Black walnut hulls

kristenm1975

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Hello! I just went on a hike in an area that has a beautiful walnut grove. I was fortunate enough to bring home half a dozen green fruits that had fallen as well as the same number of blackened hulls with the nut removed already by local wildlife.

Does anyone have any tips on how to process this bounty? I love being able to create powerful medicine from plants collected on hikes. It's a combination of my two loves, hiking and herbs.

Thanks in advance for any tips.
 

freemotion

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I use two bricks to smash off the GREEN hulls. Put something over your clothes as the splashes will stain. Use rubber gloves...and your fingers will stain through the gloves!

I lined my dehydrator with waxed paper and dried the bits until crisp, then pulverized them in a food processor until powdered. Then I stored it in old-fashioned canning jars. I use it as a goat dewormer.
 

dragonlaurel

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Thanks for the bricks idea. :thumbsup I was going to try to make a dye from a bunch that I'd gathered. Didn't realize how much moisture was still in them, so they went bad. Might be able to find some more.
 

tortoise

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Just put the green hulls (or the entire things!) in a bucket of water and let it sit for a few months. It makes a lovely brown ink.
 

dacjohns

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Hulls, husks, nuts, shells.

I think the hull and husk are the same thing. The green fleshy moist outer covering. It turns black as it "ripens" and can get maggots. Yuck.

It makes a good natural dye for fibers and as mentioned will stain your hands.

The shell is under the husk and protects the nut meat. It is very hard and thick. It pretty makes takes a sledge hammer to break it and then you chance pulverizing the nut meat.

The nut meat is delicious, a bit oily, and strong. Much stronger than English Walnuts.

If you only want the nut meat then you can put the walnuts in your driveway and driving over them can help remove the husks.
 

Denim Deb

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You can also use it for a hair dye, just don't know the specifics.
 

Blackbird

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Does anyone remember the surge of walnut shell related craft items? I can't tell you how many boxes of that crap we had. I think it was probably one of the least favorable things of the 70's.
Picture orange and yellow shag carpet, tan/brown/orange pattern sofas, and walnut shell art hanging on the walls, and that was our living room.. - in the early 90's! Granted we couldn't afford anything else and the walnut shells were there when we moved in..

:lol:

Sorry.. I'm not helping!
 

dragonlaurel

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Denim Deb said:
You can also use it for a hair dye, just don't know the specifics.
It's in lots of shampoo/conditioners for dark hair. They also use sage and rosemary that way, but the walnut is probably a stronger/darker effect.
 

Beekissed

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I remember reading about one homesteading family back in the old days and how they got nutmeats for a cake. The young boy of the family would just go shoot a squirrel and dry it's stomach contents on the hearth....which was later sprinkled on top of the cake.

We used to have many walnut trees and used to crack the nuts and eat the meats....and I think it would have been easier to shoot the squirrels! :p
 

kristenm1975

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Oh, you guys are funny! I love the bit about shooting the squirrels to get to the nuts! I can see that as being a bit easier.

What a great idea to use this stuff as a hair dye! I'm forever coloring my hair and was about ready for the next go. I'll have to research that one a bit.

The green fruits were starting to darken so I ended up just going with the most likely-sounding tincture directions online. They suggested adding 1/4 teaspoon of vitamin C to the tincture to maintain the green color, as supposedly once they darken they lose their medicinal potency. I don't know if its true or not but was thrilled to just happen to have some vitamin C on hand, so I tried it.

I just peeled the green flesh off the nut in the middle and put the fleshly bits into a quart jar, added the vitamin C and poured super high proof alcohol to cover. Got the jar tucked away in a dark corner and will shake daily along with all the other tinctures and elixirs I have lined up.

The only weird part about the recipes I found was that they say to leave the black walnuts tincturing only a few days. That makes no sense to me at all as most things benefit by being in the sauce for at least two weeks. What do you guys think?

Thanks for all the funny stories and ideas!
 

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