How to grow walnuts? Let's figure it out together
New Year is ahead. And it doesn’t matter at all where to meet him. With family, among friends, on the snowy slopes of a ski resort or on the shore of a warm sea. Many residents of our region have a general rule, according to which the famous Napoleon cake will definitely be on the festive table. Decorated with walnuts, it has long been a sign of the arrival of the New Year.
And nuts, which are included in the recipes of many holiday dishes, have taken pride of place even among Christmas tree decorations. One gets the feeling that he came from distant eternity, where he was always respected. But it is so.
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From the history of walnuts
The name of this famous tree is not directly related to Greece. Asia Minor and Central Asia are considered its homeland. The symbol of wealth and prosperity, brought to Russia from Greece a thousand years ago, was called differently by many peoples and was considered sacred.
Numerous legends and myths exist about the walnut. Among them, an interesting one was the Roman tradition of showering the bride and groom with walnuts, wishing them a happy and fruitful life. The Latin name "royal acorn of Jupiter" confirms the opinion that it was the food of kings. In French village houses, a bag of nuts was hung from the ceiling in hopes of a rich and long life.
Form walnut, resembling the human brain in appearance, attributed to it healing abilities for diseases associated with the head. The Greeks first began growing walnut trees in their own gardens and plantations. Since then, a lot has changed, cultivated varieties have appeared, care conditions have been studied, and industrial production of this crop has begun in different countries.
Growing walnuts
Before deciding to plant this amazing tree on your site, you need to analyze its characteristics and growth pattern. The main points are:
- A fast-growing tree of very large size and a lifespan of up to 400 years.
- Fruiting occurs in 6–8 years of growth, gradually increasing in volume.
- The tree does not tolerate close planting and itself interferes with the development of neighboring crops, and its powerful root system can damage nearby buildings.
- To obtain large yields, it is advisable to have 2-3 trees of different varieties, planted no closer than 5m from each other.
- Walnut is a moisture and sun-loving tree. Severe frosts lead to freezing of the branches and its complete death.
- Planting a tree in places with close groundwater is not allowed.
Often Walnut planted with the birth of a child in the family, because only subsequent generations can use its fruits. In small summer cottages, planting walnuts is not at all necessary, although it is useful not only for nuts, which you may not get, but also for foliage and bark.
Planting and propagation of walnuts
Growing from seeds is the main method of propagation of walnuts. For this purpose, the largest, most delicious, thin-skinned fruits are selected.After removing the green peel, the kernels should dry first in the sun, and then in a shady place in a draft. When planting in autumn this year, the fruits are not dried. In a pre-prepared hole with a diameter of 1 m, 4 fruits are placed to a depth of 8 cm in mid-May.
Shoots appear after 10 days and are not touched until next spring. Usually, they warn that the fruits should be inserted with the groove down. This is due to the appearance of direct vertical seedlings. Working with it in the future will be easier, since it is easier to get a seedling with a deep central core, which, according to some agricultural techniques, must be trimmed with the tip of a shovel a year before planting in a permanent place. This increases the size of the root system and accelerates the start of fruiting of the tree.
It is best to transfer the seedling to a permanent location in the spring with a clod of earth and maintaining a root length of 40 cm. The root collar should be 5 cm above the soil level. At the same time, increasing the thickness of the fertile soil layer must be done. By introducing organic and mineral fertilizers into the hole, as well as soil taken from another place.
It is recommended to add new fertile soil to the tree trunk circle for several years, and to stimulate the appearance of lateral roots, a piece of film is placed at the bottom of the hole. In the future, the already grown plant will adapt itself to any type of soil. Young seedlings must be provided with regular watering.
Plants, grown from seeds, rarely retain the properties of the original variety, and therefore they are used as a rootstock for subsequent grafting. Budding is carried out in the same year in June or a little later.
Cuttings are prepared from young fruit-bearing trees.To make the bark move away from the trunk more easily, it is recommended to fertilize the seedlings with nitrogen fertilizers in the spring. The beginning of fruiting in grafted trees with a correctly formed crown can occur in the 5th year of life.
An important agrotechnical measure when growing a tree with a beautiful shape is its correct pruning. Despite the fact that in the wild the tree grows without pruning, convenient conditions for harvesting fruits must be created in the garden and industrial plantations.
Most often, a sparse tree crown is created when the skeletal branches are placed singly and have large angles of connection with the trunk and neighboring branches. In the first year of pruning, 3 skeletal branches of the first order and a central conductor are left. In subsequent years, the formation of a spreading crown occurs due to the growth of single branches, kept at a distance of 45 cm from each other.
The leading role of the conductor and the first skeletal branches remains throughout the growth of the tree. Sanitary pruning and vertical shoots “tops” are cut off before the sap begins to flow or in the fall.
Walnut varieties
There are 21 varieties of walnuts, but the most commonly grown varieties are Ideal and Jaglydzhevyus, which are widespread in Crimea. In regions of Belarus and Russia with not very cold winters, when choosing a walnut variety, early-fruiting forms are used, discovered by employees of experimental plots in the Tashkent region.
It was there that S.S. was received. Kalmykov variety “Ideal”. This early-growing variety begins to bear fruit already in the fifth year of growth. Its inflorescences form a cluster that produces several nuts at once. But the most useful feature of the variety is the ability of secondary flowering with a large number of nuts.
On one tree during the growing season, all phases of nut development can be observed. Large-fruited varieties significantly smaller and their use is of particular interest to breeders.
Healing properties of walnuts
Traditional medicine in many countries has used the natural properties of the nut to restore health in various diseases. The entire plant was used. In difficult wars, the leaves of this tree helped the wounded. Suffering from ulcers, boils, and frostbite was alleviated due to its bactericidal and anti-inflammatory properties. Nowadays they are often used for dermatological and cosmetic purposes.
Crushed walnut with honey has been known since the time of Avicenna for the treatment of tuberculosis. An anthelmintic, vitamin, tonic, used for gastrointestinal diseases, made from wood raw materials, helps even with diabetes. The main thing is not to forget that the maximum benefit from a tasty walnut will be achieved by chewing it for a long time and with high quality.
As we celebrate the New Year, we should gratefully remember our grandparents, who brought us a very important food product in the form of the well-known walnut, which must be kept in a peeled state to preserve its healing qualities. And growing this beautiful tree for your descendants will also be simply interesting.
Interesting video about the benefits of walnuts:
Interesting information about the vegetable garden
Comments
I grew walnuts and even tried them at home. I can give advice that it is better to do this in the fall, when the fresh fruits of the new harvest arrive. They are already dry and you can start soaking them.