As I'm waiting for this water to boil for dyeing my footholds this morning, I got to wondering how many others are still using walnut hulls for dyeing? Considering my time, I know it'd be cheaper to use a couple of bags of logwood dye, but something just feels better about using these walnuts from my yard.

That's the spirit! I have used walnut hulls in the past too. Lately Ive just been waxing and calling it good.

No walnuts around here. Used to use hemlock bark.

I still do! Numerous walnut trees in my yard. I would recommend pre soaking in a muslin laundry bag or pillow case. It keeps the fiberous pulp out of the dye. Once your traps dry you can wax. The wax will take on a nice color and give you even coverage. Don’t forget to get a rust covering on new steel. Soaking in blue dawn and rinsing a few times helps, you’ll see the oily water.

Ive only done it Once

One year I was going to try it. A neighbor dropped off burlap potato sack of them just after I left for work. By the time I got home there was an empty sack laying on the ground and not a Walnut to be found. Squirrels had gotten to them and since then I still have Walnut trees popping up all over the place!

Moosetrot

Will the bark from trimmings work?

It should, I used strips of green maple bark once and it worked very well

I am always running behind and just use logwood. Someday when I have more time I'll give it a shot.

Ive dyed many times with sumac bark, im sure walnut is no different

Thanks for info. For next yr. lol

Oak and maples leaves for me from my front yard is all I use

I picked up about 4 5 gal buckets of walnuts from my parking spot. I pull futher in the yard then they are droping. Walnuts and now and then some added sumac berries are all i have ever used.

Walnut hulls are still my favorite, but harder to get up here. I usually use logwood, but I still like to use acorns if I find a heavy oak that's dropping where it's easy to gather.

About 40 years ago I died some traps with logwood and I threw an old pair of Klein electricians pliers in the brew. That dye has not worn off those pliers yet!

Around here there are several places that pop up in the fall to buy walnuts. They have machines to knock off the hulls before they weigh them. There are always huge piles of hull there. I've thought about asking if I could have a few buckets of them but I didn't want them thinking I was crazy.

I have a plastic barrel I keep full of rain water and walnut husk's and Sumac Berries, and keep it year round.

The two hulling station operators I've talked to in the last few weeks, produce over 100,000 pounds of black walnut hulls as waste, that they just compost, a year. I was at one of our ONGA members stations just 8 days ago, who I also sell plants too.





The hullers may be the loudest machine I've ever heard, that isn't used for war.

Keith