 |
| Even the dogs wanted to get in on the fun. |
Fall in Kentucky is full of color in the trees, crispness in the air, and black walnuts on the ground. You see them everywhere, laying under trees, along the roadsides, and crushed by tires, turning the pavement black.
Over the last week my husband and I have been collecting these green gems with several projects in mind. I want fabric dye, he wants wood stain. Fortunately they are made by exactly the same process!
Tonight, we got started de-hulling. Black walnuts have a soft outer green hull that surrounds the hard shell that protects the actual edible nut. Removing this hull is a bit like opening an avocado.
 |
| Unhulled nuts |
 |
| Removing the hull |
When the green flesh is exposed to air it oxidizes and turns dark brownish-black. This is the stuff that will give us color for dye and stain. It's important to wear gloves unless you really want to turn your hands green!
 |
| Oxidation! |
We collected all the hulls and whatever black mush we could into a bucket and put the nuts into a separate bucket for dealing with later. We made it through two five gallon buckets, but there are two more to go.
 |
| Lots of hulls for stain and dye |
 |
| The nuts still need to be washed and shelled |
Once they are all done we'll add water and let the hulls soak for at least a week, while the color leeches out into the water.
Then, it's time to dye!
 |
| Every now and then you find worms. |
No comments:
Post a Comment