Milpa Gardens

Do not plant a juglone-sensitive species within the root zone of Juglans. The sensitive list is the hazard's own, and it is wider than the nightshades - it also carries apple and cabbage.

Well established · fatal if ignored → block

How it works

Juglans roots exude hydrojuglone, oxidized to juglone, a respiration inhibitor. nightshades are highly sensitive: wilt and death.

What to do about it

Plant it outside the walnut's root zone — the whole drip line and beyond. There is no soil treatment for juglone.

The evidence

Evidence: confirmed against 2 sources in the research-based literature.

the 2 sources

UW-Madison / Wisconsin Horticulture (Joy, Hudelson & Jull, rev. 2024-02-28), 'Black Walnut Toxicity', hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/black-walnut-toxicity (read 2026-07-13): 'Vegetables such as tomato, potato, eggplant and pepper ... are particularly sensitive to juglone'; 'The toxic effects of a mature black walnut tree can extend 50 to 80 feet from the trunk of the tree, with the greatest toxicity occurring within the tree's dripline.'

Iowa State Univ. Extension & Outreach, Yard and Garden FAQ, 'What plants are sensitive to the juglone produced by black walnuts?', yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu (read 2026-07-13): juglone-sensitive plants include 'members of the tomato family (tomato, potato, eggplant, pepper).'

Plants this fires on

See this rule in the planner

All rules · Folklore, checked