawn vacuum. When I was in the lawn business many, many years ago we used leaf vacums. This was in the day before the landscapers used blowers to blow everything in the street.




Looks like this guy made his own with a trailer?

I have the same (Trac-Vac) and it won't suck-up nuts.

[Crowbob]

If the wife doesn't want to cut the tree down, you can always accidently burn it down by inadvertently dumping a couple gallons of fuel oil around the base and trying out that cool lighter you happened to find right next to it.

Or go on a couple days vacation and forget to cancel the tree and stumpgrinder appt. somebody scheduled on the same exact days.

[stevej37]

^^^
I doubt the ****tree would burn.

[john70t]

67? You are doing very fine, sir.

Make it easy for yourself. Don't fret. Don't bother mowing the base of the tree.
Weed-whack it once or twice a year and as they say "forget about it".

[john70t]

Burn a walnut tree where dollars are measured by the square inch?

Oh la la la. Non non non. C'est sacre blue!

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by john70t

67? You are doing very fine sir.

Make it easy for yourself. Don't fret. Don't bother mowing the base of the tree.
Weed-whack it once or twice a year and as they say "forget about it".

Thank you!
The balance of the lawn is very nice. If I just leave them...they will build up to a site-sore. I have to either eliminate the tree (which I don't want to do) or find an easier way to clean up the nuts.

[DerkPerk]

Originally Posted by stevej37

^^^ I wish, but I think for walnuts it's more like every 5th year or more.
Or maybe weather related?

My big walnut tree is crazy this year. Definitely not a yearly or every other year thing. Nuts and squirrels everywhere. I just run the nuts over and let nature take its course. I cut the small walnut trees down that sprout as I don’t want any more of those awful plants around!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk