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Among the many autumn memories I have, collecting black walnuts is, well, a mixed bag. As kids, we’d be sent across the road from our grandmother’s house with much-to-large work gloves and onion bags to collect black walnuts from a line of trees along the road. Eventually, we’d come back stained in black and smelly, carrying as many nuts as our little kid arms could carry. If that’s a fall memory you’d like to have but you don’t have any walnut trees nearby, you can collect them in Wisconsin State Parks too.
Collecting Wild Edibles In Wisconsin State Parks
Yep, you can collect edibles such as fruits, nuts & mushrooms, etc., in Wisconsin State Park and natural areas without a permit as long as you’re collecting them for personal use. (NR 45.04) Here’s some official info.
Walnuts Are Good For Your Health!
According to WebMD, black walnuts are good for your heart, reduce colostral, prevent disease, and even reduced the risk of gallstones! That’s cool, cuz right now is the time to collect black walnuts. Really anytime from September through October is usually good.
Black Walnuts Make You Work For it!
The thing about black walnuts is that they are not like the big, fancy English walnuts you buy from the store. (Well, originally from the middle east…) The black walnuts we collect around here demand a lot more work before you can enjoy them. First, you have to find a tree and pick ’em. There will be a lot on the ground as well, but most won’t be in great shape if they’ve been on the ground a while. Then you have to remove the big smelly (Some say it’s a pine or citrus smell.) husks. Next, the nuts will have to be washed, dried out, and then cracked with something like a hammer…They work best in recipes and are not the sort of nut you put out on the table for guests. Here are all of the step-by-step details from the University of Illinois Extention.
Have fun. Remember, wear gloves, or good luck washing your hands!
For nearly 2 decades the Skillet Creek blog has focused on 3 main goals; To inspire you to visit and explore the Devil’s Lake region, to help you get the most your visit by sharing tips, events, and other helpful information. Lastly to advocate for our environment & wildlife and talk about how we can keep our natural areas amazing now and into the future! That last goal can sometimes cause controversy, but it’s the only way we can accomplish the first two. – Derrick Mayoleth, Owner.
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Our neighbor has a walnut tree that hangs over our fence and we have loads of squirrels. Lotsa black slimy walnut husks in the yard and a lot of holes dug. The little tree rats pretend to bury the nuts all over the place. I’ve never seen as many as this year… I guess the nutmeat is good but way too much work!