Once I pick up the nuts, then what?

[MaryBnCincy]

Hello from a Buckeye newbie,

I am going out today to pick up some Buckeye nuts from a park near here. Once I pick up the nuts, then what? Will I have to bake them? Let them dry? How do I get the shiny nut that I have seen necklaces made from?

Thank you for any and all advice,
Mary B.

[KarenCharin0]

Hi Mary,

You can put them in the oven at 200 degrees for a couple hours, if you want to make sure nothing is living inside of them and then after they are cooled you can spray them with a clear acrylic spray to keep them shiny and sealed.

If you find the ones you collected have a tiny hole in them that might be a little worm you might want to kill off, if you don't see any holes they are probably ok. Chestnuts you have to watch close for that but because of the toxicity of buckeyes they might not be as susceptible to worms.

 If you dry them outside make sure the squirrels don't steal them. Don't let kids stick them in their mouth.

If you wash them make sure you dry them well.

 The ones I had I never did anything with and they kept fine for years and years. I've heard that you can keep them oiled until they dry out completely and they will take on a deeper richer color. I've also heard that you can keep them oiled with natural skin oil like rub them along your nose or forehead to keep them shiny. I would imagine you can use furniture polish on them to give a polished look to them too. Hope this helps.

Let us know how your adventure turns out!   

[KarenCharin0]

I wanted to mention too, after you have them gathered up. Spread them out until they have a chance to dry some, if you keep them in a bowl the ones on the bottom might mildew or mold.

 Do not leave them in a plastic bag for the same reason.

You can also drill a hole in them ( 1/16 in drill bit ) and string them with wire or thin strong cord. They look very nice with stringing colored beads between the Buckeyes.

Making them into a necklace is very popular for football games or longer chains make nice garland.

[MaryBnCincy]

We didn't have any luck finding Buckeyes yesterday. Everything is so dry, it is hard to identify the leaves. We did locate a couple of trees, but they are so dry the leaves were drooping and there are very few nuts on them.  I'll have to make it a point to walk around on the OSU campus the next time we are in Columbus.

So tell me....do the nuts turn brown once they are baked in the oven? Or do they turn brown as they dry out?

With all of my questions, you would think that I am brand new to Ohio. But we've lived here for 19 years and until yesterday I wasn't sure what a Buckeye tree/shrub looked like. Our youngest child is a freshman at OSU this year and thus my renewed interest in Buckeyes. 

Thanks so much for your guidance!

[KarenCharin0]

Hi Mary,

aww, I'm sorry you didn't find any buckeyes. I live in Hartville ( half way between Canton and Akron ) we've had lots of rain here, too much rain really. That's too bad that it's so dry there.

 The nuts are brown when they are mature and fall off the tree.

Don't feel bad about just finding out what a Buckeye tree looked like until living in Ohio 19 years. I've lived here 52 years and never realized there were so many different kinds of Buckeye trees until I built my Buckeye tree site this year.

When I was a young girl I'd go with my Mom and Dad down home where where my Dad grew up in a small town called Trail run. Dad had two sisters that still lived in the old family home. When we'd go to visit I'd walk down the road to a little church and walk around the grounds, they had a big old Buckeye tree in that church yard where I would gather up buckeyes. They were quite a treasure for me. So I grew up thinking Buckeye trees were all like that one. I had no idea there were different kinds. About 13 years ago I planted my first Buckeye tree in my yard. I have a 6 acre yard and have planted many different kinds of trees over the 30 years that I have lived here. I decided it was time I had a Buckeye tree and got one small sapling from a friend. It grew well but never got very big, I thought maybe I'd planted it in a bad place or it didn't like my soil, or my other trees had crowded it too much and stunted it's growth. Well now that I built the Buckeye tree site and did all the research on them. I now realize that it grew like it was supposed too, it's a bottle nose Buckeye that grows more like a shrub instead of a big tree like the one I remembered when I was a kid.  All these years I've never seen many Buckeye trees. A lot of them got cut down because the nuts are toxic to farm animals so people just got rid of a lot of them.

Your very welcome for the information about buckeyes I'm glad I was able to help some and thank you for asking the question. I'll have to add something about it on my site in case someone else is wondering what to do with their buckeyes. I've been thinking about adding a page about fun and interesting places to go in Ohio next.

Congratulations on having your youngest in collage now! I went to a High School graduation party last month for one of my girlfriends oldest  son. He's in Indiana now at collage. It's wonderful seeing these young ones striving to make a good life for themselves! May our Father bless their studies!

[MaryBnCincy]

We went to visit our daughter in Marion over the weekend. I spied what I thought was a Buckeye tree on the Harding Memorial property. But it was too dark to be sure. I went back the next morning and sure enough BUCKEYES! At first, I wasn't sure I had the right thing. I used a key to peel open the pod and there inside was that beautiful brown nut! You would have thought I'd struck gold. I circled the property and was able to pick up a couple of dozen. Then it was on to visit our son in Strongville. There were 3 or 4 Buckeye trees on the way from the parking lot into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! It looked like a crazed squirrel had been there I peeled open so many pods! After putting them in the oven for a bit and letting them cool, I put them in my MIL's Revere ware bowl that had been in my cabinet for so many years. It looks so nice! And my husband is pleased that his Moms' bowl has a purpose again.

Thank you so very much for all of your help and guidance. I too have learned that there are many types of Bukceye trees. Now that I know what I am looking for, I see them everywhere! 

[KarenCharin0]

Wow! Mary it sounds like you hit the jackpot. I'm so glad you found some Buckeyes!

You sound like a gal after my own heart, I too would of been as excited finding the Buckeyes as I would of finding gold. I was so happy for you when I read your post today.

What fun and what a great happy memory to share with others for a long time when they ask you " What is in that bowl?"

I have some bowls and things that were my mom's that I treasure. I read once that some things have a great value not because of what they are but because of who owned them.

Thank you so much for telling us about your adventure in finding Buckeyes. It warmed my heart and I wish you and yours the best.