How We Husk Our Black Walnuts Using A Power Washer

[@dave_in_florida]

It's amazing how you have adopted this technique using the equipment you have. Brilliant 👏 👏 👏

[@lawrencelawrence3920]

I have a similar method but I fill the bucket as you do, then I use my electric drill with a paint mixing attachment and stir the water/walnut mixture . It takes about 3 washing.

[@shaylaster1607]

Lawrence lawrence .. since I haven’t purchased a pressure washer yet.. I’ll be using your method. This is my first year trying this.. just bought a new house with 3 walnut trees. Thx

[@lawrencelawrence3920]

@@shaylaster1607 hope that it works out well for you. My solar dehydrators are full with all my neighbour's walnuts that they don't want. At first I do not turn the drill at full speed and you may split a few walnuts but most will be OK.

[@shaylaster1607]

Lawrence lawrence thanks any tips will help, for sure! Btw what state are you in?

[@lawrencelawrence3920]

@@shaylaster1607 western Canada

[@driventowin]

innovative,... I like it.

[@maryholme-shaw3962]

Best method I’ve seen yet. Going to use the wash water on some tough sumacs and burdocks. Hoping it will be a win win situation. When I was little and we “shucked” the walnuts in an old corn shucker with water running it brought up an enormous amount of worms for fishing. Wondering if I’ll see the same again.

[@herbertwerner2287]

I like this idea, seems to work well for you. But I have a question. Ive seen mold on black decaying husks before and wondered if that is an issue you see with yours seeing as they are not green at all. If so what do you do about that or what are you thoughts. Thanks.

[@armyrabb1]

You could probably save the “juice” from the first washing for a natural weed killer along a fence line.

[@driventowin]

I do just that, and I also use it as a natural wood stain on my wood working projects.

[@DARisse-ji1yw]

Made a hardware cloth basket. Hung it up full of unhulled nuts. Waited until the hulls started to turn all brown, and blasted with power washer. Worked well, and brought the basket inside to dry them. Stay upstream unless you want your clothes dyed brown. Keep overspray away from lawn & garden.

[@driventowin]

Way to go,... "out of the box thinking",.... good job.

[@ojdidit34]

Really glad for the comment at the end not to use wash water for plants. I would have done that for sure!

[@MaryOKC]

What about creating a sort of sifter to spread the walnuts over and spray them down from the top of the sifter .. Much like sifting rock and sand… ?

[@CluelessHomesteaders]

I’m borrowing a power washer next year! Great video, thanks

[@driventowin]

Thanks

[@gabiiannacone7004]

You got those really clean !!!

[@driventowin]

thanks

[@Yhrim70]

Traditionally, walnut hulls and the "juice" made from them, used to be poured into a river or etc, and it would stun the fish who swam into it and they would float to the surface at least for a short time. Then the people could just go around and collect the fish up off the surface of the water. A lot easier than some other types of fishing methods when they had the hulls to use. Didn't know it was a natural herbicide though, if I ever use this method of cleaning walnuts, i'll pour that water on my driveway.

[@driventowin]

carefull,... it stains concrete brown.

[@Yhrim70]

@@driventowin it's just gravel ☺️

[@driventowin]

@@Yhrim70 Shabbat Shalom brother

[@ratandmonkey2982]

I use a big drill and a large paint stirrer. I step on them first and roll them around underfoot to get a a lot of the outer junk off.

[@eveca9830]

Can you sell me the brown liquid to me? I’ll use it as sunless Tanner. I love black walnuts! Great job!

[@lindamon5101]

U could make some screens ... smaller than chicken wire hinged might be messier tho. Innovative!

[@warrenmiller3180]

Try putting them in an old plastic milk crate to do this job. Works great. But I usually run over them fist with the riding lawn mower tires to get the nuts out of the husks first. Then power wash them. A lot less mess.

[@masseur21752]

I'm lazy and cheap on the energy usage. I drive my pickup over them a few times, put in a "pillowcase" made of the small hole chicken wire and let them set outside over the winter. Nature cleans off what is left after the pickup pummeling. I let them season/mellow out/whatever till the following fall before cracking them.

[@ragegamer9464]

Confused about one thing. They're all black and mushy in the bag. Did you pick them up while they were green and then bag them? How long did that take to turn them black and mushy?

[@driventowin]

We picked them up off the forest ground after they have fallen off the tree. Most of them were bright green, that day. After only a few days on the ground, or off the tree, they develop brown spots. After a few weeks on the ground, or in a bag, or in a cardboard box, they will turn dark brown, nearly black. When they turn dark brown/black, they also become mushy. When they are mushy, really mushy, really really mushy,... is the best time to process/clean them up with the power washer. If you try to clean them up when they are even a little green,.. it won't work! The softer/blacker they are,.. the better.

[@ragegamer9464]

SeekTheTruth Ok so it's about 2-3 weeks then once bagged. Thank you very much!

[@driventowin]

Your welcome,.....thanks for asking

[@markkiser9329]

I found they are like bananas, plastic bag them and they will turn dark and mushy quick.A green one sitting on my table for a weeks before it even started to turn brown

[@BeBodacious]

I've heard that the water is toxic to some plants. Have you found that to be the case? I'm trying to figure out what to do with the water.

[@chrishall2594]

Gayle Crabtree yes he says at the end it will kill anything

[@BeBodacious]

Chris Hall thanks Chris. That part had escaped me. Guess I'm just trying to figure out what the safest thing is to do with the water.

[@driventowin]

Yes Gayle, the decaying husks can be a growth inhibitor to some other types of flora, but it is not as bad as many people on youtube make it out to be. If you think about it, the ground beneath a stand of black walnut trees is not barren, at least not around my stand of walnut trees. We have plenty of grasses, bushes, wild raspberries, other types of trees (such as oak), and of course weeds, all growing beneath our black walnut trees. Juglone is the chemical, in black walnut trees, that inhibits some other plants from growing near a black walnut tree. It's also the same stuff that will stain your skin, if you don't wear gloves. We have had many years where the black walnut trees drop so many walnuts that it almost looks like a carpet of green (then black mushy) apples laying on the ground. We don't pour the wash water onto our garden, but I do pour it next to and around our firewood stack, and we still get weeds and grasses pop up around our firewood stack. I found a good article that speaks to this topic and you can read it here: web.extension.illinois.edu/cfiv/homeowners/050811.html I also found this article to be worth reading: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juglone .

[@denisebargy6580]

You can make black walnut stain with it.

[@kevinbell825]

Great video. What do you do with the walnuts? Plant them?

[@MoneyIVI]

Kevin Bell eat them

[@driventowin]

Kevin,... we crack them open and eat them. They taste great and are super healthy for your body. Around here the going price per pound last year was $16.00, for shelled and ready to eat black walnuts!

[@yokanshree4621]

Do u still use oxalic acid to clean ur water filter

[@driventowin]

Yes,... every month.

[@NikoKun]

I wonder if this could be done with a lower-end power washer, like a 2,000 psi electric..

[@driventowin]

Yes, it could,.... but the husks would have to "ripen" a bit longer, so that they are really soft.

[@shaylaster1607]

I’m your 1k subscriber!

[@driventowin]

Thank you!

[@petro062]

What if ya got 5000 nuts to clean?

[@driventowin]

Don't forget to bring a sandwich for your lunch breaks.

[@edwardschmitt5710]

you'd be gay.

[@MaryCumbersnatch]

To what PSI do you set the washer?

[@driventowin]

As high as you can set the power washer,... ours was set to 3,000 psi. I have never tried using a higher pressure washer, so maybe there is (surely their must be) a high side limit, but I haven't found it,... yet!

[@alinewright1093]

New repect for walnuts

[@mrs.americanmade7452]

Never let a pressure washer run without spraying.....

[@incubus4132]

That's actually the best dewormer your throwing out .....

[@lindamon5101]

Nice dye for wool too!

[@patrapper7367]

There goes the water supply quality...

[@zippythechicken]

mom says you're not allowed back in the house and the boots stay in the shed or you stay in the shed

[@katee.1632]

🤣

[@E-BikingAdventures]

"How we Husk our black walnuts"? The tree does the husking. You are Dehusking.

[@driventowin]

right you are.

[@triciahague6287]

I used to wash in my driveway so that way the weeds don't grow up in the gravel

[@GrantSpencer-Purple-Circle]

Rather than throwing out the water, why don't you evaporate most of it and sell it as a natural wood stain?

[@driventowin]

I currently still have my last 5 gallon bucket of "All Natural Black Walnut Wood Stain" for sale. I have mixed it with alcohol and it looks great.

[@bomaite1]

Put the walnuts on the cement. I like to do this in gutter because it traps them. Walk on them with your sturdiest boots, rolling them a little as you put weight on them. The husks tear off. Very green ones may require extra attention. Pick the nuts up and throw them in a bucket. Scoop the husks into a bucket or bag to be thrown away. You don't need to wash the nuts, but you do need to dry them before putting them away. Any fibers left on will not bother anything. Anything you do with water costs money, wastes energy, and is guaranteed to ruin every article of clothing you are wearing and stain your hands and face brown for weeks. Why would you do that? What a mess! There is no need to clean them like that unless you are selling them at the farmers market to some very picky people.

[@hockinghillsalive3624]

Sad to see people wasting water when there other effective methods. Laziness and greed.

[@eddevarona8448]

Well, tell us then a better way to get a decent amount of nuts per sason

[@carfvallrightsreservedwith6649]

Put a sock in it Sally... water is being utilized not wasted. Wasting is when you see those people watering their lawns to keep it green (prefer indigenous plants) and it's running down the street. Wanna water something? Grow a vegetable garden.

[@hockinghillsalive3624]

😅