Walnut as a tree in the country. How a walnut grows: photo, fruiting Reproduction of a walnut

From the stone, from the fruit, from seeds, in the country, description, photo, seedling at home, when to plant Walnut potted

Is it possible to grow a walnut from a nut? People familiar with walnut growing by hearsay are surprised to learn that this is actually a simple task. A walnut tree easily grows from a fruit - this procedure is quite affordable at home.

The title photo shows a one-year-old walnut seedling.

What does a walnut tree look like?

This tree is known for its monumentality. Southern varieties grow up to 30 meters tall. The crown is sprawling, extensive, capable of occupying 0.3 acres. Considering that other crops do not always grow under it (due to the dense foliage of the walnut tree or the phytoncides emitted by it), this plant is not suitable for a small dacha.

General view of a walnut tree.

How a walnut tree blooms - in the photo below:

Flowers: male on the left, female on the right.

Readers ask us what an adult looks like Blooming tree walnut, do you have a photo? It is much more convenient to watch the flowering of a large tree in the video below:

Photo of walnut leaves.

Fruit photo.

General information

Walnut is a long-lived tree, some specimens live longer than 300 years. It loves humidity, light, in nature it grows best on soils with a constant, albeit low, level of groundwater. root system powerful, deeply penetrating into the ground. There is modern varieties frost resistant. Although, of course, cases of cultivation in open ground in the Moscow region or in the Urals are still the exception, not the rule.

Variety "Ideal"

This famous variety overturned the standard idea of ​​a walnut as a purely southern plant. A relatively low tree (up to 5 m against 30 meters of classic southern nuts), lives not 400 years, but 50, however, the yield qualities are unique. It blooms twice in a season, the fruits are collected in a brush, quite frost-resistant (in the Urals, shelter for young plants is required - that's all), bears fruit unusually early - for 2-3 years of life. A short summer in the middle zone is enough for the crop to ripen qualitatively. As experienced walnut growers say, the Ideal variety showed itself perfectly in the Moscow region, near St. Petersburg, in Vyazma.

Unfortunately, no one shared a photo of an adult tree; it is impossible to find a photo on the network with at least an approximate appearance of this wonderful variety in adult form. However, you can see the tree in the video on the My Garden blog.

Not the "Ideal" alone

Despite the fact that "Ideal" is so good, growing it, for example, in Siberia, is still fraught with a number of difficulties - the plant will require shelter, attention, feeding, shaping. Perhaps, citizens who are keen on nut growing will like other species from the Nut genus - they are more stable in nature, and, although they also require cultivation efforts, they may turn out to be easier to breed in Siberia or the Urals. These are nuts:

1. Black.
2. Rocky.
3. Siebold (ailantholist).
4. Grey.
5. Cordate.

Growing a tree from seeds

That is, from the fruit. Seeds germinate in one year. You should choose a quality nut, preferably freshly fallen from a tree. Even better, choose a ripe, beautiful fruit and pluck it yourself.

Inspect the nut, if there is damage to the shell, it is better not to take it.

Is it possible to grow a walnut from a store nut?

There is a small chance, however, the freshness and germination of these nuts is more than doubtful, it is hardly worth wasting time. Having become acquainted with the procedure for preparing seeds for planting, you will understand that nuts going on sale could lose their germination capacity at any of these stages (for example, the drying stage).

Do I need to peel nuts from the outer fleshy layer (pericarp)?

Preferably. So the nuts will germinate much faster. Cleaning should be done carefully without damaging the inner shell. The procedure is carried out with gloves, the juice has strong coloring properties, stains are difficult to remove.

After cleaning

Shelled nuts are dipped in a bucket of water, sunken nuts are quality nuts that are more likely to germinate, choose them for planting.

The next step is drying. Peeled and calibrated nuts are laid out in the sun in one layer, dried for 1 day, then dried in the shade. Dry only in the open air; nuts intended for planting are not recommended to be dried near heating appliances. This stage can be skipped if you plan to plant a nut before winter and get seedlings in May.

What to plant?

Prepared nuts are planted in open ground, as described below, but you can also at home in plastic containers of half a liter. The containers are filled with garden soil, the nuts are planted to a depth of 5 cm. Watered, then placed in a cool place: a balcony or basement. In early February, they are rearranged into the house, in a bright place, after 2-3 weeks young plants appear, after a month they reach a height of 10 cm, now they need a larger container, they should be transplanted into pots or pruned plastic bottles volume of 1.5-2 liters.

The condition of the soil should be monitored, it should always be moderately moist, in April (or later, at a temperature of about 15 C, the plants begin to gradually accustom to fresh air, they are taken out to the balcony. Plant out outdoors when all danger of frost has passed.

Landing in open ground, site selection

The walnut tree is spreading - this is taken into account when choosing a place. A powerful root system, so it is not planted next to buildings. Fruits in 6-9 years.

The fruits are planted before winter, it is advisable to plant immediately on permanent place, the tree has a powerful central taproot, which means that it does not like transplants. Pit for planting - up to 1 meter both in height and in width, before planting, dig the soil from the pit with humus. The depth of embedding nuts is 15-20 cm. At least 3-4 nuts are planted in one hole, so that later one of them is the strongest.

The nut should be laid with a seam up, if placed with a point, it will also germinate, but will develop more slowly. Nuts planted in open ground germinate a little later than those planted in cups, around May. Although there is also the opposite experience: nuts sprouted faster in open ground than after stratification in the refrigerator.

Yes, it is also possible to plant nuts outdoors in the spring. To do this, prepared nuts are stored in a cool, but not damp place. Somewhere 3-4 months before planting in open ground (approximately in January-February), they need to be stratified: the nuts are buried in moistened sand, put in the general compartment of the refrigerator (a temperature of 5-7 degrees is needed). Maintain the deadline. Planted in May in open ground, seedlings should be expected in ten days.

How a walnut sprouts:

Germination of walnut "Ideal".

About the rapid germination of walnuts - in just 10 days

Video about the method of walnut stratification. from the channel "My Garden". Part 1. Stratification procedure.

Part 2. Seedlings in 10 days!

Walnut in the Moscow region

Contrary to all notions, a walnut can really grow in the Moscow region. Landing is possible both in autumn and in spring after stratification. True, nuts for planting must be bought from trusted walnut growers who grow nuts in the Middle lane. As for seedlings, then, of course, it is necessary to plant only zoned young plants grown from nuts obtained from a tree that feel comfortable in the conditions of the Moscow Region, imported southern trees are too tender. We have already talked about the Ideal variety above - yes, it is it that is perfect for growing in a dacha near Moscow.

Walnut cultivation in the Urals

Such attempts really were, and almost successful. The variety "Ideal" grows well in the Urals in the open field in summer, giving powerful shoots, but all ground parts freeze out in winter. That does not prevent the trees from resuming their attempts to give growth with the advent of heat. Usually such plants die, gradually exhausting all their strength to fight unsuitable conditions. The network has information about the gardener Vera Viktorovna Telnova (Chelyabinsk), who successfully grows walnuts in the Urals and receives a harvest from them. It looks like this:

1. Seedlings of the "Ideal" variety are planted in a plot well protected from the winds.
2. The tree is formed low, up to 1.2 m. But sprawling, the crown of one plant can occupy 8 square meters.
3. The young sapling was specially planted a little obliquely, so that it would be easier to bend it to the ground.
4. For the first three years, the stem of the seedling for the winter was wrapped in 2-3 layers of covering material, later the procedure is simplified, you can simply throw covering material on the tree, give it something heavy on top (pipes, bricks, boards).
5. In order not to gnaw mice under cover, you should lay out baits for mice.
6. Natural snow cover is sufficient.
7. Shelter should be removed quite late - in early May.
8. The yield of such a tree depends on the quality of the soil, the more fertile the land, the higher the yield. AT summer period quality watering is also required. Such a nut can bear fruit in the 3rd year of life (Ideal variety, as you know, early ripening).

About cultivation in the Middle lane

Material from the video channel "Garden World".

walnut bonsai

The idea to create a bonsai from a walnut tree seems to be a failure, at least this is how experienced bonsai lovers speak about it. However, miracles do happen.

The video below shows this miracle tree in detail.

The walnut is a tree that came to us from Central Asia over a thousand years ago. It was brought by merchants from Greece, which is why it got its name.

Now it is grown in many regions of our country, in Ukraine, in the south of Belarus, in Moldova, as well as in the Caucasus. At different times, the walnut was called differently: the tree of life, the food of heroes, the acorn of the gods. And there were reasons for that: the kernels of these nuts are not only very useful, but also taste good. Other parts of the plant are also widely used, for example, the leaves are used for medicinal purposes, and the wood has long been used to make magnificent furniture.

Description

Today, probably, everyone knows what a walnut tree looks like. This is a perennial that belongs to the Nut family. It can reach a height of twenty meters, with a dense spreading crown. The leaf of the walnut tree is pinnate, located on the petiole, up to forty-five centimeters long. This culture is monoecious, having small same-sex flowers.

Walnut, care, cultivation, watering, planting which will not be a burden even for a beginner in gardening, is a dioecious plant. It has generative kidneys of two types - female and male. Buds with emerging female flowers are laid at the ends of fruitful one-year-old shoots. Male buds on a fruitful shoot are located on the side and collected in an inflorescence. They are sometimes called earrings. Walnut is a tree in which dormant buds are also formed, they are always located on the central shoot and are intended to restore the plant in case of damage to its aerial part.

This powerful tree stores pollen in catkins (male flowers). The wind blows it up to a distance of one hundred meters. This long-liver grows for 500-600 years, if the cultivation of the walnut tree and its care are carried out in accordance with agricultural technology. Almost all types of soil are suitable for it. The only exceptions are saline, swampy, highly eroded soils.

Walnut - a plant that loves lit areas, tolerates fairly low temperatures. Quickly and easily recovers from damage. Dead shoots are replaced by actively growing new branches.

Fruit

Today from many gardeners from different regions our country, you can hear: "We grow walnuts in the country." And this is not surprising, because the fruits of the tree in question, which are a false drupe, are the most valuable food product.

The outer pericarp is painted in light green color, has a flat surface. When the nut is fully ripe, the pericarp becomes brown or black. Its function is to protect the nut-bone.

The plant usually blooms in April-May. The fruits fully ripen at the end of August. Outwardly, the nut kernel resembles the human brain. It contains many valuable nutrients - at least 65% fat, carbohydrates, proteins, minerals and tannins, a huge amount of vitamins (B, A, C, B2 E, K, P and others). AT chemical composition nucleus includes a wide range of amino acids.

Planting a walnut in the field

The walnut, planting, growing and caring for which is not very difficult, belongs to trees that tolerate fairly low temperatures well. With constant sunlight, it forms a luxurious spreading crown. Walnut does not like tightness on the site and close-lying groundwater. In addition, it is not recommended to plant a walnut on compacted or heavily waterlogged soil. The best soil for it will be carbonate loam (wet).

Location selection

Walnut is a tree whose cultivation and obtaining a good harvest of fruits largely depend on right choice landing sites. Gardeners are often interested in: "How many walnut trees to plant on the site?" It largely depends on the available space. Anyone who wants to grow this plant needs to know that it gives a good harvest only in the most illuminated area. Walnut at the age of 25-30 years has a crown with a diameter of 8-12 meters.

If you decide to plant not one, but several seedlings at once, you must leave a distance of at least five meters between them. The only exceptions are planting on slopes, where they can be planted a little closer to each other (3.5 m).

Soil preparation

In case if fertile layer soil is quite fine, it should be replaced or additionally fertilized. For this, they introduce a large number of manure, which is mixed with ash, and superphosphate is added. This composition is applied to a depth of 80 centimeters in landing pit. Later on, at favorable growth tree, every year it is necessary to change the soil along the width of the crown.

In prepared and fertilized soil, we make a pit measuring 40 x 40 cm. To further stimulate the growth of young lateral roots, a sheet of PVC film can be placed at the bottom of the pit. When planting, carefully lay out the lateral roots horizontally and sprinkle them with fertile soil. The upper roots are left at a depth of about seven centimeters from the surface.

Walnut (tree): cultivation in the suburbs

More often certain types crops that have long been considered exclusively southern, began to land in the central regions of Russia. Such plants include persimmon, apricot, peach, cherry and walnut.

Growing this tree in the Moscow region has its own characteristics. Here, the most precocious and winter-hardy varieties. This durable and unpretentious culture bears fruit well on various soils and on different terrain. It is not recommended to plant a walnut on deep sandy and poorly ventilated land.

reproduction

For many gardeners in the Moscow region, growing walnuts is still a novelty. Plant propagation methods are seeds and grafting. Let's consider them in more detail.

Reproduction by seeds

First, select seeds for planting, while giving preference to local varieties. They must be large, without any visible damage, the core should be easy to extract. Harvesting seeds can be carried out when the green shell of the nut begins to crack. Nuts should be well dried indoors at room temperature.

To make them germinate faster, carry out additional stratification. Varieties with a thick shell are stratified for about a hundred days at a temperature not higher than +7 ° C, seeds with a medium and thin shell - at a temperature of +18 ° C for about 45 days.

Seeds are planted at the very beginning of April. By this time, the earth should warm up to +10 ° С. In fertile, pre-prepared soil, large nuts are placed at a depth of ten centimeters, medium and small - at a depth of seven centimeters. In order for the seedlings to have straight shoots, the nut must be placed in the prepared hole on the edge, sideways.

We want to immediately warn impatient gardeners that a nut planted in open ground germinates slowly, you will have the first seedlings suitable for planting in seven years, and those that can be used for rootstocks in three years. It is more expedient to grow them in film greenhouses. Thus, you will have seedlings for rootstocks by the end of the first year, and suitable for planting in open ground - after two years.

Graft

This method is especially effective when it is necessary to preserve the positive properties of the parent tree. For the stock, two-year-old seedlings are used, previously planted in ordinary pots with a diameter of about 12 centimeters. It is better to keep them indoors in winter so that they can give good shoots by the time they are vaccinated. February is the best time to get vaccinated.

After this procedure, the room should maintain a constant temperature of +26 ° C, and this should be both in the air and in the soil. It is optimal for continuous growth. Plants are planted in the ground in mid-May.

Care

Today, many gardeners dream of having a walnut (tree) on their plot. How to grow it healthy and well fruiting? To do this, you need to know some of the subtleties of caring for him.

pruning

A walnut is a tree that does not need to be pruned to form a crown - it will cope with this issue on its own. If you need to remove unnecessary branches, then do not do it in the spring - the nut loses a lot of valuable juice, and this will adversely affect further development tree. Branches can be removed at the beginning of June, and it is better to do this in two stages. Part of the branches are cut off in the first year, leaving a knot about 7 centimeters long, which is removed for next year spring. The cut must be treated with garden pitch.

Watering

Young trees need watering in spring and summer. In addition, the plant needs it during a prolonged drought. Each tree will need approximately 30 liters of water per square meter. m. Watering is carried out twice a month. Mature trees that have grown to four meters in height can be watered less intensively.

top dressing

Walnut is a tree that needs to be fed 2 times a year - in spring and autumn. Phosphorus and potash fertilizers are applied in the fall, and nitrogen fertilizers in the spring. When using nitrogen fertilizers, it is necessary to take into account some nuances. They must be introduced carefully, as they can favor the development of certain types of bacteria that are harmful to the plant.

When to harvest?

To answer this question, look at the green pericarp. Once they start to crack, the nuts can be harvested. After that, they should be kept for about a week in basement- so it will be easier to clean them from the blackened top layer. After cleaning, the nuts should be washed with water and dried in the sun. If you still have some of the fruits on which the pericarp is not removed, then you can pour all of them into a pile and hold for some time in the sun - so they will ripen faster.

Diseases

Many people love walnuts. Tree diseases sometimes cross out all the gardener's efforts to grow high-quality fruits. To prevent problems, it is necessary to study the possible risks in order to provide timely assistance to the plant and save the crop. We will talk about the most dangerous diseases in this article.

White butterfly (American)

It is a serious quarantine pest. Damages all fruit trees in southern regions develops over two generations. Summer (July) and autumn (early September).

codling moth

The pest develops in two generations. Caterpillars of the first generation appear at the very beginning of June and practically destroy young fruits. They eat away their core.

In August, the most harmful appears - the 2nd generation of caterpillars. They penetrate into the fruit through the base and eat away the cotyledons. Such fruits fall prematurely. One caterpillar is capable of destroying several fruits.

warty mite

This is a pest whose adult size is not more than 0.1 mm. It overwinters in the buds on the plant and causes great harm leaves before they full development. Young plants are more often affected. This mite rarely damages fruits. As a result of the activity of the mite, dark brown spots resembling warts form on the leaves throughout the plate.

Mining moth

This pest develops in three generations, but the second and third are considered the most harmful. Caterpillars bite into young leaves and feed on their pulp, while not touching the skin. Damage of this type is called "mines". An adult individual "does not mine" the leaves; it prefers to live in a folded leaf, gradually destroying it.

Serious attention should be paid to the fight against moths, since, with uncontrolled reproduction, the mining moth can cause enormous damage to trees.

brown spot

The causative agent of this disease is the fungus Marssonina juglandis Magn. The disease affects green shoots, fruits and leaves. In early May, rounded spots appear on young leaves. small size brown, and then grayish in color, with a wide border of brown color. Often the spots merge. Affected leaves fall off. Red-brown, slightly depressed spots appear on the ovaries. In areas affected by the pest, the tissue slows down growth, the fruits begin to dry, crack and crumble. Often they rot, the core deteriorates, and it becomes inedible.

Especially favorable conditions for this disease are created in the first half of summer with heavy rainfall. Brown spotting leads to huge losses yield - up to 50% or more.

bacteriosis

On branches, leaves, inflorescences and fruits appear dark spots. Especially often the disease develops intensively in warm and damp spring weather.

Bacteria are carried by insects. Getting on pistillate flowers, pollen significantly accelerates the penetration of bacteria into them. During the flowering period, the disease destroys up to 90% of young ovaries and flowers.

Walnut tree: benefits and harms

The fruits of this tree are rich in a huge amount of nutrients. That is why doctors recommend including it in your daily diet. This is especially true in spring and autumn periods when many of us are overcome by beriberi.

Due to the high content of iron, cobalt and zinc in the composition of the fruits, they help to increase the level of hemoglobin in anemia.

Walnut increases potency. This has been known since the time of the ancient Greeks. And its oil is a powerful aphrodisiac.

Fruits significantly improve bowel function. The protein contained in the fruit normalizes the microflora, which, in turn, eliminates the problem of dysbacteriosis and constipation.

Walnuts lower blood sugar levels. In order to achieve this goal, only the infusion of the partitions of the nut shell should be used, but not the fruit itself. Endocrinologists do not recommend this remedy for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Harm

As can be seen from the above, this is very useful plant- walnut tree. Harm, or rather, contraindications for these fruits are also available.

These delicious nuts should be avoided by people who are prone to or allergic to protein. In severe cases, the use of fruits can provoke anaphylactic shock.

The same can be advised to people prone to obesity, as these fruits are very high in calories. In patients suffering from psoriasis, eczema, neurodermatitis, the disease can worsen even after eating two or three nuts.

Doctors do not advise exceeding the daily intake of this product. Otherwise beneficial features can give an undesirable opposite effect, as well as cause inflammation of the tonsils or irritation of the oral mucosa.

Walnut - a tree, no doubt, useful. However, care must be taken when consuming its fruits. If they have darkened or become moldy, then they have begun to produce a poisonous enzyme that can cause serious harm to your health.

Story

Country of origin walnut consider Persia and its adjacent territories (the territory of modern Iran). Although archaeological finds walnut have also been found in various areas as far as the Himalayas and far west and northwest of Persia in Turkey, Italy and even Switzerland.

The oldest archaeological site where it was discovered Walnut are the Shanidar caves in northern Iraq (8000 BC).

In Ancient Persia, only members royal families could eat walnuts, so they were referred to as royal nuts.

Mesopotamia (now the territory of modern Iraq) was proud of the groves walnut, which were part of the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon 2000 BC. The first written evidence of walnut- these are clay tablets with inscriptions of that time. In 1795 BC, Hammurabi, the 6th king of the first dynasty of Babylon, created a set of laws called the Code of Hammurabi. These laws were engraved on a basalt pillar and grouped by topic. Mention of walnut was found in one of the sections of the code.

In the book of Songs of Solomon 6:11 of the Old Testament there is also a mention of walnut groves "I went down to the nut garden to look at the greenery of the valley .." Some believe that these are groves walnut, although others argue that they most likely mean almond and almond trees.

Greek mythology also remembers walnut, namely in the story of Caria, the daughter of the Laconian king, with whom the god Dionysus fell in love. When Kariya died, Dionysus turned her into a tree. walnut. The goddess Artemis brought this message to Kariya's father and ordered that a temple be built in her memory. The columns of the temple were made in the form of young women, such columns became known as caryatids.

First cultivated trees walnut attributed to the ancient Greeks. Walnuts that grew in Greece were small and had negligible oil content. When the Greeks saw big nuts Persians, they began to improve the varieties growing in them.

The ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus, founder of botany (370 - 288 BC) mentions Walnut in his book on plants, where he calls it the Persian nut. In Greece Walnut called Persian or royal.

The ancient Greeks used Walnut not only as food, but also as a medicine and dye for hair, wool and fabrics.

The Romans discovered Walnut later than the Greeks for a century and fell in love with him. In the ruins of Pompeii in the temple of the goddess Isis, whole, not split nuts. They were on the table, along with other food, on the day Mount Vesuvius began its eruption.

Titles

Through the names you can trace the history walnut. AT Ancient Greecewalnut nut called Persian or Royal, and he most likely came to Greece from Persia.

The Roman scholar Varro (1st century BC) called nut Greek, so we can conclude that, most likely, to the Romans Walnut came from Greece.

Latin name walnut- Juglans regia. The Latin name can be translated as Royal acorn of Jupiter(Jupiter is the most important god in Roman mythology).

I wonder what it's called Walnut in different countries. The peoples that were part of the Roman Empire Walnut simply called nut, from Latin nux: Italian - noce, Romanian - nuc, French - noix , Spanish - nogal, Portuguese - nogueira. On the periphery of the empire and among neighbors Walnut was named walnut foreigners or "Voloshsky nut»: Czech - vlašskýořech, Polish - orzech wloski, Ukrainian - mountain hair, German - walnuss, Danish - valnød, Swedish - valnöt, Norwegian - valnøtt, Dutch - walnoot , English - walnut. Volokhi in ancient times was called the peoples of the Eastern Romance languages ​​or the Romans. For many nations Walnut was foreign walnut, which is reflected in the names. It's interesting that Walnut also called English walnut because, for example, in the USA nut brought from England.

To Russia Walnut Came from Greece, hence the name. Interestingly, the very word walnut is no longer used in speech in our time and is obsolete. This signals to us that the word has ancient roots in the Russian language. Our ancestors considered the inhabitants of the Byzantine Empire to be Greeks, and they had close cultural and trade ties with them. Byzantine Empire fell in 1453, so we can assume that walnuts appeared in Russia before this event.

Walnut resembles the appearance of the human brain in Afghanistan Walnut called charmarghz , which means "four brains" in their language.

Curious names of the walnut

Walnut called in ancient Greece - the acorn of the gods. walnut attributed the properties of an aphrodisiac and called the grains of love. As Walnut resembled the brain, it was believed that walnuts strengthen the mind. And Ivan Michurin, a Russian biologist called Walnut- the bread of the future.

Folklore

Romans associated Walnut with Juno, wife of Jupiter, Roman goddess of marriage, women and motherhood. There was a tradition of throwing walnuts on the bride and groom as a symbol of fertility.

In the French villages there was a tradition to hang a bag with walnuts to ceiling beam in the kitchen as a symbol of abundance. Walnut also symbolized longevity. And some young people thought that Walnut possesses the power of seduction, and tried to put a leaf from a tree walnut into the slipper of the girl they liked.

Along with funny beliefs, there were also gloomy superstitions about the tree. walnut. In the 17th century in Italy, a large tree grew in the city of Benevento walnut, which was considered a place where witches gather. According to legend, the bishop ordered the tree to be dug up along with the roots, which was done, but another witch tree grew in the same place.

Another legend warns that it is unlucky to plant a tree walnut too close to the stable, this can cause disease and death of domestic animals. Even travelers were warned not to pick a tree walnut overnight, as it can bring illness. Superstitions surrounded and the shadow of a tree walnut. Pliny wrote that the shadow of a tree walnut dulls the mind.

Another superstition says that nothing should be planted next to a tree. walnut, as it harms other plantings.

In the Middle Ages, it was believed that, since the form walnut resembling the shape of the brain, the nut will help in the treatment of any ailments associated with the head and brain, including headaches. And later, at the end of the 14th century, it was believed that Walnut On the contrary, it causes headaches.

Botany

Walnut belongs to the walnut family nut.

Trees grow rapidly and reach 18-30 meters in height. The trees have a large spreading crown and a massive trunk with a typical trunk circumference up to 3 meters, but there is information about the trees walnut, the circumference of the trunks of which reached 5 and 7 meters. Trees walnut centenarians, there are specimens that live up to 2000 years.

In April and May the trees walnut bloom, male and female flowers appear on each tree. Trees are self-pollinating. Plant multiple trees for optimal cross-pollination walnut.

Superstitions about what's next to the trees walnuts no need to plant anything - not groundless. Tree roots walnut prone to releasing a toxic substance into the soil, which may affect some plants close to the tree walnut. Gardeners do not recommend planting tomatoes, rhododendrons and azaleas in an area 25 meters from the tree walnut.

Trees walnut often ran wild and now you can meet wild walnut forests and groves. Despite cultivated varieties, nuts they are also collected in the forests.

Walnut consists of three distinct parts. What we eat is a nut kernel, it is also a seed walnut. The nucleolus has two lobes.

The shell, which is called the endocarp (intracarp), is very strong and consists of two halves tightly fastened together. An inedible thin membrane separates the two lobes of the nut kernel inside the shell.

The outer shell of the nut, called the pericarp (pericarp), covers the shell with a soft, fleshy green skin that protects Walnut. The unripe green shell is edible, moreover, during this period the shell and nut not hard and also edible, although they have a sour taste.

Before the era of mechanization, the harvest walnut collected by hand. The trees were shaken and a long pole was also used to knock the nuts to the ground where they could be easily collected. These days trees are shaken by special machines while other machines collect nuts from the ground using vacuum pumps.

Benefit

Since ancient times Walnut used as medicine. The great physician Avicenna recommended Walnut for restorative nutrition and treatment.

Walnut has a rich composition of vitamins and minerals: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc. Walnut contains vitamin E - alpha, beta, delta and gamma tocopherol, making Walnut exceptionally rich in antioxidants. Ascorbic acid in it is 50 times more than in citrus fruits.

The troops of the eastern states were usually supplied in abundance with this walnut thanks to him light weight and magnificent nutritional properties. Its oil was used to treat burns and wounds.

Source of omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in a limited number of plants, but they are very important for our health.

Walnut- an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, a special kind of acid that our body does not produce. The content of omega-3 fatty acids makes Walnut a very valuable product that helps to strengthen and protect cardiovascular system, improve brain activity, control blood pressure. Walnuts contain antioxidants that support immune system and have some anti-cancer properties.

Use walnuts can be an important step towards strengthening your cardiovascular system. Walnut- an important source of monounsaturated fats, which lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The content of omega-3 fatty acids also has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system. Omega-3s help regulate heart rate, prevent clogged blood vessels, and improve the ratio of good to bad cholesterol.

Numerous studies have shown that the use walnuts helps to lower blood cholesterol levels, increase vascular elasticity, reduce vascular adhesions, therefore, for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cardiologists recommend using a handful walnuts 4 times a week.

Food for brain

Walnut has long been considered good food for the brain, and not only because Walnut resembles the brain, as previously thought, but because walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are simply necessary for the normal functioning of brain cells.

Studies in different countries have found an association between increasing depression and reduced consumption of omega-3 fatty acid foods. The link between low omega-3 fatty acids in children and hyperactivity disorder is being studied. The study found that children with a low content of omega-3 fatty acids are more prone to hyperactivity, they are more likely to have problems with learning and behavior, mood swings, and sleep problems.

Source of melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland of the brain that is involved in and regulates sleep and is also a powerful antioxidant. Melatonin has been found in walnuts in a bioavailable form, so walnuts will be the perfect evening food for a good restful sleep. Melatonin helps improve sleep for people who work night shifts and helps people adjust jet lag with flights. To maintain melatonin levels, it is recommended for anyone over 40 to use walnuts- a source of melatonin, since with age the amount produced human body hormone is reduced.

Ellagic acid

Walnuts contain the compound ellagic acid, which blocks metabolic pathways that can lead to cancer. Ellagic acid not only protects healthy cells from free radical damage, but it also helps detoxify potentially unhealthy cells and help prevent cancer cell growth.

Usage

Walnut in the cuisines of the world

Chefs from many countries willingly use Walnut in a variety of dishes, salads, soups, sauces and of course desserts.

Baklava or Baklava is the most well-known oriental dessert. Greens walnuts you can eat, but they are sour, but they are an excellent ingredient for jams and marmalades. Italians created Nocino liqueur from green walnuts. The recipe originates in Modena, where unripe walnuts gather on a local holiday in honor of the saint on June 24th. Walnuts break and insist for two months.

Wood walnut exceptionally hard, so it is perfect for making furniture, wall panels, musical instruments.

Dishes, spoons, water containers are made from it. Even the shoes were carved from wood walnut. During World War I, solid black wood walnut used for aircraft propellers.

shells walnut also widely used. The barber of King Louis XI used heated shells walnut for shaving, as he believed that this method would get rid of cuts. To prevent the bread from sticking, bakers crushed the shells walnut into powder and sprinkled on the base of the furnaces.

shell powder walnuts used as a polish in the aviation industry, and as an ingredient in facial powder. NASA uses powder walnuts like thermal insulating material in the nose cone of the rocket.

Since ancient times, people have noticed that all parts walnut can be used to create flowers. Furniture manufacturers use the outer shell walnuts(pericarp) to give a rich and deep color to furniture. Women figured out how to give their appearance colors and began to make hair dye from walnut. Since ancient times, weavers have obtained a rich brown dye from the sap. walnut, and yellow dye from green outer shells walnut.

walnut oil

Butter walnut highly valued for its lightness and delicate taste. Butter walnut rich in gamma-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E). Since it is rich in antioxidants, gamma tocopherol protects the oil so that it does not quickly go rancid.

Butter walnut served completely different purposes. The ancient Egyptians used oil to embalm mummies. Where there were many trees walnuts, oil was used to illuminate dwellings in oil lamps. Oil in 19th century France walnut used in the church as sacred oil.

European artists liked to use oil walnut as a basis for mixing different pigments. Many French Impressionists preferred oil walnut other oils, as it surpassed them in quality. As shown by chemical analysis - the paintings of Monet, Picasso and Cezanne were written using oil walnut. And the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci "Lady with an Ermine" is written on a wooden plank walnut.

Storage of walnuts

Fresh walnuts appear in September. Walnuts in shell keep well for 8 months.

Purified walnuts must be stored in the refrigerator to keep them from going rancid. For long-term storage purified walnuts put in a bag and store in the freezer.

At the time of buying walnuts in shell notice if there is a rancid smell. Shake the nut. If something rattles, then the nut is old and withered.

Walnut or Volosh nut grows in almost every garden. This is a tall tree with a sweeping crown, which gives extremely useful fruits with unusual taste. Planting a nut and caring for a young plant is easy. You need to know how a walnut grows and what it needs for normal development.

Walnut bears fruit every year

Walnut brings rich harvests every year. The fruits have almost the same high nutritional value like hazelnuts, and rich in unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, micro and macro elements.

walnut features

Every person at least once in his life saw walnuts and tasted their fruits. In the middle lane and southern regions, this tree can be found not only on suburban area but also in the park or by the road. Voloshsky nut is very unpretentious to habitat conditions, tolerates frost and heat. Appearance of the walnut tree:

1. The tree reaches a height of 25 m.
2. The trunk can reach from three to seven meters in diameter, it is covered with gray bark.
3. The crown is wide, up to 20 m in diameter.
4. The leaf is complex, consisting of 2–5 pairs of large ovoid leaflets.
5. There is male flowers(earrings) and sessile female (pistillate) flowers.
6. Unripe fruits are covered with a green leathery peel. After ripening, the peel bursts, releasing a globular fruit. The edible core is enclosed in a hard woody shell.

Leaves and flowers bloom at the same time - in May. The walnut re-blooms sometimes in early June. The flowers are pollinated by the wind.

Wild walnut grows in Transcaucasia, in the north of China and India, in Iran, in the Balkans. The plant is distributed throughout Ukraine. AT northern regions Russian walnuts grow but do not develop until large trees. Plants withstand low temperatures down to -20 °C. With long severe frosts walnut freezes.

Moderately moist, humus-rich soils are ideal for Volosh nut. It is important that the soil is well breathable. The root system of the tree descends to a depth of 4 m and extends along the sides for 20 m.

Walnut lives for centuries, average age big tree 200–250 years. Throughout its life, the plant retains the ability to bear fruit.

The walnut tree can grow to enormous sizes.

Characteristics of walnut fruits

How many years should pass from the moment of planting the seeds of a nut to the first fruiting? Usually the first nuts appear on the 10-12th year of the tree's life. The plant begins to give rich harvests for 25–30 years. The fruits ripen in mid-September - early October.

The fruit of the walnut is enclosed in a green leathery shell (pericarp). The walnut ripens in it. When the process is completed, the skin dries and cracks. Inside is a bone with an edible core. The peel does not open on its own, it is very strong, tree-like. Inside the shell has a cavity divided into partitions. Partitions break the nucleus into equal parts.

Walnut kernels are shaped like a brain. Outside, they are covered with a thin light brown skin. The taste of the fruit is unusual, sweetish, the skin is a little tart, sometimes bitter or sour. The average weight of one walnut (together with the shell) is 5–17 g.

Nuclei contain a large number useful substances. These are unsaturated fats, proteins, vitamin B1, provitamin A. Fruits are widely used in cooking, traditional medicine, Food Industry.

Walnuts are very nutritious

Voloshsky nut - valuable tree, which gives many extremely useful and tasty fruits. The most not an easy task wait for these very fruits and keep the tree healthy. Before growing a walnut, you need to consider several important aspects:

• choice of landing site;
• selection and preparation of planting material.

It is necessary to immediately study the rules for caring for seedlings, the features of their growth and development. You can plant a walnut at home in separate tubs with prepared soil or in a greenhouse. When the plants reach a certain age, they are planted in open ground.

planting material

In order for the nut to grow well, it is important to choose the right and high-quality planting material. There are two ways to plant a nut:

• seeds;
• seedlings.

Seedlings have a developed root system, so they grow and bear fruit faster. After planting the seeds in the ground, it should take about a year for the main root to form.

You can buy seeds or prepare your own. Harvesting is carried out during the period of fruit ripening, when the green shell dries up and begins to crack. Collect several large and smooth fruits. They are dried at home. Then the seeds need to be kept for about 100 days at a low temperature (0–10 ° C). If the shell is thin, you need to keep them for 50 days at 18 ° C. This is done to prepare the seeds for real environmental conditions.

Seedlings are grown from seeds in a film greenhouse. To get a direct shoot, the nut must be lowered sideways into the hole. A hole is dug to a depth of 7 cm for small seeds, for large seeds - 11 cm. Seedlings grow from seeds in 2 years.

You can buy seedlings ready for planting right away. It is important to pay attention that there is no plaque on the trunk and branches, so that all the leaves are fresh and not dry.

Walnut seedlings will allow you to get a faster harvest

Planting site for walnut

Before planting a walnut, it is very important to choose right place Location on. To do this, you need to take into account several factors:

1. For the formation of a dense, wide crown and large green leaves, intense sunlight is needed.
2. The walnut has a sprawling root system that needs a lot of free space. If you plan to plant several plants, the distance between them should be at least half a meter.
3. Walnut does not like excess moisture. Waterlogged soils are not suitable for the plant. close occurrence groundwater also not helpful.

The ideal place for planting a walnut is a hill. The plant needs soil that is high in carbonate and moderately moist. Loamy soils are well suited.

The soil for planting a Volosh nut must be prepared and cultivated in advance. The earth is dug up to a depth of 80 cm–100 cm. Manure mixed with a small amount of ash and the addition of superphosphate is brought to the entire depth. As the walnut tree grows, the topsoil is replaced and enriched each year. The processing area is equal to the size of the crown.

When stable warm weather is established (mid-April - early May), seedlings can be planted in open ground.

Walnut loves space and good lighting

walnut care

It is very important to provide proper care for young trees so that their root system develops normally. Main Factors proper care behind the walnut tree:

1. Watering. Young trees like moderately moist soil. Watering walnuts is carried out during the period of active growth - in spring and autumn.
2. Top dressing. There are several important features of fertilization that will help you get large quantity fruits.
3. Pruning. Be sure to remove dry and damaged side shoots.

Mature trees do not need special care. If the planting site and soil have been chosen correctly, the tree will grow well and bear fruit every year. Trees need to be watered during a drought, periodically fertilize, renew the soil.

Watering walnut

Young trees need regular watering. For the active growth of roots, trunk, branches and leaves, you need a lot of water. Watering the trees begins in mid-April and ends at the end of September. Basic watering rules:

• one tree needs 3 buckets of water;
• watering is carried out twice a month.

When the height of the tree reaches 4-5 meters, the frequency of watering is reduced to 1 time per month. During periods of drought, plants need to be watered more intensively. It is necessary to water the soil under the root and around the tree so that the earth is evenly moist.

A young nut needs three buckets of water twice a month.

Fertilization

Walnuts are fertilized in spring and autumn. The plant needs nitrogen, potash and phosphate fertilizers. There are several rules for applying top dressing:

• nitrogen fertilizers are applied in the spring;
• phosphates and potash fertilizers are applied in autumn before digging the earth.

Plants that are 20–50 years old are fed with ammonium nitrate (7 kg), potassium salt (2–2.5 kg), superphosphate (10 kg).

Young plants in the first years of fruiting (2–3 years) should not be fed with nitrogen fertilizers. This is necessary so that in the future the nut gives more fruit.

Pruning of shoots of a nut

Pruning of young trees is carried out to form a crown. Usually the plant copes with this task on its own. Cut dry, damaged, unnecessary side shoots.

Pruning should not be done in the spring, this can affect the healthy growth of the plant, it will lose a lot of moisture. Branches can be pruned in early summer. The escape is removed twice. In the first year, most of the branch is removed, leaving a small knot (7–10 cm). In the second year, the already dried up remnant of the twig is cut off. This is done in the spring. The cut is treated with garden pitch.

Walnut pruning: first year, second year, third year and fourth year

walnut diseases

Diseases and pests can significantly affect the growth and development of a walnut tree. The most common walnut diseases:

A variety of insects also affect the nut - the codling moth, caterpillars of the white butterfly, wart mites, nut moths. Insecticides will help to cope with them.

If tinder fungi grow on the nut, they must be cut off. To prevent fungal diseases in some regions, tree trunks are covered with lime with the addition of copper.

Caterpillar - one of the walnut pests

Rules for the collection and storage of fruits

You can collect walnuts when cracks become visible. Collected nuts must be kept cool for 7-10 days. dark room. During this time, the pericarp will soften and turn black, it will be easier to tear it off. It is better to clean nuts with gloves, because it will be difficult to wash dirty fingers. The shelled nuts are dried in the sun. If the fruits are not ripe and the pericarp is not removed, they must also be kept in the sun.

Walnut - valuable cultivated plant. Its fruits are rich nutrients. Before you grow a walnut, you need to choose appropriate place on the site and enrich the soil. If young seedlings are properly cared for, they will quickly become large, luxurious trees that will delight in a rich harvest every year.

Originally from Central Asia. It came to us more than 1000 years ago, it was brought by Greek merchants in the old way - “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, which is why the tree got its name. Now it is grown in the south of Belarus, in Ukraine, Moldova and the Caucasus.

As soon as they did not call the walnut - the food of the heroes, the tree of life, the acorn of the gods. And there are reasons for this: nut kernels are not only healthy, but also taste great. Yes, and other parts of the plant will be useful: for example, the leaves are used for various medicinal purposes, and walnut wood is considered very valuable.

Planting a walnut

Walnut is a mountain plant that tolerates low temperatures well. Spreading and beautiful crown it is formed in constant sunlight. He does not like tightness and close to the surface. Also, do not plant a walnut on heavily swampy and compacted soil. The best soil for landing– moist calcareous loams with a low content of groundwater in the soil.

Place for planting a walnut should also be chosen carefully. If you want to plant not one, but several trees, then the distance between them should be at least 5 meters. An exception is planting trees on a slope, then they can be planted closer to each other (but not closer than at a distance of 3.5 meters).

The soil in the place chosen for planting the walnut should also be good and. If the fertile layer at the planting site is shallow, then you need to replace the earth or carry out its additional fertilizer. To do this, a large amount is added, mixed with (2 cups of ash are added to a bucket of manure), with an additional additive. Such an improvement of the soil cover is carried out to a depth of 80 cm in the pit itself, then, with further favorable plant growth, we annually replace the soil along the width of the walnut crown.

• In the ground prepared for planting, we make a hole 40x40 cm wide.
• To further stimulate the growth of lateral roots, we lay out a sheet of plastic wrap at the bottom of the pit.
• When planting, slowly and carefully lay out the lateral roots in a horizontal position, sprinkling them with fertile and crumbly earth. We do this slowly, starting from the lower roots, gradually moving to the upper part of the root system. The upper roots should be close to the soil surface, at a depth of 6-7 cm.

Reproduction of a walnut

Below we describe how to propagate walnuts by seeds and grafting. .

To begin with, it is necessary to select seeds for further planting, while trying to choose local varieties. Nuts should be large, without damage, the kernel should be easy to extract.

Harvesting of seeds is carried out when the outer green shell of the nut begins to crack. After collecting, finally dry the nuts at room temperature in a dry room.

In order for the seeds to germinate faster, it is advisable to carry out an additional. Varieties with thick shells are stratified for up to 100 days at a low positive temperature (0...+7°C), walnuts with medium and thin shells undergo stratification at a temperature of +18°C for about 45 days.

Planted seeds in the beginning of April when the earth warms up to + 10 ° С, into a previously prepared fertile soil. Large nuts are planted to a depth of 11 cm, small and medium - to a depth of 7-9 cm. To get straight shoots from seedlings, put the nut in the prepared hole on the edge, sideways.

When planted in open ground, walnuts germinate slowly. You will receive seedlings suitable for planting in the garden only after 5-7 years, and for planting - after 2-3 years. Therefore, it is better to grow them in special film: in them you will receive seedlings suitable for rootstocks by the end of the first year, and seedlings suitable for planting in open garden soil, after 2 years.

Propagation of walnuts by grafting

This method of reproduction is chosen when it is necessary to preserve positive traits fruit of the mother tree. For the stock, two-year-old seedlings planted in special pots are suitable (suitable flower pots 12 cm in diameter). Rootstock seedlings are best brought indoors in winter (around December) so that by the time they give good shoots. The best time for vaccination - February.

After grafting in a room with seedlings, it is necessary to maintain a temperature of +24 ... + 26 ° C both in the soil and in the air. At this temperature, the growth of seedlings will be continuous. We plant grafted plants in open ground in the middle of May.

Watering

young trees will need in the spring and summer, when they consume a large amount of water. More watering will be needed in case of drought. Each tree takes about 3 buckets of water per 1 m² of soil. We water the tree 2 times a month - that's enough. Trees that have grown up to 4 meters in height can be watered less intensively.

top dressing

Walnut trees are usually fertilized 2 times a year - in spring and autumn. added in the spring, and applied to the soil in the fall, before plowing. An adult tree aged 20-50 years needs up to 7 kg ammonium nitrate, 2-3 kg of potassium salt and up to 10 kg of superphosphate.

When using nitrogen fertilizers, there are some nuances:

1. firstly, they should be applied carefully, as they may favor the development of bacteria harmful to the tree;
2. secondly, one should refrain from using them in the first 2-3 years of fruiting the tree so that it can produce more nuts in the future.

Harvesting

The time of collection of nuts is determined by the green pericarp. As soon as they begin to crack, the nuts are ready.

After harvesting, it is advisable to keep the fruits for up to a week in the basement, then it will be easier to clean them from the softened and blackened pericarp. If you don’t want your hands to turn black during cleaning, put on rubber gloves - there is a lot of iodine in the walnut pericarp, believe me, this will not be superfluous :) After cleaning, wash the nuts in water and dry in the sun. If some of the nuts remain, in which the pericarp is not removed, then pour them into a pile and hold for some time in the sun - this will help the fruits to ripen.

Varieties of walnut

The most common varieties of walnuts are "Ideal" and hard shell "Angulos".

Sort "Ideal"

Trees of the "Ideal" variety love light and moisture, grow well on carbonate loams with moderate moisture. The root system of trees of this variety is powerful and dense, it penetrates deep into the soil, so try not to plant them next to, so as not to damage anything with the further growth of the tree. Blossoms in May, fruits can be harvested in October-November. Variety "Ideal" refers to early-growing forms of walnut, a tangible harvest can be harvested from trees as early as 5 years of age. The flowers of this variety are collected in inflorescences, when the fruits ripen, a brush is formed, consisting of several nuts.

Walnut grade "Ideal". Photo from blueberry.su

Grade "Angulosa" ("Yaglydzhevyus")

Such a strange name for the ear is a hard-shell variety, which, due to its yield, is widely distributed in the Crimea and the southern regions of Russia. Some trees of this variety under the age of 40 produce up to 25,000 nuts annually in the Crimea.

In addition, noteworthy are "Tenera" ("Dzhelter-dzhevus"); "Hag-breaker " , "Maxima" ("Kaba-jevyus " ), "Buccaneer", "Serotina" and other varieties of walnut.

Walnut "Buccaneer". Photo from wikimedia.org

Do you grow walnuts in your garden?