Another year heb allegra d There is not a lot you can do about the squirrels. If you have a tree that is cropping well – and it probably won't do it every year anyway – you can try to beat them to it by picking walnuts for pickling while they are green. If any get further than that, you will know they are ripe by the fact that they will fall off the tree. In our climate, you have to pick them up quickly before they go mouldy, clean off all the green casing, dry the nuts off and keep them in a cool airy place. Walnuts grown in this country never quite seem to achieve the size and splendour of imported "farmed" ones, but they are wonderful nevertheless.