Salutations, gentlefolk,

Did a bit of research and found that the little green tennisballs
falling in my front yard actually contain black walnuts.

Any advice on how to seperate the edible part from the "containers'',
and prepare them ?

Second, another walnut tree a few houses down has a gypsy moth nest
among its branches. Any advice on how this investation oughta be
dealt with, and how to persuade the owner to deal with it ?

Yours, John Desmond

In article ,
wrote:

Salutations, gentlefolk,

Did a bit of research and found that the little green tennisballs
falling in my front yard actually contain black walnuts.

Any advice on how to seperate the edible part from the "containers'',
and prepare them ?

My dad would drive his car back and forth to crush the shell. I like
black walnut brittle. Be aware that the dye in those shells is potent.
STAIN BIG TIME

Second, another walnut tree a few houses down has a gypsy moth nest
among its branches. Any advice on how this investation oughta be
dealt with, and how to persuade the owner to deal with it ?

Gypsy moths do not have nests just troublesome egg clusters. Name
skips me but perhaps EASTERN TENT CATERPILLAR

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef423.asp



Yours, John Desmond

Bill

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

On Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:34:12 -0400, wrote:

Salutations, gentlefolk,

Did a bit of research and found that the little green tennisballs
falling in my front yard actually contain black walnuts.

Any advice on how to seperate the edible part from the "containers'',
and prepare them ?

Dry them, then separate by hand, if they didn't fall out naturally.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardand...404blkwal.html
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/champa...rs/991002.html
http://www.bigredcouch.com/journal/a...k_walnuts.html


Second, another walnut tree a few houses down has a gypsy moth nest
among its branches. Any advice on how this investation oughta be
dealt with, and how to persuade the owner to deal with it ?


Call your local Department of Food and Agriculture and let them deal
with the problem.



--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

wrote in
:

Salutations, gentlefolk,

Did a bit of research and found that the little green
tennisballs falling in my front yard actually contain black
walnuts.

don't stand under the tree when the wind is blowing. those
things hurt!

Any advice on how to seperate the edible part from the
"containers'', and prepare them ?

the ones falling now aren't ripe, just the tree self cleaning.
the ripe ones fall in late September/October. the husks will
still be green however. gather them up & put into wood or
cardboard boxes (not plastic. it doesn't 'breathe') & store
out of reach of squirrels until the husks turn brown. while
you can remove the husks green, it's easier when they turn
brown.
if you know any natural dyers call them to come over & remove
the husks. otherwise, pick a nice day, take your box of
walnuts & a pair of rubber gloves outside & start peeling off
the husks. you can skip the gloves if you don't mind your
hands turning brown & staying that way for a week or two.
don't get the juice from the husks on any clothes you don't
want stained either.
if you waited for the husks to turn brown, you may find grubs
in the husks. don't worry about them, they aren't in the nuts,
just the husks (at least i've never found any in the nuts).
don't put the removed husks into your compost or dump them
near your gardens. i boil them for dye.
after dehulling let the walnuts 'age' for a couple months (i
start using them around mid-December for holiday baking).
they'll keep for a *long* time in the shell. my grandpa had
some for several years & they were still good.
they're a bit of a pain to open. i use a hammer. some people
spread them on the driveway & run over them with their car.

Second, another walnut tree a few houses down has a gypsy
moth nest among its branches. Any advice on how this
investation oughta be dealt with, and how to persuade the
owner to deal with it ?

gypsy moths make nests in the spring. what your neighbor has
is autumn bagworms. they're ugly, but don't cause nearly the
damage the gypsy moth larvae do.
in any case, spraying the tree with bt will kill the
caterpillers (but the ugly nest will remain). i ignore the
bagworms for the most part. both my black walnut trees have a
few this year. mostly they just bother my cherry trees.
lee
--
Last night while sitting in my chair
I pinged a host that wasn't there
It wasn't there again today
The host resolved to NSA.

wrote in message
...
Second, another walnut tree a few houses down has a gypsy moth nest
among its branches. Any advice on how this investation oughta be
dealt with, and how to persuade the owner to deal with it ?

Whatever they are...propane torch or flame weeder - that's what my dad
always did.

In article ,
"dejablues" wrote:

wrote in message
...
Second, another walnut tree a few houses down has a gypsy moth nest
among its branches. Any advice on how this investation oughta be
dealt with, and how to persuade the owner to deal with it ?

Whatever they are...propane torch or flame weeder - that's what my dad
always did.

Another choice is to cut the branch with the nest and burn it on the
ground.

In article ,
wrote:

Salutations, gentlefolk,

Did a bit of research and found that the little green tennisballs
falling in my front yard actually contain black walnuts.

Any advice on how to seperate the edible part from the "containers'',
and prepare them ?

Second, another walnut tree a few houses down has a gypsy moth nest
among its branches. Any advice on how this investation oughta be
dealt with, and how to persuade the owner to deal with it ?

Yours, John Desmond

Good advice on the waiting part.

We had 2 ways to clean the husks off. One was to lay the nuts down in a
single layer on our gravel driveway and drive over them repeatedly for a
couple weeks and then put all your small children to picking the nuts
out of the gravel. You then have to actually open the nuts. Very Very
Very hard nuts. Almost as bad as hickory to crack.

The other method my dad came up with after he ran out of small children
was too do small batches in a old cement mixer he had. That worked
wonderfully at getting the hulls off. He also rigged up some kind of
press to crack the nuts. This was amazingly accurate and he often got
very large whole pieces out of the nuts. No idea what this press was or
if I even ever saw it. My dad was a welder and machinist so he likely
invented his own thing.

wrote:

Salutations, gentlefolk,

Did a bit of research and found that the little green tennisballs
falling in my front yard actually contain black walnuts.

Any advice on how to seperate the edible part from the "containers'',
and prepare them ?

I'd probably offer them for free to anybody willing to come and pick
them up. Removing the husk and shell is a major PITA, especially for
something that tastes the way toe jam smells.

At this time of year the walnuts are starting to shed their first shedding
of leaves. These tent caterpillars are not injuring the tree at this time.
Most of the leaf activity has been coming to an end.
It would be different if it was in spring. Also if you goal is to help the
walnut tree I must suggest proper mulching. Maybe you could try to convince
them to properly mulch the tree and this will help the tree become
healthier.

Mulching -
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/M/mulch.html

You could explain to them that the rhizosphere would do better with proper
mulching. Turf really does not help the tree much and causes more of a
problem than tent caterpillars. However DO NOT dig out the turf, the turf
roots grow deeper than the non-woody absorbing (absorb water and essential
elements from soil) of the tree. Digging out the turf will injure the tree.
Here is an article your neighbor could read. Mulch can be applied anytime
as long as it is composted for at least a year. NOT FRESH CHIPS!


Troubles in the Rhizosphere
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/RHIZO.html

Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.

--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.

wrote in message
...
Salutations, gentlefolk,

Did a bit of research and found that the little green tennisballs
falling in my front yard actually contain black walnuts.

Any advice on how to seperate the edible part from the "containers'',
and prepare them ?

Second, another walnut tree a few houses down has a gypsy moth nest
among its branches. Any advice on how this investation oughta be
dealt with, and how to persuade the owner to deal with it ?

Yours, John Desmond

On Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:34:12 -0400, wrote:

Salutations, gentlefolk,

Did a bit of research and found that the little green tennisballs
falling in my front yard actually contain black walnuts.

Any advice on how to seperate the edible part from the "containers'',
and prepare them ?


Drive over them. A lot of hand work needed to remove the meat, and
the husks stain everything.


Second, another walnut tree a few houses down has a gypsy moth nest
among its branches. Any advice on how this investation oughta be
dealt with, and how to persuade the owner to deal with it ?

Yours, John Desmond

Breaking the nest open will expose the larvae to birds. Or, a
propane torch will make quick work out of it.

In article ,
enigma wrote:

gypsy moths make nests in the spring. what your neighbor has
is autumn bagworms. they're ugly, but don't cause nearly the
damage the gypsy moth larvae do.

Bagworms are small nests resembling a large ladies earring.

There is a good photo at:

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef440.asp

Tent caterpillars spin these things that look like a mass of spider webs
full of caterpillars.

There are good photos at:

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef423.asp

What you are seeing now is the fall webworm.

There are good photos at:

http://www.bugwood.org/factsheets/webworm.html

Also see: "Leaf-feeding caterpillars confused with gypsy moth" at:

http://www.entm.purdue.edu/GM/Trees/...ingPillars.htm



Regarding Black Walnuts. I have several acres of them and some of my
neighbors do harvest them. I recommend following the instructions posted
by the University of Minnesota at:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardand...404blkwal.html

Do not confuse black walnuts with English/Persian Walnuts or Carpathian
Walnuts. What you buy in the store for walnuts is English/Carpathian
walnuts. Some people in the north raise Carpathian walnuts since they
grow in colder climates and are fairly good also. Black walnuts are
edible but not as popular since they have a strong flavor. They are
mostly used in baking and not eaten raw very often.
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Visit my Rhododendron and Azalea web pages at:
http://rhodyman.net/rahome.html
Also visit the Rhododendron and Azalea Bookstore at:
http://rhodyman.net/rabooks.html
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA Zone 6

Kathleen wrote:
wrote:

Salutations, gentlefolk,

Did a bit of research and found that the little green tennisballs
falling in my front yard actually contain black walnuts.

Any advice on how to seperate the edible part from the "containers'',
and prepare them ?

I'd probably offer them for free to anybody willing to come and pick
them up. Removing the husk and shell is a major PITA, especially for
something that tastes the way toe jam smells.



"To each his own."

I think they are delicious--aromatic and not bitter like some English
walnuts. They're wonderful in cookies or brownies. They ARE a PITA
to extract from the shells, however, and never come out whole.

gloria p

"symplastless" wrote in message
. ..
At this time of year the walnuts are starting to shed their first shedding
c

You could explain to them that the rhizosphere would do better with proper
mulching. Turf really does not help the tree much and causes more of a
problem than tent caterpillars. However DO NOT dig out the turf, the turf
roots grow deeper than the non-woody absorbing (absorb water and essential
elements from soil) of the tree. Digging out the turf will injure the
tree. Here is an article your neighbor could read. Mulch can be applied
anytime as long as it is composted for at least a year. NOT FRESH CHIPS!

Explain from science how mulching will aid in the control of gypsy moth,
yard man.

Troubles in the Rhizosphere
http://www.trceedictiodnary.com/DICT...igo/RHIZO.html

Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting yard boy
www.treedicctionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding
us that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books
that will give them understanding.

On Aug 30, 9:08*pm, Gloria P wrote:
Kathleen wrote:
wrote:

Salutations, gentlefolk,

Did a bit of research and found that the little green tennisballs
falling in my front yard actually contain black walnuts.

Any advice on how to seperate the edible part from the *"containers'',
and prepare them ?

I'd probably offer them for free to anybody willing to come and pick
them up. *Removing the husk and shell is a major PITA, especially for
something that tastes the way toe jam smells.

"To each his own."

I think they are delicious--aromatic and not bitter like some English
walnuts. *They're wonderful in cookies or brownies. *They ARE a PITA
to extract from the shells, however, and never come out whole.

gloria p



YES! They are delicious and like eveyone else says, a pain to crack.
My neighbor has a tree and it's like driving over golf balls as most
fall into the street. The squirrels are happy with them, though.

"D. Staples" wrote:

Explain from science how mulching will aid in the control of gypsy moth,
yard man.

He didn't say that. He said that turf was bad for black walnut and
gypsy moth was just an annoyance. However, fall webworm is not gypsy
moth.
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Visit my Rhododendron and Azalea web pages at:
http://rhodyman.net/rahome.html
Also visit the Rhododendron and Azalea Bookstore at:
http://rhodyman.net/rabooks.html
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA Zone 6