North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[markl <markl@nytec.com>]

I have a seedling walnut that is producing a crop of nuts for the first time. 
 It has taken about 20 years to reach this point.  So now I want to harvest 
the nuts before the squirrels get them all.  They are green on the outside, 
and the shells are starting to get woody.  Inside, the nutmeat is almost to 
its full size.  Should I pick them green and dry them in a safe place, or 
should I let them hang on the tree until they start to fall off?  Also, how 
do I process them after picking so that I have a pile of nuts with clean 
shells, and not a pile of slimy black balls that they will turn into when the 
green outer coat starts to rot?
-Mark Lee, Seattle z8