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enigma[_2_]

wrote in
:

> Salutations, gentlefolk,
>
> Did a bit of research and found that the little green
> tennisballs falling in my front yard actually contain black
> walnuts.

don't stand under the tree when the wind is blowing. those
things hurt!
>
> Any advice on how to seperate the edible part from the
> "containers'', and prepare them ?

the ones falling now aren't ripe, just the tree self cleaning.
the ripe ones fall in late September/October. the husks will
still be green however. gather them up & put into wood or
cardboard boxes (not plastic. it doesn't 'breathe') & store
out of reach of squirrels until the husks turn brown. while
you can remove the husks green, it's easier when they turn
brown.
if you know any natural dyers call them to come over & remove
the husks. otherwise, pick a nice day, take your box of
walnuts & a pair of rubber gloves outside & start peeling off
the husks. you can skip the gloves if you don't mind your
hands turning brown & staying that way for a week or two.
don't get the juice from the husks on any clothes you don't
want stained either.
if you waited for the husks to turn brown, you may find grubs
in the husks. don't worry about them, they aren't in the nuts,
just the husks (at least i've never found any in the nuts).
don't put the removed husks into your compost or dump them
near your gardens. i boil them for dye.
after dehulling let the walnuts 'age' for a couple months (i
start using them around mid-December for holiday baking).
they'll keep for a *long* time in the shell. my grandpa had
some for several years & they were still good.
they're a bit of a pain to open. i use a hammer. some people
spread them on the driveway & run over them with their car.

> Second, another walnut tree a few houses down has a gypsy
> moth nest among its branches. Any advice on how this
> investation oughta be dealt with, and how to persuade the
> owner to deal with it ?

gypsy moths make nests in the spring. what your neighbor has
is autumn bagworms. they're ugly, but don't cause nearly the
damage the gypsy moth larvae do.
in any case, spraying the tree with bt will kill the
caterpillers (but the ugly nest will remain). i ignore the
bagworms for the most part. both my black walnut trees have a
few this year. mostly they just bother my cherry trees.
lee
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It wasn't there again today
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