Harvesting Walnut Trees
Are you ready to enjoy delicious homegrown nuts? Harvest is the time to enjoy the results of your hard work. Keep a few things in consideration as you reap the the benefits of your labor: the best time to pick nuts from your tree, and how to store the nuts.
NOTE: This is part 11 in a series of 11 articles. For a complete background on how to grow walnut trees, we recommend starting from the beginning.
When to Harvest
Start your harvest in late August through October in 3-7 years depending on the variety and growing conditions. Once the shells are full while the hulls are still intact, knock or shake them from the tree, or gather them off the ground as soon as they fall. The kernels of these species are lighter colored.
Drying
- Heartnuts and Walnuts - Before drying, remove the hull; use rubber gloves to protect your hands from stains.
- Butternuts - The hull does not need to be removed before drying. As the butternut hull dries, it crumbles and any that remains after the drying process is complete can be easily removed with your fingers. Make sure to rinse the hulls with water before drying in order to remove the tannin, otherwise the tannin will penetrate the shell and disflavor the meat.
- Spread the hulls or shelled nuts in a single layer to dry.
- Dry the nuts in a shady area with good air circulation.
- Depending on the air temperatures the drying time will be 1 to 4 weeks.
- When completely dry, the kernels will break cleanly when bent.
The nuts will taste better if the hull is removed while it is still a yellowish color.
These nut trees tend towards a biennial bearing cycle; they will have a heavy crop one year followed by a light crop the next year.
Storage
Left in their shell, nuts will keep for several months in a cool, dry area. Alternatively, you can shell nuts and refrigerate them for several months, or freeze them for longer storage.
