Juglone and leeks

The title pretty much says it all. I'm working out a companion planting plan for next year, and i have black walnut and butternut trees to consider.

I know onions and garlic are tolerant to juglone, but will leeks/ramps do well near the walnuts too?

Any experience is appreciated.

Regards,
Matt

Matthew McCoul : Leaks grow truly wild, and as transplants. or as volunteers ,They generally are very tolerant of wet conditions and places. I have planted
Walnut and Butternut on the sides of hills 5-10 feet above the places where I find Leaks, Trilliums are another easy to id flower that I use to find places
for Black walnut and for Butternut saplings and plant there, It is only my own personal theory that makes me hesitant to plant These saplings in ground
favored by Leeks!

Hopefully we both will get lots of second opinions !

For the Good of the Craft !Big AL

I had no idea what juglone was... In case anyone else is wondering... Here's some info I found. http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fact-sheets/trees-shrubs/landscaping-and-gardening-around-walnuts-and-other-juglone-producing-plants

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

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'm curious about this, too. I do have a couple of walking onions which are actually growing in the pile of raked up European walnut leaves!

Goosegrass, elderberry, and self-sown wild plums seem to grow well even in the dense shade of the walnut, lemom balm is happy in a spot where it gets morning sun and the walnut provides midday and afternoon shade. But I haven't gotten much else started there.  

I'd like to establish ramsons under the tree, though I don't think they're quite the same as American ramps. Also raspberries may grow, especially in the dappled shade at the edge of the walnut.

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.

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.

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