Juglandaceae - To Plant? Or Not To Plant?

Hello Fantastic People!

I was wondering what your opinion on plant trees from the Juglandaceae family? I have half acre of land with lots of apples, pears, plums, and cherries and I would love to have a nut tree. I live in zone 4 so the only appropriate trees I can think of are Walnut or Buartnut. I would love to add more trees as a wind break and shade cover with an added bonus of a food crop but with only a half acre is it worth planting something allelopathic? Would the raw seeds be a hazard for my chickens?

Any other suggestions for zone 4 trees that would produce a food crop?



Thanks for your thoughts!

Japanese Heartnut also belongs to the juglans family. If you like walnuts then consider Heartnut as well if you have the space and climate for it!

I'm in zone 4 also and I have butternut, Carpathian walnut and hazelnut planted.  The hazels are safely hardy here, not jugloney and will bear quickly.  The butternuts are supposedly the most cold hardy walnut variety and might give off less juglone than a black walnut.  Not sure about the Carpathians but I got them cheap.

Pecans aren’t supposed to have much juglone. I believe there are some that can handle your temperatures.