Walnut

General information

Deciduous tree with height up to 20-35 m with a powerful developed root system. Life expectancy averages 400 years. Fruit - dry drupe with a fleshy inedible plush, drying and cracking when ripe. Fruits can be small, medium and large in size;in shape - round, oval, oval oblong, oblong-compressed from sides, ovate, back-ovate, etc. The surface of the shell is almost smooth, small and coarse-grained, sometimes bumpy with numerous cells.

Requirements

Walnut is a warm and hygrophilous culture that can develop and produce fruits exclusively in the southern warm regions, prefers humid places. It grows well and fructifies there, where the average annual air temperature is 8-10 ° C, and the average monthly temperature of the warmest month is 20-25 ° C.It should be remembered that the walnut is a thermophilic crop, requiring a lot of heat, sun and high average annual air temperature, so in the middle band the fruits of the walnut do not ripen. For a walnut, warm, open, gentle slopes are preferable. He needs a deep layer of soil, rich in minerals and soil moisture. Walnut is not recommended to grow in the basins, where frosty air usually stagnates and the water table is high.

• Seedlings of fruit trees should be bought in specialized nurseries and farms.
• The root system of the seedlings must be protected by a clod of earth wrapped in fabric or other protective material.
• Preparatory work on the inoculation and pruning of fruit plants should be started in the spring.
• Seedlings are better to buy in containers. In this case, it has a more developed root system and is quicker to survive.
• Plants should be planted in a pre-prepared place.
• After planting the plant must be watered abundantly.

Arched film greenhouse.

• The film is mounted on an arc-shaped frame, forming a tunnel.
• When the need for sheltering plants disappears, the film can simply be rolled up.
• It is better to collect greens in the morning, cutting with garden scissors and laying in a basket, so that it does not crumple.
• Seedling plants should be carefully removed from the container and placed on the root system in a prepared pit.
• After planting, the earth around the plant should be carefully compacted.
• The beds for the convenience of processing should be made small in size, leaving the aisles between them.

Forming the crown of a walnut tree

1. The walnut seedlings are cut shortly, leaving only 2 buds, which is 20-30 cm above the soil level. In the course of post-planting pruning, it is necessary to remove the stump that occurs near the site of grafting and can be quite abundant.

2. Of the left kidneys, two shoots develop, one of which must be removed. To bookmark the crown, choose a stronger and well located shoot with a more obtuse angle of retreat, the second shoot cut to the ring.

3. A new tree trunk is formed from the left strong branch, which should be no more than 1-1.5 m in height. As the shoots grow on the left branch, they begin to form the crown of the tree, choosing for this shoots with good separation angles. When forming the crown in the tier, 3 branches are left with an interval of 10-25 cm, above this layer additional 2-3 single branches are laid

Composition

The kernel of the nut contains fats, proteins, carbohydrates, mineral salts, vitamins A, B, C, E and P

Landing

Saplings are planted at a distance of 10 x 10 m, followed by thinning. The walnut is planted most often as two- or three-year-old seedlings without a developed crown, most often in the spring, so that in the winter during the autumn planting their crowns do not freeze. If the planting of the seedling is made to a permanent place, and the height of its trunk is still insufficient, the stem is lengthened in the first year of planting due to an escape from the terminal kidney. The remaining buds at the beginning of their blooming are removed or, if the trunk is still weak, leave short lateral overgrowing branches that are cut in mid-August. You can grow walnuts and direct sowing. For this, 5-6 fruits are planted on a well-wrecked site to a depth of 10 cm, treated with special means against pests. From the risen plants leave the best, the strongest. This plant forms a rod root deeply penetrating into the earth, which extracts necessary moisture and nutrients from a sufficient depth.

Varieties

A large number of walnut varieties Krasnodar, Kairovsky, Pelan, Adil, Dawn of the East, Breeder and Dessert are known and widely cultivated. Care: Regular moistening of the soil, but it is impossible to tolerate moisture stagnation. The tree is strong, so it requires a systematic replenishment of nutrients due to the introduction of mineral and organic fertilizers. It is necessary to monitor the level of acidity of the soil, which should range from neutral to slightly alkaline. The soil in the walnut grove of walnut must be regularly loosened and mulched to preserve soil moisture.

Necessity of after-planting of walnut seedlings

If the seedlings are not planted after planting, it will remain weak and develop several shoots with a sharp whip at the top. Forming the crown with this arrangement of branches will subsequently prove extremely difficult, if not impossible at all. Crowns of trees that have not undergone post-planting pruning, even after many years may remain underdeveloped.

Pruning

The crown of a walnut is formed by an improved tiered and altered leader system. The crown is created on the stem with a maximum height of 1 to 1.5 m. It is important that the height of the stem is as small as possible. After planting the walnut seedlings in the second year, during the bud blossoming, the tree is cut to 2 kidneys, one of which will be used as a reserve one. The one-year-old shoot that grew from it is cut almost immediately, leaving only one annual shoot. If the one-year-old shoot does not reach a length of at least 60 cm in the second year, it is shortened again to 2 kidneys in the third year in spring, proceeding in the same way as in the previous year. After this shoots, the crowns, as a rule, reach the required length and in the future they are no longer shortened. After the formation of the crown, pruning is usually not needed. Every 2-3 years it is necessary to cut out dry and too densely growing branches, which supports the most favorable lighting in the crown. The walnut trees have a high shoot-forming ability, easily tolerate the rejuvenation of crowns and are quickly restored even after the winter frost.

Using

The core is very nutritious, used for food in fresh form, and as raw materials in the confectionery industry for making halva and other oriental sweets. Of green fruits, jam, pickles, medicines, vitamins are prepared. Due to the high content of protein and nutrients and compounds, walnuts are prescribed to people weakened by diseases, suffering from avitaminosis, loss of strength and general weakening of the body. Nut butter is used for food, for the best grades of paints, soaps, varnishes, carcasses, for obtaining essential oils. Cake - a high-nutritional feed for livestock and poultry. Of the leaves, bark of the trunk and roots are very strong black and brown paint for tissues, wood and hair;from the shell of nuts - tannins.

Application

Take 1 glass of peeled walnut kernels, raisins, dried apricots and finely grate or pass through a meat grinder. Mix the resulting mass with honey and take 2 tbsp.l in the morning and in the evening as a prophylaxis against spring avitaminosis and colds. Supports the tone of the body's immune system.