I loved walnuts when I was a kid -- I used to take them home and soak them in water to make "magic potions" and such -- but as an adult, I feel very sorry for the people who lived around the grove I used to snitch the green and black nuts from.
While I have never lived around the trees themselves, I absolutely love black walnuts! And they are definitely not cheap to buy. You might consider checking for a natural and/or urban food co-op that may be able to come out and harvest the nuts before they make too much of a mess. I'd volunteer to help, but I live on the other side of the country. :-/
They don't make a mess, mostly because we pick them up on the regular. Never tried processing them, though. (Mostly because my parents' knowledge of what to do with them is 'don't you have to pretty much run them over with a car to crack them?)
It's been many decades since I actually gathered and processed them myself and it is a bit messy and time consuming, but if you like the flavor of the nuts, it's well worth it. There is a lot of information online on how to process them and plans for black walnut crackers a person can make at home, most of which look like an apparatus for making your own button pins in that they are simply a long handled press. I used to use a hammer and a brick, but a press is much less hassle and with no risk of a smashed finger.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-06 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-06 02:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-06 02:42 am (UTC)I loved walnuts when I was a kid -- I used to take them home and soak them in water to make "magic potions" and such -- but as an adult, I feel very sorry for the people who lived around the grove I used to snitch the green and black nuts from.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-06 04:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-07 02:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-07-07 04:25 pm (UTC)