With a he althy, well-thriving walnut tree in your own garden, you can look forward to rich harvests from the second year after planting. This guide provides you with the most important information and tips for harvesting walnuts.
When and how is the walnut harvested?
The walnut harvest begins in late summer or early fall when the shells are green-brown and cracked. Harvest ripe walnuts by gently shaking them from the tree or waiting for them to fall on their own. Then dry them in a warm, dark room for longer durability.
When is the best time to harvest walnuts
As soon as the fruits of your walnut tree have a green-brown and cracked shell, they are ready (to be harvested). This is generally the case from the end of September - in short, the walnut harvest season begins in late summer or early autumn. Incidentally, ripe walnuts often fall from the tree on their own. Otherwise, shaking gently helps.
Practical tips for walnut harvesting
In commercial cultivation, the walnuts are harvested using special vibrating and sweeping machines. However, you don't need any equipment to harvest the fruit in your own garden, not even a ladder or a net (€14.00 on Amazon) with an extendable telescopic handle. All you need are your hands and gardening gloves for protection. Put the latter on when you harvest your walnuts.
Do not force the walnuts off the tree, otherwise you may damage the tree shoots and thus affect next year's harvest. It's better to just wait until the nuts fall down on their own. If you run out of patience, you can gently shake the tree to help a little.
If the walnuts are in the grass, all you have to do is collect them. In order to make this process as easy as possible, it is recommended to mow the grass in good time (before the walnuts are harvested). Otherwise you have to look for the fruit in or between high stalks - unnecessary effort. Of course, you should only collect or enjoy intact walnuts.
Here are some extra tips for harvesting walnuts:
- Collect the fruit regularly - usually once a day, even twice a day (morning and afternoon) on rainy days. This is how you keep uninvited guests away from the tree. Walnuts left lying around provide an ideal breeding ground for pests and invite them to multiply quickly.
- Humans are not the only creatures on planet Earth who value walnuts; Mice and squirrels also love the fruit. So be altruistic and provide some of your nuts to the animals (especially if you have a very rich harvest yourself).
- If you don't want to eat your walnuts immediately but want to preserve them, you can't avoid drying the fruits immediately after harvesting - in a warm, dark room.
