Collins Kids Black Walnut Plantation

[Lollykoko]

That bushhog sure looks familiar. I was told that mine was a Deere about 50 years ago when it was new.

George, was he serious about having a TON of seeds, or did he just mean a couple of burlap sacks full?

[George Collins]

Surely it was hyperbole. I THINK the number of seeds he actually has will number in the 100s and maybe as many as a 1000. Of course, the more one plants, the more hyperbole may start feeling like literal truth.

[George Collins]

READY!!

It's all bush hogged. The field is laid off. The infrastructure for the fencing has been installed. My uncle came in with more nuts. My nuts appear to be steadily germinating. All sets already planted have been watered. The help has been hired and is confirmed.

Tomorrow MAY see the Collins Kids Walnut Grove grow more in one day than any other single day yet.

I'll let y'all know if the actual matches the hoped for.

[matt walker]

Beautiful photo George. Oh man, I totally forgot about watering! Are you going to have to water these little trees for the first season or two?

[George Collins]

Yes, this summer will be dominated by five gallon buckets and one quart cups.

The schedule on which we water is thus: a rain is considered enough water for 4-5 days and a manual watering is good for two. The only time this rule is violated is if we have to leave home for a long weekend. In those exceedingly rare incidences, we may stretch a manual watering to three days. Under no circumstances will there be any scheduled events from now to fall that will force a violation of the three day rule.

I may run an experiment this year and let a test plot of a few trees go unwatered to determine the mortality rate and thus determine if watering is even needed, effect on growth rate, etc.

[pa_friendly_guy]

That makes alot of sense to me George. If you don't see too much difference in mortality or growth rates between the trees that you water and the ones that you don't it would surely save you alot of work. I think that you may see a different rate of growth with the watering but I wonder if it will have alot of impact on mortality rates. I am guessing that you are expecting a fairly high rate of mortality with the closeness that you are planting them. If ALL of those trees make it you will have alot of thinning to do in a few years.

[George Collins]

The 163 already in the ground plus the 122 we planted today equals 285 sets.

The germination rate was less than hoped for but a respectable day's work nevertheless. I was hoping for 2-3 times that many and would not have been surprised had we gotten 4 times as many. However, it is what it is and every tree I put in the ground is one more than was growing the day before.

I was on my toes this morning when Sol peeked over the horizon. The hired help arrived on time and were well fed and long before 8:00 we were sorting germinated seeds from those not yet so. Everything was repotted that needed to be and we headed to the field. Having everything already marked off is SUCH a time saver. We had two shovels working steadily until about 11:00 when we shut down to go help my uncle.

The grove he is planting was marked off yesterday. He had planted about ten nuts when my crew and I arrived. I had two other adults and 3 of my kids and when we all pitched in, his patch was made short work of. He treated us all to lunch (it's cool having rich uncles) and once finished we returned to our patch with his excess seeds. We sorted them quickly and by 2:00 we were done. The last thing I did before leaving the field was to survey the first two rows planted to get a guesstimated rate of the trees that have sprouted. Having done so, the best guess is that 80+% of the nuts planted one March 4th are up and looking good.

Our attention next turned to planting some chinquapins that were put in pots about the same time last fall as the walnuts were. We grabbed one of the several pots dedicated to them, returned to the field and planted 12 in an area that got missed in our marking scheme.

We shut down about 4:00, I settled up with the help, fed them supper and sent them on their way. I'm now exhausted but still pumped and want to do is all over again as soon as possible.

Guy,

The reason for planting so densely, as best as I understand this process, is twofold:
- The denser the planting, the more impetus the trees have for an upright growth form.
- The denser the planting, the more options available when it comes time to thin which should occur on ten year intervals until the trees are 70 years old at which time the recommendation is to clear cut them and start over. The first three thinning will be worth relatively little but once the trees pass the 35 year mark, their value increases exponentially.

The original patch of walnuts planted last year was started on a 7' x 7' grid. THAT density was quickly abandoned in favor of the 10' x 10' grid and the idea of going to a 12' x 12' grid has been toyed with. If memory serves, larger than a 12' x 12' scheme begins blurring the line between the spacing one would use if planting for timber production versus nut production. The 10' x 10' grid was settled upon because the only other person I know that has ever successfully established a black walnut grove used a 10' x 10' scheme and since that spacing falls about midways between the maximum and minimum recommended spacing for timber production, it seemed like a good idea to go with it. I am the world's biggest believer that if one knows not what they are doing, they should do as others have done that know more about it than they.

[pa_friendly_guy]

I agree whole heartedly with learning from others and not trying to re-invent the wheel every time. The reason that I commented on the spacing is that when I 1st met my wife and went to her home for a visit there was a walnut grove on the hill above their house. The trees were tall and straight but very small in diamater. Her father told me that those trees had been planted over 50 years earlier. 50 years is a long time, even for a slow growing walnut tree, and they were still very small around. I was shocked to learn that the trees were that old, they didn't look to be 1/2 that age to me. They had been planted very close together and apparently not thined enough. That was 40 years ago now. The walnuts are still growing, they have naturally thinned themselves a bit, but they are still not very big around for timber. Your plan of thinning every 10 years makes alot of sense to me. I hope that you are able to do it, or that your kids understand the program and they are able to do it. Who ever planted those walnuts at my father in laws was not around to thin them when they needed it and the grove has suffered because of the lack of proper care. They have been stunted all of their lives and never have reached their potential, either in nut production or timber value.

[George Collins]

Guy,

I heard once that stupid men do not learn from their own mistakes, whereas smart men do. But WISE men . . . well, they learn from the mistakes of others.

Because of what you've told me, methinks assembling a combined journal/instruction bookletish sorta thingy might be in order. I intend to place it in my safety deposit box along side my metals. Therein contained will be the planting dates for each of the patches along with instructions for when to do what all the way out until the recommended clear cut date.

[pa_friendly_guy]

WOW, That is truely far sighted. I guess with Walnut trees one needs to be Far sighted, they grow very slowly, 1st to loose their leaves in the fall, last to get them in the spring. I wish my Grandfather had planted walnuts. I have only planted 3 english walnuts, that was 25 years ago and I still do not get any nuts. Any nuts that they might make are taken by the squarrels. I have allowed any black walnuts that the squirrels plant to grow when I see them. I don't have anything on my property to compair with what you are doing for your family though. My hat is off to you.