Question About Walnut Hulls - x post

[Guest guest]

Mitsy,

 

I have several black walnut trees also - planted by the first builders of my

home. I can tell you at the present time I am having fits because the roots

emit a toxic chemical called juglone that kills many of the vegetables in

our garden. We are being forced in put in several large raised beds to

hopefully work around this. You are smart to check into what chemical might

be in

the hulls. Evie M.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I know there are many people on this list knowledgeable about plants

so I am addressing this question to them.

 

I have several black walnut trees in my yard that produce walnuts fit

only for consumption by squirrels, who leave piles and piles of black

walnut hulls. I got this crazy idea of soaking the discarded hulls in

water to extract the black pigment (whatever it is) and use that black

water for making soap. (I'm trying to get a black soap but so far the

best I've done is a gunmetal gray.) I have a bucket of hulls soaking

for about eight hours now and the water is a dark brown. Does anyone

on this list know what might be in walnut hulls that would leach out

into water and would that water be safe to use in soap? I have some

on the stove right now simmering to sterilize it and kill any bacteria

but I'm wondering if there might be some irritating or toxic compound

that would render it unsafe for use in soap.

 

Common sense tells me this would make a good fabric dye so I'm

thinking it might not be bad in soap either but I'm not sure.

 

Does anyone know?

 

I'm posting this to another list also.

 

Mitsy

[Guest guest]

I use powdered black walnut hulls in my soap for a deep rich brown. No ill

effects thus far.

Namaste, Lynette

Terralyn - Bath, Body, Spirit

Reading Terminal Market

Philadelphia, PA

 

 

[Guest guest]

I am so happy to find out about juglone toxicity from black walnut

trees and how it affects the soil and nearby plants. I found some

excellent information when I did a juglone search. While it does say

that juglone is present in the hulls, it is only poorly water soluble.

It does, nevertheless, affect sensitive plants growing nearby. This

explains why the peonies (sensitive to juglone) I transplanted to an

area near a black walnut have done so poorly every year since I

transplanted them, while others in the yard thrive. Thank you so much

for posting this information, Evie.

 

Mitsy

 

 

- I can tell you at the present time I am having fits because the roots

> emit a toxic chemical called juglone that kills many of the

vegetables in

> our garden. You are smart to check into what chemical might be in

> the hulls. Evie M.

[Guest guest]

For those who might be interested in the black walnut thread, I found

this information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juglone

 

" Because of its tendency to create dark orange-brown stains, juglone

has also found use as a coloring agent for foods and cosmetics, such

as hair dyes. It is known in the food industry as C.I. Natural Brown 7

or C.I. 75500. Traditionally, juglone has been used as a natural dye

for clothing and fabrics, particularly wool. "

 

Juglone is listed on an NIH site as a food preservative along with

sodium benzoate, sodium nitrite and parabens.

 

Other information, from both gardening and botanical science sites,

indicate that juglone is toxic to certain plants but not to others. I

haven't found any information to indicate its toxicity to humans but I

can't imagine anyone wanting to take it internally.

 

I'm thinking it's bad for certain plants but probably OK to use in

soap, especially since juglone is virtually insoluble in water--so it

must be something else that dissolves out in the water.

 

Hope this helps someone else out there.

 

Mitsy

[Guest guest]

Well - 95% sure. I contacted our extension office. They asked several

questions and all answers indicated that it was the black walnut trees. Some

veggies, flowers, shrubs, etc are very sensitive to the juglone and some are

not. It was happens that tomatoes, green beans and peppers are very sensitive

and that's what we want to grow. I have many friends who are Master Gardeners

and they validate this fact. All I'm saying is that you are very smart to

check into the chemicals before adding it your soap. I'm not sure what the

chemical is that gives the hulls the strong iodine smell - possibly

juglone. Evie M.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Are you 100% certain it's the walnut trees causing it ? We have a walnut tree

and there are 4 or 5 growing along the edge of the neighbors garden too and none

of them are causing any problems.

Paula .......... in Michigan

I used to have super powers but my therapist took them away

Mitsy,

 

I have several black walnut trees also - planted by the first builders of my

home. I can tell you at the present time I am having fits because the roots

emit a toxic chemical called juglone that kills many of the vegetables in

our garden. We are being forced in put in several large raised beds to

hopefully work around this. You are smart to check into what chemical might

be in

the hulls. Evie M.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

One more thing about black walnut, it is EXTREMELY toxic to horses!

There have been cases of horses foundering, (a condition that

seriously affects their hooves and can be life threatening), just

from having black walnut hulls in their bedding. Ingesting it is

even worse for them.

 

Just fyi!

 

Elaine

 

 

 

 

, Eviemat52 wrote:

>

> Well - 95% sure. I contacted our extension office. They asked

several

> questions and all answers indicated that it was the black walnut

trees. Some

> veggies, flowers, shrubs, etc are very sensitive to the juglone

and some are

> not.