4. Kline, L. V. A method of evaluating the nuts of black walnut varieties. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. Proc. 41: 136-144. 1942.
5. Lounsberry, C. C. Measurements of walnuts of United States. No. Nut Growers Assn. Proc. 31: 162-167. 1940.
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Shelling Black Walnuts
By G. J. Korn, Berrien Springs, Michigan
The methods used in the shelling of black walnuts by one of the commercial growers in southeastern Pennsylvania may be of interest to some of our NNGA members. For the last three seasons I have helped this grower with the harvesting and shelling of his crop. The Thomas variety predominated in his 40-acre nut orchard. This variety is truly a very outstanding nut when properly grown. The Thomas is large, cracks well, its kernels may be readily removed in large pieces, mostly quarters, and they are of excellent flavor and color.
Care in selecting the orchard site, soils, methods of cultivation, fertilizing and spraying appear to be of prime importance in the production of high quality nuts. The matters I shall speak of in this article, however, will have to do mostly with the harvesting, husking, curing and cracking of the walnuts and picking their kernels.
When the walnut husks may be easily dented with the thumb they are ready to gather. This is usually about October 5 in that locality. The harvesting is begun immediately, as the kernels will become somewhat damaged as to flavor and color if the husks are allowed to darken and decompose. When the nuts have ripened they do not remain in prime condition for harvesting for more than about 10 to 15 days. By this time the husks will have begun to decompose and darken the kernels. Just as soon as the nuts are ripe they are shaken from the trees. The nuts are gathered into bushel baskets and hauled in a pick-up truck to the husker. One of the old cannon type corn shellers, once quite common in Pennsylvania, is used to husk the nuts. A farm tractor furnishes the power to run the husker. The nuts are run through the husker a couple of times to assure a clean job of husking. The cleanly husked nuts drop into a basket at the end of the husker. Only 3 minutes or slightly more time is required to turn out a bushel of husked nuts. The freshly husked nuts are washed in a large copper kettle of water by vigorously stirring them a few minutes with a common garden hoe. About 1½ bushels of nuts are washed in each batch. All nuts that float lightly on the water are skimmed off and discarded. The nuts are then spread out about 2 or 3 nuts deep on trays to dry. The frames of the trays are made of 1x3 inch lumber and are 1½ feet wide and 3½ feet long; ¾ inch mesh galvanized chicken wire netting forms the bottoms of the trays. Walnuts dried indoors in the shade produce lighter colored and finer flavored kernels than do those dried outdoors in the sun and rain. When nuts are being dried indoors, care should be taken to see that they have a good circulation of air or the nuts may start molding in the early stages of their curing. Although the outside of the walnut shells may dry off quite rapidly, it takes considerable more time for the inside of the nut to cure properly for storing. The nuts should be left on the trays for a few weeks to insure thorough curing.