But Nothing Will Grow There!

 Sometimes we need to remember that not everything that we think we know is correct. Sometimes, huge numbers of people are supremely confident that they know something, but in fact they are flat wrong.

So it is with the humble black walnut tree. Birds or squirrels or wood elves have been planting black walnuts all over our yard. An impressive feat, considering I've been unable to find such a tree within 200' of us. Why am I looking? Let me count the ways. 

1. If you grow one for a few decades, the trunk's wood is worth thousands to woodworkers. 

2. If you can get some of the ripe nuts (the squirrels are better and more persistent at it than we, sadly), they are really great, especially in ice cream ;) . 

3. The mature black walnut tree is a great shade tree, and shade on your house can save you $1000s in eletricity cost over the decades, and help save the planet too (through less electricity use).

4. But today, for me, I need unripe green walnuts in order to make Nocino (no-CHEE-no), an Italian liqueur. Steeped with spices such as lemon peel, cinnamon, vanilla, and cloves, Nocino tastes like a (albeit boozy) really fine, hand-crafted, gourmet cola. Makes sense, as even Coca-Cola is so named for (a) its original use of cocaine (the coca leaf) and (b) its use of the cola nut which provides the "cola" flavor in the drink.

It was fun to find this article titled "But Nothing Will Grow There!"  Everybody "knows" that nothing will grow under, or even near, a black walnut tree, because it produces a chemical, juglone, which retards other plants' growth. 

Well, that is JUST WRONG. Lots of plants will flourish under a black walnut, or near to it. Cedar, juniper, pine, spruce, oak, maple, quince, cherry, arborvitae, holly, roses, plums, grapes, peaches, tulip tree, aster, dogwood, daisy, ash tree, just to name a few. And believe me, that is NOT an exclusive list.

Also, if you build up the organic content of your soil, via mulching and organic amendments, your friendly soil microbes will break down the juglone faster, so that even sensitive plants may grow under or near the walnut tree anyway.

So I hope some of you will plant a black walnut tree or three. They are healthy, tough, and useful to us!





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