Roy asked me this question last night and I had no idea what to answer. We know that there is a toxicity to certain plants from the roots, leaves,hulls, and bark mulches of black walnut trees. What about the ashes? He is burning a lot of walnut slabs from the sawmill and he was not sure if the ashes have this adverse affect also. Anyone have any ideas or knowledge about that?
Composting will break down the Juglone in walnut tree debris. I would think maybe burning would do the same thing, but, I can find nothing to verify this for sure.
The toxicity is from juglone, a cyclic aromatic organic compound with a benzene/phenol structure. Therefore, it ought to be TOTALLY destroyed/burned in a fire. I say, use the ashes.
The water used from cleaning walnuts will quickly bring nightcrawlers to the surface if poured on the ground. I've also been told that the Native Americans would purposely dam up streams, then put walnut hulls in the water to temporarily drug the fish which brought them to the surface.
I agree with the other comments that burning / composting the wood should breakdown the jugalone. That said, I think I would mix some of the ash with water, then pour the mixture on the ground where nightcrawlers are known to be. If the nightcrawlers come to the surface within a minute or two, the ash still contains jugalone...if not, the ash is probably safe to use in reasonable quantity. Great question!
I saw this happen the first time I cleaned walnuts. Now I keep some dried hulls around for when I want to go fishing. Crush some up, mix with water, pour on the ground and harvest your bait...beats having to dig.
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