Spring brings greens in the garden, Summer welcomes tons of herbs to harvest. It is Fall is, to me at least, that is the season of most abundance.
And for this episode of my homesteading journal I have just one ingredient in my harvest basket, lots and lots of walnuts!
This land has shifted so many times over the years. We believe it will always revert back to what it was meant to be, a homestead with the purpose sustenaining itself. The people who planted these walnut trees did so with this intent, to feed those who live here and care for this place.
One will find them alongside the trails here and there. In fact we redirected trails made by wild animals and horses to pass by the distant walnut trees. Walking the trails yesterday morning I stopped with my basket to visit our very favorite tree that produces the largest walnuts.
As a gardener so many of my tasks require crouching down, to pull weeds, to harvest greens. So, it is nice when harvesting from trees to be able to stretch and reach for the sky.
I am, however, not about to miss all of the walnuts that can be found on the ground. The grass and bamboo shoots have grown tall in the absence of the mare. None the less I carefully step through the tall plants in search of this years walnuts that have fallen there.
Walnuts are a staple in a our diet year round so it important to collect baskets and basket when they are just ripe for harvest. Now is the time! Each day I go out to collect the abundance, a basket a day. All the while imagining the many recipes that the walnuts will later be included in. GF brownies, pastas, and decorating fruit.
Always soaked and toasted, of course! You can read more about that whole process here >>> The Importance of Soaking Seeds and Grains; HIVE.blog
Thanks so much for following along in my chores as caretaker of this herbal homestead.
Walnuts are amazing things ! Every part of the tree is useful. We've got a mature one a couple of gardens over, and every year the squirrels give us a few more. Two of the saplings are in places where I've been able to let them grow, although both are young and have only made a few walnuts so far (most of which the squirrels promptly took back....)
If you haven't tried it yet, the green husks make amazing black-brown or brownish-yellow dye, but wear rubber gloves or your hands will be stained black for weeks even before you use a mordant !
Oh, and useless information for the day; the name comes from Saxon. "Wal" is Saxon for foreign, so it literally means "foreign nut". It is the same root as gives us the name of Wales (it's not what the Welsh called themselves !) town names like Walton on Thames, and the person's name Walter.
so much fun information here!! I have heard about the dye and want to try it very soon, thanks for the encouragement. The Saxon meaning behind wal is so interesting!! I cant wait to tell someone else about the foreign roots of this nuts name!
I’m not sure if what I’ve been seeing here is also walnuts but if yes, then we’re really missing out because we have no use for them here.
I am not sure if walnuts grow where you live. They tend to grow in colder climates so I wonder if it is a different kind of nut that you are seeing. There are so many different types of nut trees on Earth, it is kinda amazing! It may be good to ask an older person or someone who gardens if they can identify the nut you see. Hopefully it does turn out to be edible and you can collect some!
Oh okay, then I will do that
I didn't know this is how Walnut is harvested, all this while i usually think it's same way we harvest ground nuts.
Yes! it is a wonderful nut and quite different than ground nuts. Thanks for your comment.
Amazing! Have you ever had walnut cake?
My mom used to make it - for decades - and probably still does and my twin sister, here in Portugal, still bakes walnut cake, regularly. Let me know if you're interested in the recipe ;<)
Walnut cake sounds delicious, I am indeed intersted in the recipe, thanks!