[NAFEX] Planting Butternuts and Black Walnuts
Dr. Lucky Pittman
lucky.pittman at murraystate.edu
Wed Nov 4 10:15:37 EST 2009
Members of the KNGA undertook a direct-seeding planting of pecans on some KY
Dept of Fish & Wildlife properties in western KY a number of years ago,
using the X-cut cans, as Jim described. Thwarts squirrels, but raccoons
will dig/pull up the cans and get the pecans. Don't know if raccoons are at
all attracted to butternuts/BWs. I've not seen/heard a follow-up report
with regard to how those plantings have done or progressed.
One strategy I've also seen put forward for direct-seeding walnuts, is to
plant 3 nuts per hole, one on top each other. Squirrels can't count, and
while they may pilfer the top one, and possibly even the second one, they'll
rarely get the more deeply-planted third nut.
Lucky
Jim Fruth wrote:
A fellow I once knew planted several acres of nut seeds and the
squirrels found and dug up nearly all. He thwarted the squirrels for his
second planting. He obtained a quantity of tin cans (Campbells soup cans,
etc) that had one end cut off. At the closed end of each can, he cut an "X"
and peeled the flaps out. One of these cans was placed over the top of each
nut at planting. Seedlings grew through the end of the can and, by the time
the diameter expanded to fit the can, much of it had rusted away so the
young trees were not girdled.
More information about the nafex
mailing list