Here is one of my old cases that has never quit. My friend Bob, from Carmi, planted walnut seeds he gathered in a little field that was too small to farm with today's equipment. He also planted Shumard oak acorns as a companion crop, and it has worked out well.
This is the project in the fall of 2016. The walnut trees Bob planted are running 10 to 11 inches, and there are so many good ones that thinning is complicated by difficult decisions.
The Shumards are performing very well as trainers, lagging behind the walnuts and shading off the lower branches so pruning is not needed. The Shumards would make good crop trees, too, but they are not as fast growing as the walnuts.
Over 11 inches diameter from seed in 24 years!
Some of the thinning decisions are easy. When you start a project like this it is a good idea to flag your best trees first, and them come through and give them room. A forked tree like this one is a tree you can girdle without regrets. Bob has been gone for many years, and his son is now tending the family farm and forest. He is doing as fine a job as his father did.
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