Black Walnut Seed Woes

SprigOfTheLivingDead

Garden Addicted
Joined
Nov 23, 2014
Messages
797
Reaction score
967
Points
237
Location
MN
So I planted a few 5 gallon buckets worth of black walnut seeds in a section of my property figuring that if I saturated an area enough that the squirrels couldn't possibly eat them all.

I took a walk in that area this weekend now that the snow is melting. I'll let you guess how many holes I saw dug up 😟. I guess we'll wait and see if any actually survived.

I guess this next year I should save them all and sprout them myself to plant next spring since saturating obviosuly was not the key. I mean, it was probably key to making some squirrel nice and fat and happy :)
 

Pulsegleaner

Garden Master
Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
3,561
Reaction score
7,029
Points
306
Location
Lower Hudson Valley, New York
The real headache is that I have known squirrels to dig up seeds/nuts and bury them elsewhere. So you ma still get trees, jut not in the place you planned them to be.

That's sort of the reason I have waited on my walnuts. As I only have a handful of any of them, it would be too, too easy for critters to eat them all.

But yeah, when they get going critters can decimate pretty much anything (actually, not decimate, in a decimation 90% of whatever it is is still around)

Each year I try and do the saturation thing with my bean. I plant POUNDS of rice beans and cowpeas to try and get a few to make it through. But as likely as not, the critters eat every one of them (it doesn't help that they are just as eager to eat the plants as the seeds)
 

flowerbug

Garden Master
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
17,099
Reaction score
27,018
Points
427
Location
mid-Michigan, USoA
speaking of critters and trees @SprigOfTheLivingDead you can see we have some very well trained deer to help us out with our topiary...

DSC_20200315_131146-0400_173_Deer_Aided_Topiary_thm.jpg
 

SprigOfTheLivingDead

Garden Addicted
Joined
Nov 23, 2014
Messages
797
Reaction score
967
Points
237
Location
MN
The real headache is that I have known squirrels to dig up seeds/nuts and bury them elsewhere. So you ma still get trees, jut not in the place you planned them to be.

That's sort of the reason I have waited on my walnuts. As I only have a handful of any of them, it would be too, too easy for critters to eat them all.

But yeah, when they get going critters can decimate pretty much anything (actually, not decimate, in a decimation 90% of whatever it is is still around)

Each year I try and do the saturation thing with my bean. I plant POUNDS of rice beans and cowpeas to try and get a few to make it through. But as likely as not, the critters eat every one of them (it doesn't help that they are just as eager to eat the plants as the seeds)
Yeah, they replanted a bunch of Kentucky Coffeetree seeds a few years ago. Then once I dug them back up and potted them they came back and killed them :(
 

YourRabbitGirl

Garden Ornament
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Messages
434
Reaction score
192
Points
85
So I planted a few 5 gallon buckets worth of black walnut seeds in a section of my property figuring that if I saturated an area enough that the squirrels couldn't possibly eat them all.

I took a walk in that area this weekend now that the snow is melting. I'll let you guess how many holes I saw dug up 😟. I guess we'll wait and see if any actually survived.

I guess this next year I should save them all and sprout them myself to plant next spring since saturating obviosuly was not the key. I mean, it was probably key to making some squirrel nice and fat and happy :)
Sew one black walnut seed in each pot at a depth of 1 to 2 inches. Set the pots against the south-facing wall inside a ventilated cold frame or outside. Choose a spot that offers light shade during the hottest part of the day. Keep the soil mixture constantly moist in the top 3 inches during the germination process. even my monkey neighbors love them.
 

SprigOfTheLivingDead

Garden Addicted
Joined
Nov 23, 2014
Messages
797
Reaction score
967
Points
237
Location
MN
Sew one black walnut seed in each pot at a depth of 1 to 2 inches. Set the pots against the south-facing wall inside a ventilated cold frame or outside. Choose a spot that offers light shade during the hottest part of the day. Keep the soil mixture constantly moist in the top 3 inches during the germination process. even my monkey neighbors love them.
You talking for winter stratification or germination in the springtime? My whole point with my attempt of just sowing them to soil in the late fall was I didn't want even more trees to have to transplant in the late spring 😆 as I own a damn tree farm and already have enough of that to do.
 

flowerbug

Garden Master
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
17,099
Reaction score
27,018
Points
427
Location
mid-Michigan, USoA
i guess you'd need a wire cage over them until they're up a bit and won't get eaten or pulled up further.
 

Latest posts

Top