Fruits, Berries, and More - Backyard Farming: On an Acre - page 167

Pruning is as simple as removing suckers from the roots, and any side branches that are growing
below your clearance tolerance. Our pecan tree would become so heavy-laden with fruit that
branches below the 10-foot clearance line would literally touch the ground.
Harvesting is rather simple as well, because nuts fall to the ground when they are ripe. But be
quick—send your kids out to pick them up before the squirrels eat them all!
Walnuts ( Juglans spp. )
Different types of walnuts are available, and you can find some hardy and productive ones in zones
4 though 9. The butternut ( J. cinerea ) is a walnut relative, sometimes called the white walnut,
which is even hardy to zone 3. Walnuts make a fabulous shade tree as long as you have room in the
landscape for a 50-foot-tall tree.
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Black walnut can inhibit the growth of certain other plants in the landscape, so plant it in an otherwise
unused corner of the yard, or plant tolerant plants nearby.
Walnuts prefer slightly alkaline soil and are usually best planted from seed. That's because the
young trees quickly develop a thick taproot that acts to stabilize the tree, and provide moisture
during dry seasons. On the downside, that means you'll have a few years of waiting before a newly
planted tree will produce edible nuts for you.
The alternative is to plant a grafted walnut where a walnut-producing top has been grafted onto the
rootstock of another tree species. This makes the tree more tolerant to being transplanted and can
cut a few years off your wait time.
As with pecans, you should prune away suckers that develop from the root system, and any
branches that die during winter or summer seasonal extremes. Otherwise, pruning needs for
walnuts are minimal and a tree will usually grow well on its own.
When ripe, walnuts fall from the tree on their own. A good shake of the lower branches might help
speed things along. Otherwise check the ground below the tree every day while nuts are ripening,
every other day at the most, so the nuts don't rot on the ground.
Let the nuts dry out before shelling so the meat of the nut will be more easily accessed. Nuts will
store for a long time in the freezer if you have an abundance. With the high price of nuts purchased
from the grocery store, a mature nut tree is an invaluable asset to the backyard farm.
Nuts turn rancid when they are exposed to oxygen. If you don't have room in the freezer to store
nuts, you can store them in a glass jar with oxygen absorbers and desiccants (available from storage
supply shops) to prevent rancidity.