Black walnut trees being grown as cash crop on P.E.I.

Some property owners are growing a new kind of crop on P.E.I. black walnut trees.

Jesse Argent ownsHavenloft Tree Nursery in Charlottetown, whichspecializes in growing black walnut trees. His company grows the saplings andsellsthem to property owners as long-term investments.

"The timber value is incredibly high, as well as the crop that can come down from the tree. The nuts themselves are actually highly valuable per the pound as well," said Argent.

Argent saidgrowers can get up to $5 perpound for the walnuts, with each acreof trees able to produce about 1,000 pounds.

Argent said he got the idea for thethe business during his time working in mutual funds, after hearing American clients talk about growing walnut crops as investments.

For the past four yearsArgent has been steadily building the business, and this year is working full time on his company after receiving a Skills P.E.I. entrepreneurship grant.

Tree roots produce a toxin

Now Argent is looking for landowners interested in having the trees grown on their properties.

"There's a huge amount of land that's just not being used or [is] underutilized on P.E.I. and it's just a great way to increase land value," he said.

But the investment isn't without its risks and challenges Argent saidit takes years before growers can harvest the trees for nuts or wood.

The trees also producea toxinknown as juglone, that can make it difficult to grow some types ofplants nearby.

"They actually secrete these biochemicalsthat give them a competitive edge against their local competitors," saidDavid Carmichael, a horticultural technician with the province.

Tomatoes and other plants in the nightshade family can get choked out if a walnut tree is growing nearby.

Carmichael said that the amount of jugloneproduced by a black walnut tree depends on its size the bigger the tree, the more jugloneis produced.

'Curiosity got me'

Butonly trees older than 15 years could inhibit growth around them, Argent said.

Pat Binns, a former P.E.I. premier,lives inHopefield, P.E.I.,and has invested in a crop of 200 black walnut trees on his property.Binnshad land hewantedto experiment with and got in touch with Argent.

"I think it's sort of a long-term venture and curiosity got me and I think it's a bit of an opportunity," he said."I'm hopefulin 10 or 12 years, it might have some walnuts."

Argent has planted 1,000 saplingsthis year andisapplying for more funding with the hopes of building a greenhouse and shed for his orchards.

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