Yes they are edible. The husk has a unique smell to it. I like it. My wife's grandpa had walnut trees out in the Finger Lakes area. He would pick them and let the husks get really black and yucky. Then he would drive his tractor wheels over them to get rid of the husk. Then they would wash the shells off store them in a cool dry place and bring them in the house a bit at a time. As they sat around at night they would crack them open (with a nut cracker) and extract the nut with a nut pick. Here is a link to more info on picking and processing walnuts: http://www.farmanddairy.com/top-stories/harvest-process-store-black-walnuts/215439.html . Happy processing. The green walnuts make great baseballs!

Seeing this post reminded me of an article I saw in Northern Woodlands a while back (great magazine if you're interested in northeastern forests btw). The author talks a little about harvesting black walnuts and then includes a recipe for Dandelion and Black Walnut Muffins. I haven't gotten around to making them yet, but the photo looks delicious!

That's a cool article. Maybe this is a good year to try it.

When my dad and uncle were kids, my grandfather encouraged them to collect walnut husks and put them on the floor of the garage to be driven over (very similar the tractor-technique described below). While on the topic, someone has to speak up for butternut, also called the white walnut. As a related species, the nut of a butternut is very similar to a black walnut in several ways. However, the principle difference (according to three Foulkrod generations) is the butternut's refined and subtle flavor - lacking the bitter walnut taste.