Harvesting black walnuts

[JoeyGee]

My parents just bought a house with a few large black walnut trees. The problem is, there are black walnuts everywhere. Does anyone have a good solution for picing them up? I thought of something like the carts driving ranges use for golf balls. Are attachments available for riding mowers or something similar?

[Stytooner]

http://pecanpicker.com/?gclid=CIDvtf...FRVSVAodfnwF3w

[LCHIEN]

Shop Vac + long extension cord???

[Ken Massingale]

Got squirrels?

[Jim Boyd]

Mow it a few times and they will be gone

[eltigre]

Walnuts

I use local neighborhood kid power.... amazing what a few dollars can get done. Of Course, I only have about a dozen trees worth to pick up.

[cgallery]

Just lawn rake 'em into piles, pickup the piles.

[Stytooner]

I think the folks around here call that picker that I posted a nut grabber. Just thought I'd pass that along in case you have to ask a sales woman for it by name.

[wardprobst]

Check out this link:

www.grimonut.com/products.htm

DP

[billwmeyer]

Raking and 5 gallon buckets was the best way I found. Warning!!! That outer skin stains like you wouldn't believe! Black walnuts are hard work, but they sure are good.
Bill

[Russianwolf]

Mow it a few times and they will be gone

along with all your windows.......

Makes me think of that commercial where the guy is mowing his dirt.

[Thalermade]

Okay when I was a kid we had a black walnut tree for a few years until Dad got tired of the mess and cut it down. Fast forward to the first house I owned (for 10 yrs) and I'LL be ****ed if there wasn't a black walnut in the front yard, a shag bark hickory and an oak tree in the side yards. I swear the squirrels were running a mail order business...
Anyway back on task, you need **** good leather gloves to pick up the walnuts. The stain will soak through gloves, trust me. The leaves are a pain in the butt as well because of the stems.
Sometimes you can get plastic buckets free from the large grocery stores that have bakeries. Commercial cookie dough comes in 3 to 5 gallon buckets.
There might be some local folks who are willing to buy, or worse case remove for free, the walnuts. Avoid picking up walnuts on windy late September or early October days, they adhere to the reallity of gravity. (or wear a hard hat)

[ExYankee]

Nuts!!

I have three walnuts by the creek and having sworn off golf, (after much time swearing at golf) I find a sand wedge and an open stance with a half chip will land them cleanly in the water.
(which BTW, I was very good at with real golf balls)

I second the advice about the staining effect, wear nytril gloves if you ar going to handle them.

[JimD]

We have several butternut trees. The husk doesn't stain hardly at all but the nuts are very bitter. Some years I have just left them and they decompose and get pushed into the soil. When I am less lazy, I pick them up by hand. In nice weather its a good excuse to get out of the house.

Jim

[Tom Slick]

This is what they use in my neck of the woods. I might be a little much for your application though...LOL
http://www.schielerharvester.com/