Author Topic: Tennis balls in my black walnut trees ? (Read 2393 times)

UNCLEBUCK · « **on:** September 14, 2006, 06:28:29 pm »

Look like big green pears hangin everywhere ? Gorp

They are huge ! Could it be ? Could it really be a ? Never seen anything like this before so I hope someone will take a moment and splain ? Thanks a bunch

thurlow · « **Reply #1 on:** September 14, 2006, 06:57:49 pm »

I've played my share of tennis; never seen any balls without seams/lines, so I doubt they're tennis balls..................of course, I've never seen any immature balls, so could be?? On another thread, someone was trying to identify some large black balls

; maybe these are the immature stage of them.................

Riles · « **Reply #2 on:** September 14, 2006, 10:13:30 pm »

You were expecting maybe bowling balls in your black walnut tree?

DanG · « **Reply #3 on:** September 14, 2006, 11:17:13 pm »

Them ain't tennis balls, they're Grapefruits. Buck, you're probably the very first person to ever grow Grapefruit in Minnesota. You're gonna be famous!

Texas Ranger · « **Reply #4 on:** September 14, 2006, 11:30:07 pm »

DanG! I hope you guys are funnin.

UNCLEBUCK · « **Reply #5 on:** September 15, 2006, 12:12:34 am »

Boy I am puzzled now as I have watched this tree grow since it was a twig and it came from Gurneys along with a big order of other things. Never seen a walnut tree make walnuts so I had to ask . I have seen walnuts in the store but thought maybe they are green on the tree or something ? A grapenut tree

Maybe gurneys got it bagged wrong but I will have to cut one of these thingys off tomorrow and report !

DanG , I am going to hoot and holler if youre right

Watch out for the walnut trees granny would shout out when I mow lawn . I have more of these around the yard . I am puzzled and excited and might have to go back to this tree right now , yep , I'm going , this is too exciting ! Thanks all

Tom · « **Reply #6 on:** September 15, 2006, 12:33:37 am »

If those are walnuts, make sure you have on rubber gloves if you cut them open. They will stain you a pretty brown and it will last a long long time.

UNCLEBUCK · « **Reply #7 on:** September 15, 2006, 12:42:01 am »

Well I guess I should have just taken one off today and did a examination , planted 500 of these and alot died because it gets 40 below zero here so never had the chance to ever see one grow except the ones I planted around the yard where the snow gets very deep . I am totally amazed at this second skin around the walnut . Its a DanG black walnut ! My first crop of walnuts! Thanks

beenthere · « **Reply #8 on:** September 15, 2006, 01:06:29 am »

Looked like black walnut 'walnuts' all along. That green husk will turn black fast, and be real black, and like Tom says (never doubt him

) the black will stain. The nut inside can be washed clean (I do it in a 5 gal bucket and use the hose to tumble them around) and then spread them out to dry. Once dry, the meats inside can be removed by cracking the shell.
I use the vise in my shop to crack them. More controlled than a hammer.

The meats make great cookies and cakes, when added.

Here is a MN site on black walnut harvesting

Patty · « **Reply #9 on:** September 15, 2006, 07:30:52 am »

Buck, are walnut trees that scarce up where you are? I was a little suprised to read this thread. If you let the squirrels plant those walnuts you will someday have a whole yard full of beautiful trees.

Hey, nice pen there in the photo.

JimBuis · « **Reply #10 on:** September 15, 2006, 07:48:17 am »

When those walnuts start falling, lay them out together on some hard ground and drive a car back and forth over them to take off the external husk. It makes it alot easier to come along then and pick up the walnuts to get them ready for cracking. Cracking that inner shell is a real job. I agree that a vise would be helpful. I wouldn't try one of those cute little household nutcrackers on them. Unless the nutcracker has a handle 12" or more in length, it usually won't stand a chance. The shell will just laugh at you. Also, don't even think about a hammer. You can break them that way, but the pieces become instant shrapnel. There's been more than one emergency room visit caused by walnut shrapnel.

Jim

DanG · « **Reply #11 on:** September 15, 2006, 11:00:01 am »

This reminds me of something my Brother-in-law was telling me. Lil' Sis bought a bag of grapefruit that turned out to be not very good. They were dry and had poor flavor, so they didn't eat them. After they set around in the house a few days, BIL took them out and tossed them into the edge of the woods across the road. The next day, a crew of laborers stopped there to take a break in the shade and found the grapefruits scattered under the pines. They all sat down and had a feast of this mystery fruit. BIL said it was hilarious watching a bunch of Guatamalans running around looking up into the pine forest for more fruit.

Those walnuts look a lot like the Tung nuts on that other thread. They have a thick husk also, but there are several nuts inside. I have one that is about dried out now, so I'll take some pics and put them over there.

beenthere · « **Reply #12 on:** September 15, 2006, 11:35:05 am »

DanG
UB's first pic reminded me so much of your pic of the tung nut, that I thought initially that UB was pulling our leg and using your picture to do it. I didn't take the time to look up your picture to compare.

UNCLEBUCK · « **Reply #13 on:** September 16, 2006, 05:42:27 pm »

Should have seen the look on my face when I cut the hide off of this green thing , I really thought I had me a special tree or something

I am just amazed about this as I am in zone 3 .

Thank you beenthere for the info and link which I am going to study and thanks Jim Buis for the tips . Thanks Tom for the info and thanks Patty for the handcrafted wooden pen

DanG had me goin because quite some time ago I planted peaches and pears , plums,cherries, apricots and some other stuff and thought I really had me baby grapefruit or something

I am so excited especially after losing 500 trees to the harsh winter . They are beautiful trees and if it would have snowed more I believe the 500 planted would have survived because they really did well the first summer and were very hardy . It gets so cold here there is no rattlesnakes or possum or black walnut so I will take very good care of these . I planted those 500 black walnut transplants so someday 60 years from now my little nephew would have a ace in the hole if he ever got into a financial fix but I think I might try another 500 next spring and plant them all in a better snow catch area . Things I learn here are sometimes overwhelming

Tom · « **Reply #14 on:** September 16, 2006, 06:52:39 pm »

Uncle Buck,
I don't know how you are planting these, but...

One of my customers was growing some on his property here. We don't have Black Walnut here except for what some nut brings in.

He gave me a sack full (seems he had an abundance.

) and asked if I knew how to plant them. "Nope".

He said that all he does is kick them around the yard until he finds a place that looks like it needs a tree and then he steps on it. It smushes down into the ground till it's about level with the surface and he goes off and forgets it. Next thing he knows (he says) there's a tree growing there.

Texas Ranger · « **Reply #15 on:** September 16, 2006, 07:03:58 pm »

Tom. you let the secret out. Years ago my family was establishing a walnut plantation up in Missouri. We would buy X number of seedlings from the state, and plant them. We began noticing that the chipmonks would bury nuts all over the yard (Yard had a half dozen big black walnut trees), by father, being the source of all my knowledge and considerable talent in saving sweat, started taking walnuts out and stomping them in the ground where he wanted trees. Worked.

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #16 on:** September 16, 2006, 07:08:04 pm »

That's about what I do Tom, with mine. Also, with the butternut seed. Actually, the butternut on my lawn simply germinated where they fell, I didn't have nut'n to do with it. See, we have this thing they call frost that upheaves the topsoil and by spring they are burried just deep enough.

But, usually I make use of a dibble bare for making a shallow hole, plunk the seed in ,husk and all, and by July I got trees. I have germinated walnut from Virginia and NC sources, not very hardy up here in Zone 4b. Not sure if the seed from my young walnut trees took cause they are impossible to find in among shrubs that are the same colour or leaf shape.

I've gotta start harvesting some basswood seed before the rainy season hits so I can have them in the ground. I could pick a paleful off my yard trees this year.

jon12345 · « **Reply #17 on:** September 16, 2006, 07:23:21 pm »

When I was doin some googlin on nut trees I came across somethin that said there is a type of walnut that can grow up in canada, if I can find the name of the variety I'll edit.

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #18 on:** September 16, 2006, 07:48:59 pm »

Jon, I have two. They are native to southern Ontario, around Lake Erie. I got mine from Quebec. I know a couple other people around that have some black walnut as well. I have a few seed again this year. The trees were planted in '92 They seem to grow as fast as aspen trees.

jon12345 · « **Reply #19 on:** September 17, 2006, 09:31:47 am »

I read about this on southern ontario nut growers website, doesn't say what the variety was, just that there was one that would grow in zone 3.

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Author Topic: Tennis balls in my black walnut trees ? (Read 2393 times)