After a mini tornado in north Iowa this week, a huge branch from my neighbor's black walnut tree fell on my garden, crushing my tomato plants. There are hundreds of walnuts all over my garden area. Should I worry about the sap from the nuts (still bright green colored and not ripe yet) hurting my soil?
Rain is forcast for the next week. Is it critical to remove the unripe black walnuts from the garden immediately, or can I wait a week to get them out of the garden.
Please offer any advice. Thanks.
black walnut problem with tomatoes
Been waiting for an expert to comment but since no one has, I would certainly pick them up ASAP. While nuts and roots have the most juglone, the compound is found in Black Walnut leaves, stems, twigs etc.
Do the roots from the tree extend into your garden?
I'm no expert, certainly, but my motto is better safe than sorry. I'd try to get them raked up asap. That's really a blow about your tomatos, but you can try pruning back the worst damage and they will try to set more fruit (plants have an innate drive to reproduce themselves from seeds.) If some of the fruit doesn't ripen before frost, there are many ways to use the green ones.