Good way to crack hickory nuts and chestnuts?

[/pine]

One of my dad's cousins had black walnut trees in her yard in Portland, she would spend the winter cracking them with a heavy screw type nutcracker and picking out the nutmeat. She would give us a quart jar full each year, they will spoil you for nuts in baked goods for life!
She was probably my favorite relative and she and her husband were the closest thing to grandparents we had. The most kind and generous person I have ever known.

We have both black and white (butternut) walnut trees that produce fruit...They both make the best nut breads and cookies...

FWIW...White Walnuts (butternut) are said to keep longer than most other nuts left in the shell...up to 10 years...!

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Moss, I have no idea what variety of Chestnuts those tree's are. I can get you some if you want?

I have black walnut, butter nut, European walnut, hickory nut and others here on my place, but no Chestnuts that I know of.

We gather some up and use a vice to crack them as needed... (wanted) lol

SR

 

[MossRoad]

I'd just like to try and plant some American chestnut trees if I knew they would grow. I'd also like to plant some English walnuts. I did once, but the deer ate em up! :laughing:

We have hickory, butternut and black walnuts in our wild woods. About 2 years ago we started getting acorns in our plantation that we planted around 1990 for the first time. That was nice to see.

 

[arpt209]

There's a Chestnut tree out by a little lake near our place. It's state land. Anyway my bride picked up a bunch of the chestnuts & tried planting them. No luck. Eventually dad told us they were "horse chestnuts". A little internet research & darling bride put them in a plastic zip lock bag with a little bit of damp peat moss, put them in the refrigerator & left them over the winter. In early spring she checked them and found that about half had sprouted. The ones that sprouted were put in pots & we ended up planting about 18 around the yard. The one by the lake is a pretty tree. She gave about 25 or so to friends & family.

 

[MossRoad]

Horse chestnuts are buckeyes, aren't they? The nuts are poisonous to humans, as I recall. But they are really pretty when dried and oiled. Great for crafts or for sitting in a centerpiece at the holidays.

 

[Billy Bee]

Horse chestnuts are buckeyes, aren't they? The nuts are poisonous to humans, as I recall. But they are really pretty when dried and oiled. Great for crafts or for sitting in a centerpiece at the holidays.

Buckeyes are also poisonous to the Michigan football team. Maybe someday we will dry and oil them, but probably not this year.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Buckeyes are also poisonous to the Michigan football team. Maybe someday we will dry and oil them, but probably not this year.

Amen to that.

 

[showcattle]

When I was a kid, my granddad took the nuts to his workshop in the basement, and used his vise to crack nuts. We loved to help him.