Applegater Spring 2013 5

DIRTY FINGERNAILS AND ALL Planting for the future by sioux rogers Remember when your ma and pa told jewelry, people, ice cream, dogs, cats and different than the black walnut. The black you to put your pennies or nickels in the nut trees), there are hundreds of varieties. walnut (Juglans nigra) is a large deciduous piggy bank? They were teaching you to save Some do fine living alone, like, well you tree attaining heights of 98 to 130 feet. (A for your future. Today, we would need to know what I was going to say (a hermit), point of interest is that, reportedly, one of put $1,000 bills in the piggy bank to save and some need a pollinator—a real good the largest black walnut trees in the entire for the future. Some of us did that, and buddy so to speak. Most almonds trees country is right here in southern Oregon look what happened—the pigs ate it all need pollinators to make edible almonds. on Beall Road in Central Point.) The up. What would have happened if we had Some, like Marianna (check out Raintree English walnut Juglans regia is also a large, been planting nut trees? We now would be Nursery, Washington), a self-fertile, soft- deciduous tree attaining heights of 80 feet enjoying our own foresight and it would shelled, sweet almond tree, don’t need to possibly over 100 feet with optimum be multiplying. Nobody would be eating a boyfriend. I have an almond tree that conditions. Sioux Rogers—And the beet goes on. our nuts, just us. actually has terrible almonds, which is fine The butternut tree shell ends in a which is why it thrives in pine forests. My mother in most certain terms since it turns out I am allergic to those sharp point, and the nut has a gentle Castanea sativa complains only when soil was not a gardener, thereby proving I was nuts. To make up for that bad deal, and buttery flavor. It does get lonely and it is too high in calcium. So feeding with obviously found under a romaine lettuce since she is otherwise very healthy, I did needs a mate, i.e., a pollinator, to make wee milk shakes is a no-no. Basically, sun leaf. But at age 89 Mom decided to plant not have her bodily removed. In return, nuts that can grow big and healthy like ma and water are the optimum requests until a three-foot-tall magnolia tree. The tree each spring I am gifted with a bounty of and pa. The butternut tree is not as thirst- well-established. Hybrids of American had a potential growth height of 20 to 30 sweet-smelling, flowering pink branches. driven as its cousin the black walnut, but and Chinese chestnuts are blight-resistant feet. She knew that. Mom never lived long also does not grow as large. and produce straight trunks as well as enough to see the tree flower or grow more The website of Stark large nuts. than a few feet. She never expected to. So Bro’s nursery states this Ah, its flowers (which show in July), why don’t we think like my mom? She just about its grafted butternut look, well, like spiked green balls from thought that maybe the next “new folks” tree: “An overachiever outer space. The seeds ripen in October on the block would like a large magnolia outgrows and out-bears and, at least to me, are among the most tree. A few years ago I visited that tree, any nut tree we know! beautiful of all nut seeds, resembling highly now holding its tall glorious own, just to This impressive variety polished morsels of wood. To top that, say, ”hi” to my mom. yields bountiful crops of they are a delicious and versatile ingredient The following list is focused on nut mild-flavored nuts that are in many dishes. Now, about the flowers, trees only. My garden mentor, Grandma easy to shell and perfect they are monoecious. This means that Olga, was a “nut,” which is most likely for eating fresh or baking. any particular flower can be either male where I inherited my sometimes-eccentric Cold-tolerant. Bears in or female. Not sure how that decision is qualities. This column is dedicated with 2-3 years. Matures to be made but both sexes live happily together love and endearment to Grandma Olga. 40-50’ tall. Ripens in late on the same tree. Before you jump to the To see a complete list of recommended The fruit of a chestnut is contained in a spiny (very sharp) cupule August to late September. wrong conclusion, they both need the bees new, alternative or underutilized fruit trees also called "bur" or "burr." The burrs are often paired or clustered Grafted. Self-pollinating.” for pollination. And the bees fortunately recommended by OSU, go to http:// on the tree branch and contain one to seven nuts. 3. Chestnut love chestnut trees. This is a good thing www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropmap/ Photo: http://4.bp.blogspot.com. (Castanea sativa, also since the bees don’t need to travel so far oregon/crop/treefruit.html. Cutting the branches for our house or known as C. vesca, C. vulgaris, Fagus or work too hard looking for pollinator I have chosen to focus on just the giving them away for “happy nothing day” castanea). This deciduous tree grows to partners. Flowers are produced on wood following three trees: is a wonderful trade-off for not being able 98 feet tall by 49 feet wide. Its growth of the current year’s growth. 1. Almond (Prunus amygdalus) is to eat the nuts. rate is moderate, it’s hardy up to Zone The oldest documented Castanea related to the peach tree. Think of it as an 2. Butternut (Juglans cinerea L.). 5 and not frost-tender, especially once sativa is in England’s Kew Gardens. Its “inside-out” peach. With the peach, you This is not a squash but actually the established. Here’s great news, especially estimated to be is 300 years old. eat the juicy flesh and spit out the seed or hardiest nut in the walnut family, sorta for our local region: it’s an excellent That’s all folks. Remember that Arbor make a peach-pit necklace and earring set. like the “little but tougher brother.” Funny soil-enriching understory in pine forests. Day is Friday, April 26, 2013, so plant a Oh heck, just spit out the peach seed. The that this tree has a “squash” name. Because Cool! This underrated tree is not very nut tree in memory or in honor of someone almond is just the opposite. You throw the wood of this tree is very light in color fussy about where it grows. It loves well- near and dear. away the basically inedible (actually I’ve and often used for elegant furniture and drained soil in a sunny location, but will Dirty fingernails and all never tried nibbling it) outer flesh and eat paneling, it is sometimes called “white also grow in a sandy, loamy or clay soil, Sioux Rogers the inner seed. That is what we know as an walnut,” a more descriptive name. Even and even in nutritionally poor soil. It 541-846-7736 almond. As with almost everything (cars, the shape of this white walnut tree is quite likes soil with either neutral or acid pH, [email protected] Please support our advertisers! They help make this paper possible. The Gater thanks you.