Hi there. In case you don’t know me, let me tell you a little about myself–or at least, a little about my garden. We live in the Monterey Bay area, out near Elkhorn Slough, on a property that had some established roses and walnut trees, when we bought the house. I’m an organic gardener, a Monterey Bay Master Gardener and following that program, a graduate of Cabrillo College’s 2-year horticulture degree program.
Do you know that all parts of walnut trees are poisonous to the soil? So much so that if you inadvertently include walnut leaves and shells in your compost, or heaven forbid, your worm compost bin, you’re basically giving your plants / worms sedatives. Don’t do it. Point being, somehow, I knew redwoods inhibit growth of other plants, but Walnuts? Major blind spot in my plant knowledge. Yikes.
Honestly, we never eat the ripe walnuts. The squirrels get them, or they fall and get covered with leaf litter, and potentially get incorporated into the soil, making it unfriendly to a whole host of plants–but not the rose family. They are beautiful and fragrant trees, walnuts, and the scent from the new leaves is positively heady, in the way that balsam or vetiver is heady…
And so, this year I decided to try a twofer: harvest green walnuts and try making Nocino. It’s potentially a win-win: fewer walnuts for the squirrels and on the ground or in the soil, and a potentially delicious liqueur. A traditional digestif, an after dinner tonic of sorts. I honestly haven’t tried it, yet. It’s part of the adventure!
Getting ready. Got my walnuts, 1-gallon jars and vodka 
Getting started chopping walnuts. Wear a glove on the hand without the knife, and be careful. I’m using a small secondary cutting board on top of my favorite, there will be staining. 
Jar one is about half full. I forgot to wear gloves, now my non-knife hand is stained. 
Jar one is full. Leave a little headroom. 
Jar 2 is half full, looking good. 
Jar 2 full, with added cinnamon sticks and vodka. 
Both jars full, with vodka and cinnamon sticks, adding cloves… 
Sealed and shaken to blend. Be sure your gaskets are doing their job.
Looking for a recipe that fits my cooking / experimentation style best, I found that the Italian recipes appeal to me most. Perhaps because they start by infusing the vodka with the walnuts and spices, then, later filtering and adding syrup. That jives with my experience making herb infused oils for use in my natural skincare products.
If you want to get in on the fun, and you’re in the area, we are currently selling a 2-gallon bucket of organic green walnuts for $30 u-pick or $45 if we pick them for you. We use the yellow buckets for measuring, and we’re all about reuse, so bring a bag to take your walnuts home. These are summer 2025 prices. Contact me if you’re reading this is 2026 or beyond.
If you’re interested in making Nocino, but don’t want to go it alone, let me know and I’ll start a list for a workshop. If enough people are interested, we can do it this year, SOON, or plan it for next summer. If you are fan of mature (not green) walnuts and want to come pick nuts this autumn, let me know.
Grow Your Bliss 