What we've Learned about Walnuts (The Hard Way)

A wonderful neighbor brought over a big garbage can full of walnuts from their tree. My husband and I were very excited. We love walnuts. We began husking them by hand and it took quite a while. During the process, I went inside a few times and washed my hands. It's a very messy job! Brandon was diligent and stayed out there the whole time, husking until we were done. We were so pleased to have two big buckets full of walnuts. We plan to cure them in a dry place for a couple of weeks and then store them in our basement.

After we were done, we went inside to wash up. I was surprised that the stuff on my hands didn't wash off all the way. I didn't think much of it, because it wasn't too bad. When I looked at Brandon's hands, however, I was shocked. His hands were black! We've tried many things to get it off - dish soap, fingernail polish remover, butter. He even stuck a finger in the gas can to see if that would help. Needless to say, it didn't do much. Here's a picture of his hands this morning (2 days later - after many, many attempts at cleaning).

We've read some information about it, and indeed there is a dye in walnut husks that people use to stain wood and other things. We haven't found anything that will take it off yet. Apparently, it has to wear off and will take about a month! We'll let you know I guess. Oh well!

Here's a few sites about harvesting and storing walnuts (we wish we would have found them before we tried it!):

• http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h404blkwal.html
• http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1994/9-16-1994/bnut.html

Walnuts are very healthy. They contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids that they body needs. Also they have an antioxidant that supports the immune system and has anticancer properties. They have plenty of other vitamins and nutrients that are healthy. Eating walnuts helps in lowering cholesterol levels, controlling high blood sugars, and improving cardiovascular functions. Here's a few articles about the nutritional value of walnuts:

• http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=99
• http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3138/2

The other mistake we made with the walnuts was putting the walnut husks in the garden. Apparently, the husks contain chemicals that are bad for the garden. So guess what I spent my afternoon doing? I hope I wasn't too late getting them out of the garden because it rained yesterday. I did learn my lesson and wore gloves this time. Some people have to learn the hard way!