Calendar of Events

Upcoming Events

April 18, 2025: A tour of Bill Hammitt's walnut plantations.

An OH Division of Forestry area forester and I marked 19 trees in my 1984 plantation that need to be thinned. We will discuss why, or why not, they need to be thinned; we will drop a couple to see what they look like inside and discuss if future thinning is needed. This will be the 5th thinning for this plantation. I also planted clover in this plantation last October, and we can see how well it established as a green manure source.

A second task that needs to be accomplished is to observe, discuss, and initiate thinning in an 11-year planting that was severely damaged by a windstorm three years ago. I have correctively pruned the trees heavily the last two years, but some will never make a walnut tree worthy of remaining in a plantation . Both high and low coppicing was practiced on several trees. Will it do any good...only time will tell.

We will observe the early results of planting the "Best of the Best" walnut seed selected after three generations of improved walnut trees. One ortwo tree I really want to single out.

Hope to see you on APRIL 18! PLEASE let me know if you plan to attend so I can get donuts and lunches.

Thanks,
Bill Hammitt,
hammitw@clemson.edu
864-986-8510

Past Events

October 18, 2025: Tour of Wal Davis Farm in Lebanon Ohio

May 31, 2025: Tour the newly reopened Ohio state tree nursery (Buckeye State Nursery) in Zanesville. William Barnhill, DNR manager of the state tree nursery will be leading the tour of this containerized hardwood tree nursery.

April 5, 2024: Tour of Bohlke Veneer Mill, Fairfield. Bohlke is an international, modern, and large veneer mill that buys some of the best veneer logs in the Midwest. In the afternoon, travel to Oxford, OH. This 80-acre woods, owned by Mr. John Kenny, is part of the Tree Farm Program. The OH Division Of Forestry has been involved with several management practices on the forest, including harvests. An OH Forestry areas forester will discuss management plan, history,  and practices on the forest.

September 30, 2023: A field day is scheduled for Bucyrus, OH at the Brause farm. The tour will:

• Visit a large, 40-year-old, well managed walnut plantation.
• Visit an area selectively logged (40 trees removed in 2019.
• Tour a large, mixed hardwood CRP planting that is about 5 years old.
• Tour of maple sugar bush and syrup area.
• Visit forest stand with very large white oaks.

April 22, 2023: Ohio Walnut Field Day, located at the Shaker Tract Tree Farm, Harrison, OH. Topics to be discussed/observed are High density (close spacing) vs low density (open spacing) tree plantings. (Adv. vs Disadvantages), Establishing legumes (green manure fertilization) understory in walnut plantations, Management of mixed plantings of Xmas trees and walnuts.

October 15, 2022: Ohio chapter fall field day. 11 am - ? pm. A visit to Blennerhassett State Park, an Island in the Ohio River near Parkersburg, West Virginia. At 11 AM board a sternwheeler boat at the Parkersburg WV pier, to the Island, where John will discuss the history and growth of many large mature black walnut trees planted around 1935. We will then observe and discuss The Walnut Council supported 2021 experimental research project on the Island. There will be ample time to explore the State Park and the Mansion house on the Island for those so inclined.