Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 18, 1993 TAG: 9307190271
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: John Arbogast
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Let's share some readers' suggestions on cracking black walnuts, since you already may have noticed walnuts on the ground. I would guess that those black walnuts fell because of storms or winds, not due to ripeness that can be expected in late summer or early fall.
The Virginia Tech Horticulture Department offers the following advice:
"Walnuts will fall to the ground by themselves as they ripen in the fall. When they drop, however, they should be gathered and husked promptly, then spread thinly in a shady place to dry. The kernels of walnuts have two coverings: a bony, usually ridged brown shell immediately surrounding the kernel and a pulpy, green outer hull or husk.
The husks of English walnuts fall free from the nuts when they ripen, but those of butternuts and black walnuts adhere very tightly to the nuts. Since these husks containa material that will stain hands brown, it is best to wear rubber gloves when handling them.
One way to loosen the husks of butternuts and black walnuts is to place them in the driveway and drive the car back and forth over them (may stain a light-colored driveway). Store husked but unshelled walnuts in a plastic bag in a cool, dry, rodent-proof place; they will keep for about a year. Walnuts are easier to crack if they are soaked overnight in water to soften the shells."
From G.F.S., Vinton: "I have used several nut crackers that claim to be designed for these hard black walnuts.
However, I now use a common metal bench-mounted vise. I hold the nut with forefinger and thumb, with stem and pointed ends against the jaw faces, and tighten until the shell pops. A little practice is needed to crack the shell enough but not so much as to crush it. The forefinger circled over the top side prevents small pieces of shell from popping toward the face. I use a nut pick while watching TV to pick out the meats. Some pieces remain too large to remove all the meat; they are returned to the vise for further cracking."
From C.D.H., Salem: "Black walnut meat will come out of the shell easier if cracked and left overnight before removing it."
Look for more advice on cracking black walnuts in next week's Dear John column.
Q: I have brown spots that started appearing in one section of my lawn about six weeks ago. (This letter was dated June 22). My lawn service told me that it was a disease called "red thread." Is there a treatment of some kind that I could use to control the disease? The disease seems to be spreading. D.L.B., Roanoke
A: I hope your lawn has not been wiped out by now. Control of any turfgrass disease must be based on proper identification of the cause of the problem. This should be done either on site or through a representative sod sample taken for diagnosis. It's usually impossible to identify a turf disease over the phone or by letter, since certain non-disease turf problems can look like disease. Of course, it would be a waste of time, money and chemicals to treat a non-disease problem with turf fungicides.
A good lawn service should be able to properly identify a turf disease or other cause of a lawn problem. If you have been a lawn service customer for a while, I would doubt that the lawn had "red thread" in mid-May. Of course, if your service showed you the red thread symptoms of thin red growths projecting from the grass leaf tips, you would have to be convinced.
Here's my reason for doubt: Lawn services are known for throwing a lot of fertilizer at turf, which should have caused the grass to be growing quickly when you first noticed those brown spots. Red thread, on the other hand, occurs on slow-growing turf.
Q: Many of us have fruit trees in our city yards. Is there a brief guide for their care, or does each species require separate directions for care? I have pear, plum and cherry trees. My neighbor has apples and cherry trees. (The birds got most of the cherries this year.) S.R.W., Roanoke
A: Local Virginia Cooperative Extension offices may have a short publication available to the public called "Tree Fruits in the Home Garden." It briefly discusses care of fruit trees that are common in Virginia. Readers can visit their local Extension office to pick up a copy while supplies last.
Specific care suggestions must be made for each type of fruit tree, since there are differences in pruning and fertilization. The free Extension publication does not get into problem identification or spraying fruit trees, something that is also necessary for their care.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants or insects to Dear John, c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P. O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered each week. Personal replies cannot be given. Please do not send stamped envelopes, samples or pictures.
John Arbogast is the agricultural extension agent for Roanoke.
by CNB