I just read the quarantine manual for Tas...Looks like I'm stuck with what I can get here, since I need a certificate to bring a walnut tree in.

Helen

I have a couple of very vigorous walnut seedlings here that I grew by planting walnuts! Just put them pointy end down so that the nut is just covered. Be patient - mine sat there for a couple of months before the warmth of spring set them going.

Cheers!

Mike

Helen

Actually we had a lot of trouble getting the tree growing - walnuts seem to be really slow starters till the tap root gets underway. So we ended up with four trees planted within 2m! One is a Vina. As it's hubby's project I don't know if he'll ever try to take three out or they will merge, should be interesting!

Louis Glowinski's garden was open a few weeks ago and he had a beautiful Concord which looked just SOOOO healthy. He had nuts there for visitors to try and it was very hard to stop at one or two, they were delicious. He was just so nice. I just love his book, with all the history and his great sense of humour.

Helen

I am just jealous that you got to meet the master suburban fruit tree grower Louis Glowinskis. Thank you for the feedback about Wilsons Wonder, I will be getting a couple when they arrive at the nursery. Planted a black walnut on the weekend. Good to hear about the white sapotes, I cant wait until mine grow and fruit

regards

Helen

Did you see his Chinese Date? I didn't get to ask him about them, but it's something I'd like to try. Has anyone else tried them and had fruit off them?

Helen

mercury12, My Reinecke commercial sapote is flowering right now for the first time so I can't be too far away from fruit on that one, I have around 50 _Almost_ ripe fruit on my Pike tree and like 3 small fruit on my Vernon tree that set a couple months ago. All my other Sapotes are still too young to fruit at the moment. The thing is that I don't really enjoy the Pike fruits because I'm sensitive to the bitter taste that one has, my wife doesn't notice it at all so she can eat those : ) I'll stick to the more premium varieties once they start to give fruit

Now I have to find a place where I can get a walnut from. Thanks, Helen, for starting this thread. :)

Thank you all for your input...I purchased a Wilson Wonder
walnut on the weekend, so my own walnuts in how many years time? :-)

Have you found a place to buy your walnut from Spatz?

"Walnuts, are a most valuable tree, both for the nuts they regularly produce as well as the exceptionally fine and expensive wood the tree will yield for your grandchildren. The most popular variety here is 'Willsons Wonder' (syn. 'Wilson Wonder seedling') yet it is quite susceptible to fungal disease that can ruin a standing crop following some light autumn rains, since the fungus can enter the nut and spoil the flesh. 'Willsons Wonder' needs two trees to reliably set good nuts. It is often sold as a seedling and you can expect 10-12 years for first fruit from such plants or as a patch-grafted container-grown plant. They are very sensitive to having their roots disturbed and many an expensive Walnut has died from having its roots teased out! You have been warned! That's one reason some folk establish their own 'Willsons Wonder' from seed sown en situ and stand back and wait. The cultivar 'Geisenheim 139' is more resistant to the fungus than 'Willsons Wonder' and crops more heavily too so it deserves to be more widely grown. 'Freshford Gem' is a self pollinating locally-bred cultivar that has good resistance to fungal diseases and crops heavily in alternate years."

Helen, my favourite fruit and nut tree nursery is bound to have a walnut tree. I just haven't had an opportunity yet to go tree shopping. Must do that soon so that I can plant the tree(s) while the soil is nice and wet to get them established before summer hits.

Let's hope spring is here soon, I think I have a really bad case of cabin fever. There are suddenly far too many plans for planting all kinds of edible things. I need more time. I think even if I didn't have to work, I wouldn't have enough time.

If you are having cabin fever, look at the forum called "winter sowing". Here in Tassie we do a similar thing, but I germinate the seeds inside the house, on a window sill, then I harden them off and will only plant them outside until the soil is warm enough. However, I am open to new ways of doing things, so I am going to have a try with some herbs and lettuce.

Helen