Nut Trees
Black Walnut
Well for Nut Trees I do not have near as many options as with the fruit trees but I really want some nut tress as they are a valuable source of healthy fats as well as a different source of protein. The most common nut in the portion of Minnesota we will be in appears to be black walnut. Black Walnut can be a difficult tree as the tree gives off a chemical that can be poisonous to various other plants and forages such as alfalfa, apple trees and pear trees. This toxicity can extent up to 80 feet from the tree when it is full grown. With this in mind we will probably plant the trees on the property line along one of the pastures, we will probably plant about 6 of these trees. The nuts will be mostly for human consumption and some for the pigs and chickens. Pigs seem to love them and they do give the pork a little nuttier flavor however if you give them too much it can change the composition of the fat in the animal. We do need to find different varieties in order for the trees to cross pollinate. We are looking at Stark® Northern Prize Walnut as one variety and some black walnuts purchased form a local nursery as they should be well acclimatized to the local weather.
Butternut
Butter nut is also known as white walnut and its nuts are said to be a little more flavorful then the black walnut, it is the walnut variety that is supposed to be the most resistant to the cold. It is a shorter lived tree, seldom living past 75 years but it will still outlive me by a few decades! This tree also has the same effect as the black walnuts on other plant life so it will probably be placed in the same area as the black walnuts. These trees should produce a little sooner then the blacks which take about 5-6 years to produce, some varieties of the butter nut will produce in as little at 2-3 years meaning if we plant then next spring we have out first nuts the same year of my retirement.
Chestnuts
Chestnuts are great for wildlife and unlike the other nuts we are looking at the Chestnut has a high carb rate and low fat and protein compositions. Just about all of the animals on the farm can eat chestnuts as well as deer and squirel love them. These trees can be around other plants without an issue and we will likely have these on the north western portion of the property near the homestead. We will likely go with a variety of chestnuts to include one that is primarily a pollinator. Like both of the walnut varieties we will likely go with 6 plants.
All of these trees require about 50-60 foot spacing between them, they are large trees! As such they will mainly be used as border trees to ensure they have room and get plenty of sun as all of them have shade intolerance. This will also allow them to be a large wind break. In total we are looking at about 50-60 trees in total being planted next spring!
Black Walnut
Well for Nut Trees I do not have near as many options as with the fruit trees but I really want some nut tress as they are a valuable source of healthy fats as well as a different source of protein. The most common nut in the portion of Minnesota we will be in appears to be black walnut. Black Walnut can be a difficult tree as the tree gives off a chemical that can be poisonous to various other plants and forages such as alfalfa, apple trees and pear trees. This toxicity can extent up to 80 feet from the tree when it is full grown. With this in mind we will probably plant the trees on the property line along one of the pastures, we will probably plant about 6 of these trees. The nuts will be mostly for human consumption and some for the pigs and chickens. Pigs seem to love them and they do give the pork a little nuttier flavor however if you give them too much it can change the composition of the fat in the animal. We do need to find different varieties in order for the trees to cross pollinate. We are looking at Stark® Northern Prize Walnut as one variety and some black walnuts purchased form a local nursery as they should be well acclimatized to the local weather.
Butternut
Butter nut is also known as white walnut and its nuts are said to be a little more flavorful then the black walnut, it is the walnut variety that is supposed to be the most resistant to the cold. It is a shorter lived tree, seldom living past 75 years but it will still outlive me by a few decades! This tree also has the same effect as the black walnuts on other plant life so it will probably be placed in the same area as the black walnuts. These trees should produce a little sooner then the blacks which take about 5-6 years to produce, some varieties of the butter nut will produce in as little at 2-3 years meaning if we plant then next spring we have out first nuts the same year of my retirement.
Chestnuts
Chestnuts are great for wildlife and unlike the other nuts we are looking at the Chestnut has a high carb rate and low fat and protein compositions. Just about all of the animals on the farm can eat chestnuts as well as deer and squirel love them. These trees can be around other plants without an issue and we will likely have these on the north western portion of the property near the homestead. We will likely go with a variety of chestnuts to include one that is primarily a pollinator. Like both of the walnut varieties we will likely go with 6 plants.
All of these trees require about 50-60 foot spacing between them, they are large trees! As such they will mainly be used as border trees to ensure they have room and get plenty of sun as all of them have shade intolerance. This will also allow them to be a large wind break. In total we are looking at about 50-60 trees in total being planted next spring!
Comments
Post a Comment