Black Walnuts

Black Walnuts on the Tree

 September in Pennsylvania (and most of the region) means it's black walnut season. Black walnuts are large, native trees with compound leaves and large, green nuts. Actually, the nuts are black but they are covered in a fleshy, green covering. Inside the black shell is a delicious little treat that people have been eating for eons. 

To be honest, black walnuts have a strong flavor and not everyone likes them but if you do, they are easy to find. If you are lucky enough to own some wooded property, then you probably already have at least one black walnut tree. If you don't, then you probably know some one who does. Or, you may find black walnut trees in public parks where the nuts feed the squirrels and make mowing difficult. You should always get permission before nutting on someone else's land but usually the owners won't mind at all. 

Nuts in general are very healthy but expensive in the stores so getting free nuts is worth a bit of effort. Fortunately, the effort does not go into picking as the trees are too tall to reach into and the nuts aren't ready till they fall to the ground. All you need is a bucket to go around and pick them off the ground. 

Black Walnuts after they've been shelled

To harvest these nuts, you need to remove that fleshy outer covering first. You can do this by hand, or follow my parents example and dump them out on a gravel drive way. Then just drive over them in the course of a few weeks and most of that layer will come off. Then, the hard part (pun intended), you'll need a hammer and a cement surface. Please learn from my mistake and don't do this on your kitchen table. Using a cement surface, smash the nuts with a hammer and then fish out the delicious nuts from the inside, being careful to separate out any hard, sharp pieces of the black shell. Then you can simply store them in a dry area till you want to eat them. 

I think black walnuts lend themselves best to more savory dishes like breads and oatmeal but you can use them in just about anything you would use other nuts for. Do you like eating black walnuts? Feel free to share your recipes in the comment section below. 

What You Need To Know About Pruning

Hedge Sheers, for formal hedges only!

 Pruning is an art and a science. There are some hard and fast rules but also a subjecting sense of doing what feels right. You can read books and books about pruning and get overwhelmed with information. If you have any woody shrubs or trees on your property, here are some basic rules to get you started. 

First, use sharp, clean tools. I good pair of by-pass hand pruners will go a long way. For larger branches, you may need a lopper. You can easily find these at any hardware store. It's best to sanitize your tools between plants so you don't spread any pathogens from plant to plant. One tool you should use sparingly are hedge sheers. The only woody plants you should ever use them on is formal hedges. They are really hard on plants and the only reason you can use them on formal hedges is because yews and boxwood are hardy enough to handle the abuse. 

Second, you can always prune out the three D's - dead, diseased or damaged. If you see this on your plant any time of year, go ahead and prune them off. 

2 Branch Collars

Third, always leave on the branch collar when you prune a branch off. The branch collar is the swelling of wood at the base of a  branch and it's natures way of keeping pathogens from getting into the larger branch or trunk. (see picture). 

Fourth, buy the appropriate sized plant for the space available. If you purchase a rhododendron that wants to be 15 feet high and plant it under your living room window, you will be fighting with it forever. Trying to keep a plant smaller than it wants to be requires more effort than most people are willing to put in. So, measure your space and buy a plant that won't need to be controlled for size. 

Finally your best bet is to always know the proper ID of your plant and then research it's specific pruning needs. You don't need to know how to prune pine trees if there are no pines on your property. You can just learn how to take care of the plants you have. 

Plants in general are hardier than we give them credit for. Most will over come a pruning mistake or two. So don't be afraid to take care of your plants. Educate yourself and then do it! For further reading...

https://extension.psu.edu/pruning-shrubs-and-trees

https://extension.psu.edu/programs/master-gardener/counties/lackawanna/news/2015/to-prune-or-not-to-prune-it-all-depends-on-flowering

Toddler Proof Christmas Decorating Part 2

Last week I wrote about how to enjoy beautiful Christmas decorating even if you have young children in the house. This week, I want to focus in on the ultimate Christmas decoration - the tree. We've all heard of or experienced a pet or child related Christmas tree disaster. While I can't make any guarantees, I will share what's worked well for us.

First, a smaller tree might help if you have a younger toddler. In our old home, we had a really small living room so we would buy a fresh, four foot tree and tie it to the top of a side table. We then put a small skirt over the stand and the rope and it looked lovely and was, for the most part, out of our daughter's reach.

If you love a full size tree, as I do, then you can tie it to the wall in the back to help prevent the tree from being pulled over. While the tree is up, you can't see it at all. When the tree is done, there is just a very small nail that no one ever notices.

Second, many writers suggest that if you have pets or children, then you should buy a tree with soft needles (assuming you're buying fresh, if you like artificial trees then this won't apply). However, I see things differently. It's a pain to decorate but if you use a fresh tree with very prickly needles - like a spruce tree - will act as a deterrent to the smaller inhabitants of your home. 

Third, everyone knows to put the fragile ornaments at the top of your tree out of the kids reach. Be sure to affix them firmly so if the tree is shaken for any reason the ornaments stay put. Also, be sure to have plenty of unbreakable ornaments around the bottom of the tree to keep your kids distracted from the ones higher up.

Finally, keep a sense of humor and remember that this is your kids home too. Even as perfectionist as I can be, last year I was fine with my daughter pulling ornaments off and playing with them. As long as she left the lights alone, we were fine with her "messing it up".

I know some people put gates or fences around their tree to keep the kids away but I never liked that idea. It takes up too much space, it looks bad and it sends the message to the kids that Christmas is hands off. However, every home is different and you've gotta do what works for you.

Also, I should mention that safety is crucial. Be sure to use relatively new lights that have less or no heat and won't start a fire. Keep all open flames well away from your tree.

How do you keep your Christmas tree beautiful? Be sure to post your tips in the comments below.

Review of the Dirt Doctor

Have you ever accidentally happened upon information that you needed at just the right time? A few weeks ago I had a blast at the Mother Earth News Fair in Seven Springs, PA. One workshop I almost missed out on was "Tree Maintenance and Care" with Howard Garrett.  I almost didn't go (end of the day) but our only mature tree had been showing signs of distress and I was also planting several other trees and didn't really know what I was doing. This class really helped.

Please note, I don't get paid any thing from Mr. Garrett or his company nor did I get special permission to write about his methods. This is just my review of the class as well as how I've applied the information to my yard. Also, Mr. Garrett is also known as the "Dirt Doctor" and you can learn a lot from his website: www.dirtdoctor.com. 

Mr Garrett's main theory is that it is very difficult to plant a tree too shallow but it is very easy to plant a tree too deep. He says trees need to show a "flare", that is, you should see the root system starting to branch out away from the trunk. Trees should not look like telephone polls coming out of the ground he says. So, if you have a tree in need of help, here are his three steps.

1. Dig away from the tree till you can see the root flare. You may see some superfluous roots spiraling around the trunk and they should be removed. 
2. Aerate the soil and sprinkle soil amendments over it. He mentioned a few but the only one I remember is Corn Meal. I remembered that one because it was the cheapest. 
3. Make Garrett Juice and spray on the foliage. He generously gives out the recipe so you can make your own. It's an organic plant food. 

So, on my ornamental cherry, I dug out several inches of mulch and soil to expose several roots. I had to remove spiraling roots and then placed decorative rocks to fill in a bit of the hole created without touching them to the trunk or putting them over the roots. I could have made the Garrett Juice but it was so much cheaper to order the concentrate online so that's what I did. I sprayed it on many of the leaves and also created a ground soak to pour around the trunk. I've bought corn meal but haven't used it yet. I won't really know how well it works till next spring though.

How about you? Have you tried Mr. Garrett's advice? What advice do you have for tree care?

Necessary Pruning for Beginners Part 2

So, in the previous post we talked about removing suckers from your tree. You are completely capable of doing two other kinds of pruning cuts on your small or ornamental trees. So grab your pruners and read on.

First, if a branch has been broken, damaged or diseased in some way, then it ought to be removed. If it's a large limb requiring a ladder, then you should call in the professionals. However, if you can reach it from the ground, then go ahead and remove the branch from its base, cutting it flush with the trunk so it doesn't leave a stub. You can do this any time of year as you don't want any disease to spread.

Second, you may have a tree in your yard that is hard to mow under because the branches are too low to the ground. How annoying! We had that issue with the ornamental cherry tree that came with our backyard. We love it but were getting whacked in the head all the time. As you can see in before and after pictures, I just went around and cut away all of the smaller branches that where angled downward. I only needed a small chainsaw for one larger branch that just needed to go. The rest where small enough to use pruners. If too-low branches are driving you nuts ever time you have to mow under them, then now is the best time to get out there are clean it up.

Don't be nervous! Trees are tougher than you think. Even if you over prune a bit, the tree will bounce back in time. As I said in the previous post, you don't need to put any kind of a sealant on the cuts as the tree will heal itself. Also, for more info, check out "Grow A Little Fruit Tree" by Ann Ralph.

Necessary Pruning for Beginners Part 1

If you own a yard with a tree in it, then you need to read this post. Pruning can be intimidating but you don't need a special class to do some basic cuts that will improve the health and appearance of your tree. That being said, if you have large trees (over 20 feet tall for our purposes) that need limb removal, please hire professionals. People get hurt all the time from climbing up into trees with chainsaws. 

For those of you with fruit trees, ornamental trees, or trees that are still young, you may have noticed "suckers" -small branches growing from the base of your tree. These branches are not desirable for either the appearance or health of the tree and should be removed. You can do this any time but winter is the traditional time for pruning in northern climates as the tree is dormant.

Start with clean, sharp pruners and cut as close as possible to the trunk of the tree so you don't leave stubs. You don't need to use any kind of sealant as the tree can heal by itself. I recommend you check over all your trees once a year because the larger the suckers get, the larger the scab will be on the tree. You don't want your ornamental trees to resemble the very neglected crab apple in the picture.

Also, if there are other small branches growing from the trunk below the scaffold (the place where the first main branches separate from the trunk) you can also remove them while you're at it.

Don't be nervous! You can totally do this and it will be great for your trees. For more information, particularly on fruit trees, I recommend "Grow A Little Fruit Tree" by Ann Ralph.