Wayne Robinson

I'm somewhat the opposite; I always remember a face, but what I can't do is remember how I know that face or what their name is. It's quite infuriating.

M Waisman wrote:If removing the trees is beneficial to you and your site, it may be something to consider. Walnut is prized lumber these days and burns great in wood stoves. You may find people eager to take down the walnuts.

We have several on a fenceline that provide excellent shade for our grazing livestock and they are antiparasitic so our crew of critters loves self-medicating and hanging out under them. They have a good place here but aren't always useful and appreciated.

Don't raspberries do well with walnut? I think so?  As for leeks, typically if some allium do well then any would.

I have strongly considered selling it, but f I were to do try, I'd suspect I'd have to let them grow for several more garden-less seasons. Their trunks are only 12-18'' diameter, are quite leggy, and they all have pretty decent lean to them, so I'm assuming you're not harvesting much straight lumber from them. They must have one helluva taproot.

I've cut down several limbs, and smaller trees that I've found sprouting up, and used it for the firepit and the smoker. Firepit is great, but cooking meats with it can be quite overpowering, so you have to use it sparingly, either with charcoal or ash as the heat source, and a little BW for flavor.

I also researched raspberries, blackberries and blueberries for under their canopy, and my strawberries are still coming back every year, but that still doesn't help my italian wife's desire for fresh tomatoes and eggplant, and this plot is the only viable location for a veggie garden.

After all this, I do feel my only option is to cut at least two of the three down, with the hope that the 3rd is far enough away from the garden not to affect it. The reason they're still standing, besides my general schedule, is their lean. They're probably only 5-6' away from each other at the base, lean away from each other quite heavily, and both have to fall in the same line. I'll have to drop the second one using the backcut first method, which has me nervous, given the small diameter of the trunk

Ryan Oeschger wrote:

Wayne Robinson wrote:The ongoing bane of my garden… when I first started my garden several years ago, I had a few saplings along the tree line, on the northern facing edge of where I put my garden. Didn’t know what they were at first, so I just left them be. When they first started dropping the green grenades, I had no idea they had walnuts inside, but didn’t think much of them because they were still small trees. I have tried harvesting them in the past, and I’ve had good success, but the shells are so hard, and the meat is so intertwined in it, that I decided it wasn’t worth all of the effort. Now, I am stuck with 3 30 foot walnut trees that poison anything I try to grow, other than herbs, squash and alliums, and whenever I get around to taking them down, they will still be poisoning the soil for years. The worst part is everything grows great, right up until it’s time for the veggies to fruit, then everything either dies or wilts to nothing

Have you tried tapping them? Black Walnut Syrup is divine.

I have not, but I have considered it. I didn't even bother with gardening this season. I just left it covered for the season. I was hoping to cut down the two closest to my gardening plot, so maybe I'll tap the 3rd one and see how it goes.

The ongoing bane of my garden… when I first started my garden several years ago, I had a few saplings along the tree line, on the northern facing edge of where I put my garden. Didn’t know what they were at first, so I just left them be. When they first started dropping the green grenades, I had no idea they had walnuts inside, but didn’t think much of them because they were still small trees. I have tried harvesting them in the past, and I’ve had good success, but the shells are so hard, and the meat is so intertwined in it, that I decided it wasn’t worth all of the effort. Now, I am stuck with 3 30 foot walnut trees that poison anything I try to grow, other than herbs, squash and alliums, and whenever I get around to taking them down, they will still be poisoning the soil for years. The worst part is everything grows great, right up until it’s time for the veggies to fruit, then everything either dies or wilts to nothing

I wish I had time and land to do biochar, but for now I have a 2 pallet wide x 1 pallet high x 1 pallet deep box that I compost in, and besides all the kitchen scraps, grass clippings and leaves I can manage, I have a neighbor with pet goats that I collect the soiled bedding from, and I drive around in the fall to collect the lawn bags of leaves and bales of hay that the neighbors leave out. Whatever I don't use in compost becomes the winter blanket  for my garden. I've never once tested any levels, but I haven't really needed to.

I have a small thicket of trees and bushes on my property line, next to my garden, that I have always contemplated doing so many things with, a smallish hugelkultur being one of them. Currently, it's a mess of 2 young black walnut trees, 2 old azaleas, a few thorn bushes, a lot of lilac, and an unkempt pine bush/tree of some sort.

Winn Sawyer wrote:

Steve Thorn wrote:If you can dig them up with some root sections attached, then you'll have a lot of free rootstock!

This was my thought! Or just graft on them in place if they are already well spaced, and dig up the ones in between.

I don't think apple scab is systemic, so the roots aren't "infected" with it. The fungus is probably in your soil and will get on any apples you plant. You'll likely be limited to scab resistant varieties anywhere around there, assuming you don't want to spray fungicides. I do believe many apples are highly resistant, though? There's a table on this page:

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/a_review_of_apple_scab_resistant_varieties_for_commercial_growers

This, and killing the rest with a spade, is probably the way I have to go. The wifey doesn't want too many trees out front, there's no room in the back yard, and the side yard is my garden. Of course, all 3 trees I planted (semi-dwarf red Jonathan, yellow delicious, Stayman Winesap) don't seem to be scab-resistant, so I may be looking for crosses from that list you provided (thanks!) to squeeze in-between. I definitely am anti-fungicide, but I'm also pro-apples, so I'll do what I must. They're basically still whips, so only time will tell.

Anne Miller wrote:If that were my lawn, I would have a load (or two) of wood chips brought in.

Piled over all the sucker to be 6 to 12 inches thick so no sunlight can get through.

Maybe even put down some cardboard though that might be overkill.

I have thought of this, but the roots are everywhere, and I'd have to kill the majority of my lawn if I went this route, and if I did that my wife would have me sleeping on it.

Steve Thorn wrote:If you can dig them up with some root sections attached, then you'll have a lot of free rootstock!

I would love this, but alas, even though I want my own food forest, my wife wants that nice, pristine suburban lawn. I may be able to sneak 1 or 2 grafts in, but even that will be difficult

Jim Fry wrote:From your picture, it looks like you are letting the sprouts grow fairly tall before mowing them off. That's not going to do you any good. To kill the roots, you have to deny them any leaf produced nutrition. You've got to chop off the leaves as soon as they appear. Eventually the roots will run out of energy and die. Take a shovel as soon as a sprout appears and shove the shovel in at an angle to cut off the stem below ground. Don't let any sprout survive. Cut them off every day if you have to. Then it won't take too long for success.

They are very vigorous. This was less than a week after mowing. We shall see what the spring brings, but I'm guessing me and my spade shovel are going to be best friends for a while.