Black Walnut Links

1. If you're a complete novice about black walnut (e.g., you don't even know what the tree looks like), check out the The Illinois State Academy of Science's (ISAS) black walnut page. There you'll find the best basic introduction, in my humble opinion, to the general characteristics of the species. They even provide a photograph which clearly shows black walnut's unusual pinnate compound leaves, with 10-24 leaflets (which many people mistake for leaves).
2. American Forestry Technology, Inc.'s Home Office and Nursery (in West Lafayette, Indiana) also has a website.
3. The American Black Walnut Association (ABWA) was formed in 1992 to help those interested in genetically superior black walnut trees learn more about these trees and how to care for them. ABWA's primary goal is to collect and disseminate information about new and improved tools and techniques for the purposes of enhancing the growth and form of genetically superior black walnut trees.

   Member benefits include:

   • BLACK WALNUT TREE TOPICS newsletter, published four times a year to promote improved silvicultural practices;
   • FIELD DAY, which is usually held in September at Purdue University's Martell Forest Clone Bank in West Lafayette, Indiana, to update members on new tools and techniques and to determine various silvicultural practices.
4. K Ag Labs offers a complete crop monitoring program for many high-value crops such as black walnut, ginseng, christmas trees, berries (strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, etc.), herbs (300 different types), etc. The program includes analysis of soil and leaf samples periodically during the growing season. The analysis is followed by specific recommendations of which nutrients need to be applied.
   
   NOTE: For your convenience, I've included direct links to all of K Ag Labs' black walnut information here:
   
   

   • Letter to Black Walnut Growers
   • Black Walnut Tree Crop Monitoring Program
   • Picture Showing Black Walnut Tree under K Ag Program
   • Specialized Fertilizer Recommendation Report
   • Plant Report
   • Soil Sampling Procedure
   • Soil & Plant Analysis and Fertilizer Recommendation for Black Walnut
   • Plant Analyses and Fertilizer Recommendations
   • K Ag Labs' Black Walnut Service Contract 1999

5. Some of the best, and most complete, sources of black walnut-related information and research are the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service's servers. I've summarized the relevant publications' links (25 total) from Purdue University's On-line Publications List. You can also contact the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service by phone (765/494-3583) to request any of their Extension Publications.
6. One of my customers recommended I check out the Missouri State University Searchable Database because "...They have some really good information on walnut, timber management, sales, forestry, taxes, deer, poison ivy, etc." I found several useful extension-type publications there, and the search engines are pretty powerful and fast.
7. The latest, annual "Tax Tips" bulletin, Tax Tips for Forest Landowners for the 1997 Tax Year, is available online at the Southern Forest Extension Electronic Forest Resources Library.
8. Tree Pro offers an integrated state-of-the-art plant and tree care system designed to optimize plant health, increase growth, and improve survival rates.
9. The Walnut Council finally has a home page; it appears they are still in the process of getting most of their links and information online. You are hereby forewarned: "The Council's" approach to black walnut management is rather staid. I like to point out the striking similarity between their philosophy and the reluctance of many farmers to make the transition from farming with horses and mules to modern agriculture.

   Here's a description of The Council in their own words:

   • Founded in 1970, the Walnut Council is an international association representing nearly 1,000 woodland owners, foresters, forest scientists, and wood-producing industry representatives in 45 states and seven foreign countries. The purpose is to assist in the technical transfer of forest research to field applications, help build and maintain better markets for wood products and nut crops, and to promote sustainable forest management, conservation, reforestation, and utilization of American black walnut (Juglans nigra) and other high quality fine hardwoods. Walnut Council has 10 state chapters and publishes quarterly bulletins.
10. Although Walnut on the Web! is about genetically superior black walnut trees grown for their valuable veneer-grade timber, I get several requests from web surfers about black walnut nuts. The site for nut enthusiasts to visit is the Northern Nut Growers Association, Inc. (NNGA). In the Association's own words, The NNGA "...brings together people interested in growing nut trees. Our members include experts in nut tree cultivation, farmers, amateur and commercial nut growers, experiment station workers, horticultural teachers and scientists, nut tree breeders, nurserypeople, foresters, and beginning nut culturists. The most popular kinds of nut and fruit trees that NNGA members plant are walnut (Juglans), filbert (Corylus), pecan and hickory (Carya), chestnut (Castanea), oak (Quercus), pine nut (Pinus), paw paw (Asimina triloba), and persimmons." I also have several other links related to juglone, nuts, trees, etc., on my Off Topic Info page.
11. Mississippi State Univerisity has several excellent publications of general interest to forest landowners. I've listed 14 articles that have at least some relevance to black walnut or other hardwood management. This is an excellent place to review the basics so you can strike a successful balance between silvicultural and economic concerns.
    
    NOTE: Although MSU is an excellent source of information on hardwood, and in particular, pine, forestry management they have yet to "catch on" (Examples 2 & 3) to the potential of black walnut plantations. Purdue University is the ultimate source for that kind of information; they've been studying black walnut for several decades and have been tracking its pricing trends since the late '50s.
12. For an extensive overview of the old-fashioned way to establish a black walnut plantation using common seedlings, check out The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's publication "Establishing Black Walnut." After reviewing this article and Walnut on the Web!, you should have a very good idea of the labor-saving and financial advantages of planting genetically superior black walnut grafts and/or seedlings--even though they cost more at the start. Historically, black walnut plantations established with trees of questionable genetic background (i.e., common seedlings) have met with limited success.

13. Virginia Tech's Cooperative Extension Service has yet another description of the old-fashioned way to establish a black walnut plantation: "Comparison of Tree Crops for Farmer and Woodland Owners."


NOTE: Most foresters are not trained in plantation management, except for pine, and very few people understand how it is done correctly (Examples 2 & 3). Foresters who are not familiar with the Purdue black walnut research and the resulting Successor GST cultivars often criticize the genetically superior black walnut program, but they usually change their minds when they investigate the program more closely.
14. This Extension Factsheet from Ohio State University is the best reference I've found that explains why you should not plant your garden near a black walnut tree. The culprit is juglone (5-hydroxy-alphanapthaquinone), a substance present in all black walnut tissue that slowly leaches into and slowly breaks down in the soil. I also have several other links related to juglone, nuts, trees, etc., on my Off Topic Info page.
15. Take a "Virtual Ozark Experience" throught the Missouri Ozark mountains with Heritage Farms. They offer "solid black walnut products crafted...in the Ozarks from our sturdy black walnut trees" as well as many tempting culinary treats from the Ozarks.
16. Kinion Furniture Company manufactures beautiful, "...contempory, handcrafted, hardwood furniture." They have an online catalog and a web page devoted to new products.
17. For an example of a potential destination for the wood from a black walnut plantation, check out Windsor Plywood's "A Walk Through Windsor's Woods."
    
    NOTE: Bear in mind that the reason one plants genetically superior black walnut is to produce prime veneer-grade timber. Lesser quality black walnut logs are not much more valuable than mixed hardwoods. You want your plantation sold and sliced for veneer--not sawlogs!
18. I regularly receive messages from various landowners asking whether I would be interested in a "...big, beautiful black walnut tree in my back yard, (etc.)...." Please let me clarify something here: I am not a timber buyer; I SELL genetically superior black walnut trees to people interested in growing plantations of black walnut that will be commercially marketable in the shortest possible time.
    
    If you have a small quantity of black walnut that is not large enough to interest a timber/veneer buyer, you might consider having the wood sawed on-site with a portable bandsaw, such as a Wood-Miser(R). There are people all over the country, including the folks at Crickhollow Organic Farm in Jayess, Mississippi, who own these bandsaws and custom cut timber.
19. Most black walnut growers hope to market the trees in their plantations as prime veneer-grade timber. To do this, one needs a quantity of superior trees that will be economically feasible for a veneer buyer to send a crew out to harvest and transport the logs for processing. This is why we stress planters grow enough trees to have roughly 200 ready to harvest at one time; with this quantitly, one can attract bids from all over the world. However, there are other ways to market black walnut. For example, check out the Kilmer Farm near Port Royal, Pennsylvania. They harvested several of their black walnut trees and are selling it as solid beams! It's stacked up in their barn and ready for woodcarvers, cabinet makers, hobbyists, etc. to work with and enjoy.
20. The Oregon Department of Forestry maintains the Oregon Register of Big Trees, which includes the National Champion black walnut (located on Sauvies Island, approximately 15 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon). Even though this tree is over 7 feet in diameter, it's form is far below veneer quality.
21. The North Central Forest Experiment Station (NCFES) is one of 7 regional and 1 national research stations in the USDA Forest Service established to create, evaluate, and disseminate information and technology to improve management and use of natural resources. Station research applies to the Midwest United States and beyond.
22. The USDA Forest Service, St. Paul Field Office provides information and assistance on forest health and tree care, natural resources management, and other forestry-related topics.
    
    This web site features a hypertext-linked method for identifying the most common causes of injury to black walnut trees entitled "HOW TO DIAGNOSE BLACK WALNUT DAMAGE." It was developed primarily for use by walnut growers or foresters who are not specifically trained in insect or disease identification. The method features a "key" that leads the user step-by-step from the visual symptoms to the culprit responsible. Supplementing the key are brief descriptions of the damages and their causes, illustrated in most cases with line drawings.
23. The Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry's server provides information about Forestry in the Northeastern United States, especially services and information provided by the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area, State & Private Forestry.
    
    The Northeastern Area is a field unit of the USDA Forest Service responsible for implementing the cooperative programs of State and Private Forestry. They offer technical and financial assistance to help manage, protect and better use the rural and urban forests in the twenty states of the northeast and midwest and the District of Columbia.
24. Dr. Ralph Billings maintains a web page on "Psychology, Graphics, Music, and Tree Talk," i.e., "Pictures of Trees & Discussion About Trees--Especially Carolineans."
25. The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the University of Florida maintains the Florida Agricultural Information Retrieval System (FAIRS). This database has a page on black walnut, but it mainly deals with black walnut nuts, not timber.
26. The University of Missouri-Columbia's Extension Division maintains a web site and a Gopher/HTTP Server. It contains a folder on Tree Disease Management with a very brief discussion on anthracnose and fusarium canker in black walnut.
27. Michigan State University's Department of Forestry has a Web site with a keyword-searchable, Extensions Publications page. Two entries that caught my eye are "Tree Planting" and "Poison Ivy Control." (Unfortunately, poison ivy thrives under black walnut.)
28. The University of the South's Center for Rural Life is concerned with the study, documentation, and understanding of the elements of rural life. It's practical focus is the Franklin County area of middle Tennessee, but the study topics extend to many parts of the United States and abroad. The Center For Rural Life coordinates a series of academic courses, fieldwork, interviews, and archival documentation of representative materials concerning rural life. For a very enlightening historical overview of the United States, check out "God and the Land, Natural Theology and Natural History in America."

---

| HOME | Order Online |