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Spent about two hours yesterday cleaning the black walnuts off my front yard, had about another half loader bucket full after dumping this first one. My cleanup method involves using the pickup tool shown, if the nuts are thick on the ground, I use the trash bin to toss them in while it is horizontal, or the plastic pan gets used if they are scattered around and I drag that around with a wire. Using the pickup tool is murder on my hands but still easier than bending over to pick up the darn things. When the containers get heavy I dump them in the loader bucket.

Can't you put the bucket down and just skim the surface either self loading or at least pushing them all to one spotso you could use a leaf rake ?
Can you sell them ?

BKBrown said:

Can't you put the bucket down and just skim the surface either self loading or at least pushing them all to one spotso you could use a leaf rake ?
Can you sell them ?

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Using the bucket would tear the lawn up, that is the best grass I have there!! As far as selling them goes, go look at the thread "Got Walnuts?" in the Lawn Care Forum here on LMF. I could come up with 10X the nuts shown in the bucket if I wanted to !!!

Know what you mean JD.The squirrels are going nuts burying the dang things.Every walnut tree I have was planted by them.A few yrs ago I cut down 4 large ones growing too close to my house.Took the trunks to a mill and made some good boards out of them.I made a few cabinets and still have some in the barn...russ

173abn said:

Know what you mean JD.The squirrels are going nuts burying the dang things.Every walnut tree I have was planted by them.A few yrs ago I cut down 4 large ones growing too close to my house.Took the trunks to a mill and made some good boards out of them.I made a few cabinets and still have some in the barn...russ

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I have a couple of walnut trees that I recognize and probably more back in the woods. I've wondered how hard it would be to make something out of them. It's such fine wood -- incredibly expensive if you were to buy it. Transporting the trunks would be the hard part.

Two-Stroke said:

I have a couple of walnut trees that I recognize and probably more back in the woods. I've wondered how hard it would be to make something out of them. It's such fine wood -- incredibly expensive if you were to buy it. Transporting the trunks would be the hard part.

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We have about 6 more trees that are bigger than the one shown behind the tractor. I joke that if we ever need money we can sell them. I have a friend who is a fine craftsman woodworker, I have given him a lot of logs and he says it is very hard to work with it to make something large. Black walnut is used mainly for veener over cheaper woods, not as a solid wood item. If you sell black walnut trees, the buyers usually come in and remove the trunks using heavy equipment.

BTW, my in laws were here earlier today, I had set aside about a laundry basket full of the green nuts from our smallest tree. We have one tree that produces black walnuts so large when they are green, the size is near as big as a baseball, much larger than the ones shown in the bucket, which are billiard ball sized. The nut is almost 2X the size of the smaller nuts.

that's about the size trees I cut.The wood is hard but I've got a thickness planer and all the other tools I need.You can't buy it around here at none of the lumber yards,has to be special ordered and it is high dollar.I let my boards season a couple of yrs. in the barn along w/some cherry my neighabor gave me.4 big trunks of Walnut and one hugh Cherry and the mill guy only charged me $100.00.There used to be a mill in a small town down the road that used to make gun stocks but they went out of business yrs. ago...russ

hey jd, seems to me i saw(year or two ago) a big wide rake that fits in the front of some mowers/tractors for large properties with leaves etc. to rake in a hurry seems to me i even saw a picture of it. maybe google it and see what you get

LandN said:

hey jd, seems to me i saw(year or two ago) a big wide rake that fits in the front of some mowers/tractors for large properties with leaves etc. to rake in a hurry seems to me i even saw a picture of it. maybe google it and see what you get

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Thanks for the tip....:thumbsup:

Why not use a garden vac with a collector bag ?

jmurray01 said:

Why not use a garden vac with a collector bag ?

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"Garden vac....?" What is that?

JDgreen said:

"Garden vac....?" What is that?

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A garden vac? ohhh they suck!
It's got an impellar and a gas engine. It's a big vacumn cleaner. I have one, it's not a big one. I don't care for it.
Using it to pick up black walnuts is a bad idea. They would never make it to the bag, way to big and heavy ( I guess they don't know what baseballs are in Scotland).
Any kids in your neighborhood that would pick them up for .03$ each? 3$ a hundred might sound good to a kid the right age. I don't think you would see him 2 days in a row, but hey it's good excersize.

JDgreen said:

"Garden vac....?" What is that?

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A guy called yesterday and wanted me to clean his grandmothers front yard that has 4 walnut trees in it. Told him $200.00. He declined the offer. :biggrin:

Sammy the Red said:

A guy called yesterday and wanted me to clean his grandmothers front yard that has 4 walnut trees in it. Told him $200.00. He declined the offer. :biggrin:

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WHERE IS IT??? THAT IS SUPER MONEY at least $40 an hour tax free.

Sammy the Red said:

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I do have a two cycle Sears Craftsman gas powered blower with a vacuum collection system but would NEVER use it for something like walnut pickup.

Mower manic said:

A garden vac? ohhh they suck!
It's got an impellar and a gas engine. It's a big vacumn cleaner. I have one, it's not a big one. I don't care for it.
Using it to pick up black walnuts is a bad idea. They would never make it to the bag, way to big and heavy ( I guess they don't now what baseballs are in Scotland).
Any kids in your neighborhood that would pick them up for .03$ each? 3$ a hundred might sound good to a kid the right age. I don't think you would see him 2 days in a row, but hey it's good excersize.

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LOL LOL good one there "they suck"...:laughing::laughing:

When I was using the claw pick up tool I was getting close to 25-30 a minute in the collection pail, that is 75-90 cents a MINUTE, to have someone do it. Nice wages !! If I could earn 3 cents a walnut to collect them I would go out and do it !!!!:laughing::thumbsup:

This is what you need . :biggrin:

Then pick them up with a snow shovel.

BKBrown said:

View attachment 3641 This is what you need . :biggrin:

Then pick them up with a snow shovel.

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Will pay you $40 an hour to do that with YOUR Ventrac....transportation cost to get here is NOT included....just time spent sweeping. :laughing::laughing:

I have enough to do here ..... sorry !

I don't know why your bucket would tear up so much lawn, I can put mine down and adjust it so it just skimms the surface. I believe I could pick up most of them without hardly any lawn damage.

You want something that will drive you NUTZ ---- We've been having an invasion of STINK BUGS. The best way I have found to get them is with a shop vac - I have about 30' of hose - I could stay out on the porch all day and never get them all.
:frown:

JD -- I did get into the "Friendly Politics" on TBN.

BKBrown said:

I have enough to do here ..... sorry !

I don't know why your bucket would tear up so much lawn, I can put mine down and adjust it so it just skimms the surface. I believe I could pick up most of them without hardly any lawn damage.

You want something that will drive you NUTZ ---- We've been having an invasion of STINK BUGS. The best way I have found to get them is with a shop vac - I have about 30' of hose - I could stay out on the porch all day and never get them all.
:frown:

JD -- I did get into the "Friendly Politics" on TBN.

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Have used the shop vac method to get bugs for 20 years...we don't have a lot of stink bugs rite now, just a huge number of those red and black box elder bugs. Hey if you pay my expenses to get there and 3 cents a stinkbug I will help you suck them up :laughing::laughing:

BKBrown said:

$.03 per bug would bankrupt me ! :biggrin: :laughing:

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Just like .03 per walnut would bankrupt me....:laughing:

And once the bugs hit the vac inside and splatter, how do you count them....:laughing::laughing:

I don't count them - just know that between the porch (wraps around all but the garage and about 10' of the house) and my tractor shed - I have sucked up THOUSANDS of the stinky little buggers.
Nothing eats them and they are resistant to bug spray :frown: :thumbdown: . The fastest knock down I have found is BrakeClean and Silicone sprays.

I've only just realised the pun in the title :laughing:

Wow I'm slow...

jmurray01 said:

I've only just realised the pun in the title :laughing:

Wow I'm slow...

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Nope you ain't slow, look at all the morons here who missed your "Caravan" joke.....I didn't and am still laughing....77 degrees here rite now I love this weather.

JDgreen said:

Nope you ain't slow, look at all the morons here who missed your "Caravan" joke.....I didn't and am still laughing....77 degrees here rite now I love this weather.

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I know, I thought they'd get that one... Erm... What joke was that exactly by the way ?

JDgreen said:

Nope you ain't slow, look at all the morons here who missed your "Caravan" joke.....I didn't and am still laughing....77 degrees here rite now I love this weather.

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That's interesting -- it's in the low 60s here in the Deep South. :biggrin:

It's been raining, which is good since we haven't had much of that in the last couple of weeks.

we ain't had a good soaker out here in a couple months.Supposed to rain tonight,we'll see...russ

I HAVE THE FIX FOR YOUR NUTS!!!!!!! All you need is a LOT of tees, and a golf bag full of clubs.... As for the bugs,,,...still a thinkin......:tongue:

bigmoose said:

I HAVE THE FIX FOR YOUR NUTS!!!!!!! All you need is a LOT of tees, and a golf bag full of clubs.... As for the bugs,,,...still a thinkin......:tongue:

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Now now, lets keep JD's private problems private! Thank you :laughing:

jmurray01 said:

Now now, lets keep JD's private problems private! Thank you :laughing:

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Yes, THANK YOU....:laughing:

Here is that tree out front, it is HUGE. Also, a comparison of the size of the walnuts from that one with a walnut from another tree we have....BIG difference.

JDgreen said:

Yes, THANK YOU....:laughing:

Here is that tree out front, it is HUGE. Also, a comparison of the size of the walnuts from that one with a walnut from another tree we have....BIG difference.

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Wow, that nut is huge!

jmurray01 said:

Wow, that nut is huge!

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My "PRIVATES" should be so huge......:laughing::laughing:

JDgreen said:

My "PRIVATES" should be so huge......:laughing::laughing:

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May I remind you Mr JDGreen/LMF King, this is a family forum! Tut tut!

jmurray01 said:

May I remind you Mr JDGreen/LMF King, this is a family forum! Tut tut!

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Don't you mean "Nuts, nuts".....:laughing::laughing:

JDgreen said:

Don't you mean "Nuts, nuts".....:laughing::laughing:

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Oh, yes, sorry your majesty!

OK,,,,, I see now you would only need a driver, and a 5 iron,,,saves dragging around all those clubs!!!! Stlll working on the bug thing.... :confused2:

Just an idea. If you kept your eye out for one of those gizmos they use to collect balls on a driving range,
(golf, you know). That might be just the ticket. Besides, we all need a good reason to add to the collection. :laughing:

orangediesel said:

Just an idea. If you kept your eye out for one of those gizmos they use to collect balls on a driving range,
(golf, you know). That might be just the ticket. Besides, we all need a good reason to add to the collection. :laughing:

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My local driving range uses an old 20 year old hatchback with a plow attachment on the front...