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Revisiting a Black Walnut Plantation

Twenty years ago, I planted 1,600 black walnut seedlings on a site a few miles outside of Barre, in central Vermont. Four years later, I planted another 700. A dairy farm had operated on the site for many years before the cows made way for a ginseng grower in the 1970s. When I acquired the property, I felt an historical pull to keep at least part of the land working. When I began building my home, the excavator operator’s enthusiastic reaction to the quality and depth of the soil firmed my resolve.

So, without any previous silvicultural experience, I decided to become a tree farmer. Veneer quality black walnut timber would be my crop. I wasn’t the first person to try to grow walnut in Vermont, but I couldn’t find evidence that it had been previously attempted on this large a scale. Our county forester helped me to obtain a $3,000 cost-share stipend from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and I was committed. I bought one-, two- and three-year-old bareroot seedlings from New York, Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania.

The seedlings were planted 12 feet apart on a five-acre rectangle, each within five-foot-tall plastic tree shelters secured to wooden stakes. I applied glyphosate herbicide around the base of each tree annually for the first six growing seasons, as I had gleaned from my readings that fledgling black walnut plantations frequently fail without the elimination of competing vegetation.

Mortality was less than 15 percent over the first 10 years, occurred mainly over the winter, and was highest in the Pennsylvania-sourced cohort. Nonfatal winter dieback and late spring frost damage were common. Bud destruction caused by insects was ubiquitous and remains so, which makes corrective pruning to maintain timber form essential.

During the first few years, the plastic tree shelters regularly toppled over in strong winds. In dismay, I spent long hours replacing snapped stakes and setting things aright. Less tipsy were the shorter, four-foot shelters I used in subsequent plantings. Although the shelters eventually ended up in the landfill, they provided invaluable protection from deer and rodents and made herbicide applications quite straightforward.

The trees have grown vigorously and some are almost 50 feet tall. I still assiduously prune them in the late fall and over the winter. Two years ago, it became apparent that a major thinning was needed and I culled about 350 trees, which had no real commercial value beyond being really expensive firewood. Unhappily, yellow-bellied sapsuckers have also become involved in thinning the stand. Their tapping activities have maimed or killed dozens of trees, and they seem to have a knack for targeting trees based on their potential timber quality; they have eliminated some excellent trees and I’ve yet to find a way to thwart their activities.

My plantation has come a long way since Vermont Woodlands ran a short piece about it in the Autumn 1994 issue. The trees are now firmly established, timber form is generally good, and copious nuts are being produced. The local squirrels love me.

The key factors that have led to success, beyond hard work, include a good site (crucial), cold tolerant seedlings, early control of competing vegetation, and prevention of animal predation. It is likely that the moderating effect of climate change has favored the vitality of these trees. I consider myself, for better or worse, an agent of tree migration. However, any pride I take in this project is frequently tempered by the realization that it won’t be completed until the trees are mature…in about 50 years.

This series is underwritten by the Plum Creek Foundation, in keeping with the foundation’s focus on promoting environmental stewardship and place-based education in the communities it serves.

Discussion *

May 05, 2020

Mark, you’re slightly ahead of where my mother and father are. They planted seven acres of walnut trees 20 years ago. They have been pruned and need to be thinned out. My question is: how should the thinning be done? I’m inclined to find someone with this expertise and hire them to mark the trees to be removed. Any advice is appreciated!

John G. Perry
Aug 27, 2019

I have several black walnut trees on my property, the oldest being about 200 years old. I would like to know if there are any hulling stations in Vermont and also if there are any walnut tree harvesters in Vermont.

Donald Cobb
Jan 20, 2019

Hi,
I really enjoyed reading your article. I have found myself with a 50 acre ex white pine tree farm and really want to replant with black walnut. I am 100% new to this tree farming venture. It is surprising how little information is out there on how to start up.
Would greatly appreciate any pointers or help you could pass along.

Kayla Boaz
Jan 08, 2019

Hi, Mark,
  I love your article about black walnut trees. I’m planning to start an acre or more this summer, but my one concern is, yellow bellied sapsuckers.Did you find anything that would help, should they attack our trees?
  Also, I live in Lancaster Co, PA.. The thousand canker disease is in nearby Bucks Co.. Is there any help for that, or should I plant a different kind of tree? Thanx for any information!

Joshua Martin
Dec 01, 2015

Hello Mark,

1,600 Wow!
I planted 100 three year bare root from Miller Nursery 12-13 years ago. Years later I planted another 75 bare root and have taken nuts from the largest Black Walnut tree in VT and planted in pots and nursed them until ready. I have also planted nuts directly in the woods.

Some of the trees have done very well and others not so good. I have had trouble with deer and weather. My first 100 were doing really well the first few years until we had a wet summer and they bent over. Insects here early on. overall I only have one regret, not planting more 12 years ago on my forty acres. I’m a traveling salesman and I go to the Barre area here and there. I sure would love to visit your grove.

Robert Hutchins
Aug 24, 2015

Hi Mark, great article! I am really set on starting my own black walnut plantation and your article was one of the few that provided some valuable insight! I have a five acre property and if it’s not too personal, did you ever calculate roughly how much money the trees will yield per acre, or per tree at harvest time? Could you possibly share this information with me? I would be very grateful. Also, how large are your trees now (in terms of height before the first branches, and circumference) have you estimated how much larger your trees will be when they are 30 years old? Because I read that they are first ready for harvest around then. If you don’t have this information in your head or written down, don’t worry at all about answering that question. And finally, how many trees will be good, veneer quality wood compared to how many you first planted? Thank you so much!

Steven

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