Leaf Mold for Starting Walnuts, Pecans?

[Canyon Angler]

Hey, all,

Have a large black walnut and some mahan pecans growing in the yard and getting lots of walnut and pecan seedlings in the yard that I want to transplant in the fall to another nearby property.

In meantime, in order to mow, and to get the seedlings to root out better, I plan to transplant them into 2 gal pots until I transplant them in the fall.

Was considering Pro Mix for a planting medium but that stuff is expensive and I want to save it for other uses. Would screened hardwood leaf mold, mixed with local soil (fine sassafras loam) be acceptable for this, or would it be too acidic? (I would take it from non-wetland area of the land where seedlings will eventually be planted.) Would also mix in a small amount of Pro Mix, since it's supposedly inoculated with mycorrizhae...

If the leaf mold is too acidic, would liming it help?

Years ago, I worked in a nursery, and the medium we used seemed like it was mostly chipper mulch mixed with sand...

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[oldbluebird]

I would get some of these containers and plant the seed.

https://www.greenhousemegastore.com...-pots?returnurl=/containers-trays/plant-pots/

This allows a good root growth and air pruning of the roots. I will be hard to dig up the seedlings since they have a long tap root. You need to put the seed through the cold storage cycle. Compost and mixed with some soil would be fine to start the seed. I like to use the seed starter mix available in 3 cubic bails.
The seedlings will not be true to the variety and is why I like to buy grafted trees. I have some Dunstan seedlings on my property but the nut size is different from the parent tree.