Green Hickory Nuts

[Snicker Bar]

315464

These are on the ground here in MS. We are having lots of showers, heat and humidity. If I gather them quickly while they’re fresh and green and not obviously fuzzy with mold, can they safely dry and ripen in our house ? Do you set them in a window sill? How do you ripen them?

[Centerline]

They will be fine stored in a single layer as you have them in the photo. I pick them up like that every year. As you probably already know, eventually the green hull will darken and split. Go ahead and remove and discard the hull at that point. Lots of rain and showers leads to fungus on pecan trees. I'm not sure if the same applies to hickory nut trees. You may want to go ahead and crack a few to make sure they are properly developed and not destroyed by fungus. Wow. Those things fell very early.

[Chickenlegs]

Wow! If those are good you are one lucky squirrel mama!

[Snicker Bar]

Thanks! And yes, seems like I usually gather these in cooler temps. Green pine cones are falling too. I heard these can mold quickly also and not worth the risk .

Guess along with many cages, Jon will have to put up with some new, nut processing centers.... Maybe the bathtub (that holds branches), the dresser?

[CritterMom]

Thanks! And yes, seems like I usually gather these in cooler temps. Green pine cones are falling too. I heard these can mold quickly also and not worth the risk .

Guess along with many cages, Jon will have to put up with some new, nut processing centers.... Maybe the bathtub (that holds branches), the dresser?

I have often bought hickory nuts off Ebay from people who, like you, have trees in the area. There has to be a way to get those husks off though. Boy are they a mess! You can always tell if there are hickory or black walnut trees somewhere - your squirrels suddenly start showing up with black, messy faces!

[Scooterzmom]

Thanks! And yes, seems like I usually gather these in cooler temps. Green pine cones are falling too. I heard these can mold quickly also and not worth the risk .

Guess along with many cages, Jon will have to put up with some new, nut processing centers.... Maybe the bathtub (that holds branches), the dresser?

... or his helmet??? :grin3

[Snicker Bar]

316058

So the last batch all turned black and were rotten inside . I couldn’t understand why, since I picked them up while still green? Unless maybe they had been on the ground awhile, maybe?
So today I was gathering limbs and looking for blown away babies , and found the motherload of new, freshly fallen green nuts. Is it worth trying again?? The temps here are still in 80’s ; can’t figure these trees out!

[Snicker Bar]

Also , if they accidentally stole one from my pocket will it hurt them to shred a green one ?? Worse than it would hurt me to try and fight to get the thing back??

[Mel1959]

Sorry, I can’t be of any help...we don’t have hickory trees here :grin3. Are you putting the green ones in the fridge? I actually store all my nuts in the freezer and then take them out as needed.

[CritterMom]

Also , if they accidentally stole one from my pocket will it hurt them to shred a green one ?? Worse than it would hurt me to try and fight to get the thing back??

That is a bad choice. The green skins were used by our forefathers to dye things brown. When you see squirrels in the fall with brown, gooey looking faces, it is from this. So letting them shred one will make a terrible mess. Trying to take it away will also make a terrible mess. You have to decide between a brown mess or a red one... :grin2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsF5QuHP4yg

[Snicker Bar]

Lol!!

I chose the BROWN mess :)

[Snicker Bar]

316114

Just wanted to share a couple things I learned today about these green nuts after checking some references . So even when still green, they can be busted open with a hammer to removed the husk ( or can wait and let it dry and crack open ). Once the husk is removed , you take the inner hard, pointy brown nuts and place them in a bucket of water. If they sink, they are good. Then gather the good ones and lay them out in a single layer to thoroughly dry. Last , can hang them in a breathable (?net material ) bag such as a laundry bag, and store in a cool dry place. Imhavent read about freezing... Kind of scared about that after reading about a frozen acorn tragedy ... But correct me if I’m wrong about that, or anything above I just learned from YouTube video :) !

[Diggie's Friend]

Freezing nuts isn't an option in my view,cracked open or not. Breaking them open you would think you need Thor's hammer! Easier to get pecan that are the same family of nuts as hickory but allot easier to shell.

Once shelled, using a dehydrator works well; that way they aren't heated that makes them sweat that you want to avoid.
Storing the dried shell nuts in bags tn a cool dry place having put them into vacuum sealed bags that pulls the air out, they may last up to three months, for longer they tend to get stale and moldy, especially in humid climates.

[Diggie's Friend]

What do you think of air drying on this?

https://www.amazon.com/CHEF-Stainless-Stackable-Collapsible-Dishwasher/dp/B07WWL495R/ref=sr_1_31?dchild=1&keywords=stackable+6-tier+cooling+rack+16+x&qid=1598995496&s=home-garden&sr=1-31