Would you want to know How Walnuts Are Harvested? My own experience has shown me that they are collected when the husk becomes brown and bursts, letting the nut fall to the ground.
Consequently, the walnut harvest occurs during a relatively short time frame, ranging from mid-September to the end of October or possibly November.
But that’s not all; I’ll explain more about the topic as you continue reading.
Now, let’s get started
What Is the Process of Harvesting Walnuts
The best time to harvest walnuts is between September and November.
Here’s how to harvest walnuts from your tree by hand:
Don protection. When harvesting walnuts, it is essential to wear rubber mitts to safeguard your skin from the natural irritants present in the seeds.
Check for ripeness. Press your thumb against the walnut’s outer green skin. If the skin is tender enough that your thumbprint lingers for a moment, then the nut is ready for harvesting.
Test walnuts from high up on your tree, as these ripen last and will indicate the ripeness of the rest of the tree.
Shake loose. You can shake walnuts loose from your tree to harvest them once they are ripe. Use a pole or your hands to shake the walnuts loose and collect them from the ground immediately.
Remove green skin. Remove the outer green skin with your hands or stomp on a group of fruits to break them open.
Wash the unshelled nuts. Power-wash your unshelled nuts multiple times to remove any dirt, debris, or worms.
Dry for a few weeks. Spread the unshelled almonds out in a single layer and allow them to dry in a moderately dry location for a few weeks.
Use a knife to hull the nuts. Use a paring knife, nutcracker, or pocket knife to hull the walnuts to reveal the nut inside once the shells are dry.
Dry and store the nuts. Dry the nuts on a baking sheet for several days or toast them in the oven before eating. You can now store the dried, hulled nuts in an airtight bag at room temperature for up to a year.
How Do They Extract Walnuts
In order to extract the nuts, farmers usually shake the tree vigorously with a mechanical shaker, which causes the nuts to fall to the ground, where they are swept into rows.
This process is typically done when the nuts’ green shells start to dry and split, indicating that they are mature.
Following collection, the nuts are further processed to remove the hulls and hulls, leaving the edible nut meat.
Essential details with nut extraction:
When the green husks start to open in late summer or early fall, it’s harvest time.
A mechanical shaker is a device that secures to the tree’s trunk and shakes it to loosen the nuts.
Ground collection:
A sweeping device is used to gather fallen nuts from the ground.
Hull Removal: Prior to additional processing, the green hulls are removed after harvest.
Shelling: To extract the nut flesh from the Shell, the nuts are smashed.
How Long Do Walnuts Take To Grow
Although it can take up to 15 years for walnut trees to attain maximum output, it usually takes five to seven years for them to mature from seedling to adult:
Nut Production Time: However, the majority of walnut species commence production between the ages of 7 and 8, despite the fact that certain varieties may begin producing kernels earlier.
English walnuts can start yielding nuts in five to eight years or two to three years if they are grafted.
Black walnut: Nut production may take four to seven years.
Butternut: Nut production may take two to three years.
Chestnut: Nut production may take three to five years.
Full output: Around the age of 15, walnut trees often reach full productivity.
Annual Production: Between 50 and 80 pounds of unshelled nuts usually are produced annually by a walnut tree grown in a home orchard.
Harvest: The nuts naturally fall off the tree after ripening in the middle of autumn.
How Long To Dry Walnuts Before Cracking
2 to 6 weeks in a room that is heated if possible (but not more than 25°C),
Before cracking, walnuts typically need to dry for two to three weeks:
The drying procedure
Spread the nuts thinly in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area after washing and sorting them. Generally speaking, a garage or shed works well for drying nuts.
Check for Dryness :
Examine a few nuts to see whether the flesh is brittle and covered in dried tissue. Continue drying the nuts if the meat remains moist or rubbery.
Temperature of drying :
95 to 105°F is the recommended drying temperature. The nuts will be of inferior quality if the temperature rises above 110°F.
Techniques for drying :
Another option is to hang the nuts in a dry, well-ventilated area after drying them in a mesh bag. To re-distribute the nuts, shake every day.
Nuts can also be boiled for five to ten minutes without a lid to make them easier to break. Using a slotted spoon, take them from the boiling water and allow them to cool and dry.
How Long Do Walnuts Last After Harvest
The shelf life of walnuts depends on the storage methods and decoration:
Shell:
Freshly packaged nuts can last several months to a year, depending on the type. Black walnuts last about a year, while English walnuts last several months. The Shell acts as a natural barrier.
Ginned:
In the refrigerator, decorated nuts can last for six months or more. Store decorated nuts in plastic bags or freezer jars to reduce humidity and outside flavors.
Storage fees
If refrigeration or freezing is not an option, nuts can be kept at 55°F or below in a superb, dry location. They won’t last as long as frozen or refrigerated ones, though.
Rancidity:
Oil-rich nuts can burn if exposed to high temperatures for long periods. Rubbery, shriveled, or strange-smelling nuts indicate aging.
Walnut storage tips:
For proper drying, remove the non-food container (Shell, husk, or strawberry) immediately after harvest.
- Check the nuts to reduce kernel moisture.
- Store the nuts airtight.
- Protect nuts from air and heat.
Final thought
Now that we have established How Walnuts Are Harvested, Additionally A mechanical shaker, a device that grips the trunk and shakes the entire tree, is used to extract the walnuts from the tree.
Harvest equipment picks up the nuts when they fall on the ground and are swept into windrows. To cut down on the amount of time nuts are left on the ground, this procedure is finished swiftly.
After being harvested, the nuts are sent to a huller, which uses wet scrubbers to remove the green hulls from the Shell.
They are then dried in gas dryers for no more than 24 hours or until they have 8% moisture content.
The nuts are prepared for processing or storage once they have dried. After purchasing walnuts in their shells, processors usually break, grade, and package them for sale.
