What does everyone do with their walnut shavings from the planer, jointer, etc.?
I don’t have a problem getting rid of the other shavings I get. They get taken to the farm and used for horse bedding, but the walnut is a no-no.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Replies
I have a waiting list for my walnut shavings.
They prevent germination of seeds, but don't interfere with plant growth. If you have a rose garden (or other plants that don't grow from seeds), it is a beautiful mulch, and helps keep the weeds out.
We have used it in some areas, and the weeds stay gone for several years. So be careful - you have a multi-year commitment wherever you use it.
________________________
Charlie Plesums Austin, Texas
http://www.plesums.com/wood
aguita,
My walnut shavings go onto a trail down thru the woods behind my house. No weeds!
Regards,
Ray
No Kidding it's a no-no! I thought I would be Mr. Bigshot Recycler, and dumped my separator can in with the shavings for the horses... When my wife found out there was Walnut in there, I thought her face was going to split!
I heard about founder for a week.
Now, when I make walnut dust, it goes in the rosegarden.
Tony
Keep the walnut dust and shavings away from tomatoes, a friend used them a few years ago on his tomato bed and wound up buying tomatoes at the farmers market.
My walnut sawdust gets mixed up with the other sawdust, and goes to the mechanic down the street to soak up the oil off his floor.. truthfully, I did not know it was toxic to plants .
my $.02
F E
Which reminds me I have to root around and find some walnut scrap to use for the scales on a kitchen knife I'm making.If it turns out not to be utterly laughable, I'll post a pic or two when it's finished.Leon Jester
Leon,
The same thing happened to me with white pine shavings and tomatoes. I thought the pine would be fairly innocuous, but those plants keeled over in a week or so. 'maters are pretty delicate creatures.
Regards,
Ray
Did you till them in? I did that a couple years ago with a bunch of mostly oak and maple shavings. Turns out in the process of breaking down (rotting), they rob a lot of nitrogen from the soil, so the plants you want to grow don't get the nitrogen. The next year, however, things grew very well.
You should be okay if you lay them on top as a mulch. Or you could compost them for later.
Froed,
No, I laid them on top of the ground, as a mulch. Had to go out and buy a whole 'nother crop of plants. Sure wouldn't have thought pine would have had that effect.
Regards,
Ray
Most people don't take the time to really do compost, they just pile it on the ground and let it rot. The next best is to layer it, put down whatever it is you are composting, then a thin layer of dirt (for microbes) and a layer of cut grass or other green matter (high in nitrogen) or a sprinkling of high nitrogen fertalizer (first of the three numbers on the bag 25-0-0 for example.
Nitrogen makes a HUGE difference in the soil as far as plant growth goes. My mothers house is about 100 years old and has had a heavy leaf fall of sycamore leaves for most of that time. Brown matter and leafs in fall especially have very little nitrogen and thus her soil had almost NO nitrogen and nothing would grow.
I finally broke down and bought one of those little soil test kits and viola, it showed there was NO nitrogen and so this spring we started fertalizing it and she has gotten more growth just this spring than she has gotten in the last couple of years combined.
If you plan on using the shavings for mulch here is some info
http://www.bachmans.com/retail/tipsheets/Woodies/BlackWalnuts.cfm
aquita
I've mentioned this before, and I'm not sure I was believed. I knew a butcher who made a living selling sausage and hams he smoked using walnut sawdust and shavings. He had an unlimited supply from a near-by walnut mill, so I don't know if it was thrift or taste. Anyway, it was good stuff.
Tho I can't recall where I heard it, I remember getting advice to NEVER smoke food with walnut. something about some compounds in the sap I think. I don't think I've ever come across anything in the butchers done with it either. Hmmm...AndyE
AndyE
I know the juglone compounds in walnut can be toxic when inhaled or on skin contact, but I was guessing the heat of combustion destroyed the chemical. I wouldn't do it at home myself, but it worked for him.
I compost all of my sawdust, along with chipped prunings from pistachios, fruit trees, eucalyptus, walnuts, grapes, and ornamentals. Then they go into the garden. The trick is to thoroughly compost everything before using in the garden.
The eucalyptus and the walnut are good to use uncomposted for mud control where I don't want spring weeds.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled