A tough nut to crack
There is no better nut for healthy holiday apple cakes than the oil-rich black walnut. Having a bold, earthy flavor, this walnut is the perfect match for spunky spices such as nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. You’ll find these bagged nuts at a princely price in area grocery stores. But if you’re fortunate, you might have a black walnut tree on your own land or located nearby, where you can harvest the plentiful fruit in autumn for an assortment of holiday treats.
Not only is this tree prized for its tasty kernels, but the wood is highly valued in the commercial industry for cabinetry, fine furniture and handsome carvings. The heartwood is heavy, hard, durable and chocolate-brown in color. Black walnut wood is considered the best furniture wood available from any indigenous American tree. And, yes, this tree is native to West Virginia.
Mind you, the Juglans nigra isn’t often neighborhood or town street-friendly. Extra space is needed for planting this aromatic tree. First of all, this walnut can reach lofty heights at maturity. Secondly, as late spring wears on, yellow female flowers give way to those edible nuts now in autumn. From that branch height, you may not want the musky-smelling nut bombs falling into your neighbor’s lawn, in your guttering, on your spiffy hatchback or onto the unsuspecting heads of passersby.
While still on the tree, the immature nuts are enclosed in a fleshy, aromatic, green hull. As they ripen, the nuts fall to the ground. The sturdy husks soon yellow, then blacken, as they decompose, exposing the dark, ridged nut casings. This landscape debris will easily stain sneakers, sidewalks and decking. But the squirrels love them, carrying the nuts chaotically to-and-fro.
If your interest is piqued, take note that juglone is exuded from all parts of the walnut tree. When landscape plants that are sensitive to this chemical are sited near or under this tree they tend to yellow, wilt and possibly die. Look for online Extension publications that list the plants easily damaged by juglone and those that are capable of tolerating or even thriving in it.
Take time this holiday season to crack a black walnut. This family-friendly activity is character building for the New Year. Sit on a tree stump and use a hammer to break the hard nutshell against a cinder block, while taking care not to smash its valuable kernel. Compost these sharp casings, if you have an appropriate site. Use a nut pick to pry the meat from the inner shell corridors. This treasured nut is worth the effort!
An easy-to-use checklist of trees commonly found in Shepherdstown, along with their traditional uses, can be found online at wvforestry.com.
Kristi Hendricks is a graduate of Shepherd College and West Virginia University and a Master Gardener with the Virginia Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at belowthejames@yahoo.com.