When I moved on to my 3 acre property here in west Alabama, there was black walnut tree in the back yard just south of my kitchen. Believing the mythology that the black walnut would poison anything I planted in my back yard, I had the tree cut down. I gave the basketball hoop attached to the trunk of the tree to the guy who cut the tree down. There had not been a boy living on my property for more than 50 years, so the walnut certainly was a venerable tree. And in the South, a mature deciduous shade tree of any kind would be welcome in the sweltering hot summers. And the walnuts would have provided some diversity to the several pecans that are also in my back yard.
As I learned more and more about juglone, I regretted cutting the tree. I didn't even salvage the lumber from the 100+ old walnut tree which would be very valuable.
So thank you for posting this article. Perhaps some black walnut tree, will be spared from the fate of mine. Juglone tolerance is also discussed in Gaia's Garden, by permaculture writer Toby Hemenway.
