Oddbean new post about login | logout Black walnut trees in an air prune bed. I gathered the nuts locally last fall and threw them into a poultry brooder I made that didn't work well. I used foam board to insulate it for the birds and the birds tried eating it. 1/2"x1" cage wire bottom, 2"x4" ripped in half for the frame, aluminum flashing for the outside, 1" pink foam for the inside. The south side had much, much higher germination rates, likely due to sun exposure/heat. This is the first May in 20 years of Kansas living that it hasn't at least in the high 80s. Night Temps mostly in the 50s, also oddly low. Curious to see if I get full germination once we heat up. https://image.nostr.build/3427d2af56054a04152c5d0cc8e4013d2c9300acb423e8f9f55e38ded29e6dd8.jpg
Air prune bed filler is (roughly): -bottom wire -~1/2" of wheat straw - couple inches of aged chicken bedding -inch or two cow manure mixed with dirt -6" of potting soil -2 layers of walnuts -~2" of potting soil -layer of straw. Thought process behind that layout was that I want to reuse this bed for a long time with minimal work. The manure will break down and feed the seedlings over time, insulation will help keep everything cool in our brutal summers and keep soil life alive. As I pull and sell seedlings, planting new ones is as easy as raking the bed level with my hands, adding new nuts, cover with soil, cover with straw. By the time I retire it, if ever, I'll have enough time and money (Lord willing and the aquifer don't dry) to have built 10x the production space.
