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Black Walnut Question

TheRedHayflinger July 24, 2009 February 22, 2011

Forums

I know it is toxic, even in small amounts of sawdust or shavings...but--This winter we had a nasty snow/ice storm...the end result was a tree fell on my back pasture fence. I THOUGHT it was a black walnut from my limited winter dendrology IDing skills....this spring I verified it WAS black walnut. My hay guy came and cut it off this past week...thankfully minimal damage to fence..I'll have to replace two boards for sure, maybe a third...and a few electric insulators for the hotwire I run inside my fence. He did a super job, but there IS some sawdust laying around out there(not nearly as much as I had thought there would be...he cleaned up a lot of it himself....which he totally did not have to do..he volunteered to cut this tree down at no cost for me). I'm going out there with my gator, some shovels and rakes and a tiller here in a bit to get most of it up, and then till the ground up some....but in the case I miss even a tiny bit, the horses aren't going back there for a while. I just want to figure out would be a safe time to turn them back out there...a month? a few months? next year? I'm going to attempt to get it all up, but with sawdust, that is pretty darn near impossible.

Morgan Fri, 07/24/2009 - 10:32

I don't think they will eat it? I mean, when it rains it would mush down into the dirt and get mucky. I supose you could dump some manure on the spot to make it even more unappetizing (and break it down faster). I think most of the problems have been from it getting in stalls and horses that eat their bedding.

TheRedHayflinger Fri, 07/24/2009 - 10:36

I've always been told that they can get the toxic effects just from standing on it. That is what is worrying me. I had them in the back pasture grazing and they never went near the tree(I was always out there with them and then eventually put up some temp fencing to keep them away from the tree but still have use of some of their grazing back there)

Morgan Fri, 07/24/2009 - 10:47

here you go:

[quote]Walnut leaves can be composted because the toxin breaks down when exposed to air, water and bacteria. The toxic effect can be degraded in two to four weeks. In soil, breakdown may take up to two months. Black walnut leaves may be composted separately, and the finished compost tested for toxicity by planting tomato seedlings in it. Sawdust mulch, fresh sawdust or chips from street tree prunings from black walnut are not suggested for plants sensitive to juglone, such as blueberry or other plants that are sensitive to juglone. However, composting of bark for a minimum of six months provides a safe mulch even for plants sensitive to juglone. [/quote]
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1…" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I would make a manure pile over the spot :)

TheRedHayflinger Fri, 07/24/2009 - 10:51

got plenty of manure!!!

thanks for that info...i've been looking online all day for something that gave me a timeline! Will probably manure it up good there and let it sit all winter. And then reseed grass.