Homestead mailing list

[Roy Morgan <k1lky AT earthlink.net>]

On May 28, 2008, at 10:21 AM, Gene GeRue wrote:
> On May 28, 2008, at 8:58 AM, Roy Morgan wrote:
> > Any advice on growing black walnut trees from the nuts welcome.
...Plant black walnuts well back from future gardens--the juglone in
> their root system is toxic to a long list of plants... they tend to  
> be messy

Gene,

Thanks for the succinct and valuable advice.

The new house is some cupla t'ousand feet from the pond.  Well, maybe  
one.  I think some willows near the pond would be nice, and maybe some  
black walnuts.


> ... be generous with your distance from house or
> gardens. Also, you don't want the roots near septic systems

Good point on the septic system.  We have a rough idea where that is,  
and can get more details soon.

I may eventually put in a graywater system near the small barn where  
I'll have my shop.  ("Shop" is likely to include a modest photo  
darkroom and a sink/wash area  for cleaning equipment.)

>  Once they start growing prune them to a central leader. You want them
> straight and tall, for your grandchildren to make beautiful furniture
> from.

Indeed.  My grandfather was a cabinet maker in Boston.  My Grandmother  
may have complained that there was no place to put the baby's clothes,  
and some time later he came home late - on a horse drawn cart perhaps,  
instead of the usual trolley.  On the cart was a four drawer mahogany  
dresser with mirror he'd managed to put together in spare time at the  
factory.  That was 1908.  I have it here now.  I remember my  
grandmother telling me that the Cuban Mahogany they sometimes used was  
very hard on the tools.  'Had sand in it, she said. (Unlikely!)


> Catkins are walnut sex pendants, the long, droopy, fuzzy things that
> hang down and then fall to the ground,

Maybe that has happened already this year. I'll look for them.

Oh, I forgot to report that I can count at least 3 or 4 little walnut  
tree volunteers here - most under 6 feet tall. I hope to dig some of  
them up to get a head start at the new place.

Roy

Roy Morgan
k1lky AT earthlink.net
Lovettsville, VA 20180