Impromtu walnut processing center.

I started the orchard at the northern end of my one acre homestead in 2009 with the idea of having a supply of Black Walnut wood for carving. This was more a theoretical idea than a practical one because given the slow growth rate of walnut and my advancing age, I knew it was unlikely I would use any of the new trees in the orchard. And I can't bring myself to cut down either of the two large trees on the creek bank. In a sense the orchard was started to replace the walnut trees I've used over the years, and perhaps to provide carving stock for the next woodcarver.

It seems odd to me now that I never considered harvesting the nuts until several years after the orchard was underway because now it's a major part of the project. That's especially true this year (2025) when both big trees are putting out and a number of the new trees are coming into their own. First Tree, was so laden with fruit that some branches bent to the ground. Of the 2000 fresh walnuts I hulled this season, I estimate that a third came from that tree, and because I decided to stop at 2000, many more were left underneath for the squirrels. I'm so glad now that I spotted First Tree sixteen years ago and didn't cut it off. For all of the seventeenth year, I will have Black Walnuts to eat.