The mulberry trees are full of fruit and it is ripening fast. It will be a race to see who gets the most off of the trees – the kids or the birds. The birds usually win, but the kids don’t do too badly. We have four trees in our yard that we planted from seedlings shortly after moving to our current home. In the nine years since, the trees have flourished, and have been yielding fruit for the past few years. They are hardy here in NE Texas, like rocky soil, and are drought tolerant (although they do appreciate a drink when it’s as hot and dry as it was last summer). What’s not to like?
Our trees, being relatively young, aren’t all that big yet, but they can get up to fifty feet tall. A word of warning – they can be messy! The fruit drops off and if squashed on a walkway, can easily stain it. Our trees are planted away from any sidewalks and this will not be a problem for us. Another thing to consider if you live in a city and the tree will be close to the house, driveway or walkways is that birds love these berries. A lot of birds usually leads to a lot of droppings. On the upside though, they will grow well where other trees will not, can be used as a windbreak, are easy to propagate, and the fruit is healthy and delicious.
Here is what one page had to say about the nutritional benefits, along with the link:
Mulberries are actually a good source of raw food protein, a rarity in the fruit kingdom. They are also a good source of magnesium, potassium, riboflavin, iron, calcium, vitamin C, and fiber. One of the mulberry's greatest health assets is it's high concentration of resveratrol, an antioxidant currently being studied for its effects on heart health. An ancient fruit of Asia, the mulberry is touted in medicinal folklore as a remedy for ringworm, insomnia, arthritis, and tapeworm.
I sent the kids out today with a container and told them to get to work. They came in with about two cups of berries and the stained fingers and cheeks that led me to believe they’d eaten another cup or so while they picked. The earliest of the berries are just ripening now, and in next week or two there should be plenty more. It is easiest to just put a tarp on the ground and check it every day. The ripe berries tend to fall off of the tree. If you check it often enough, you can beat the birds to the sweetest berries! I made a batch of mulberry muffins this evening to reward the kids for their hard work.
I think the fact that they complained that I didn't make enough is a sign that they liked them!
Trees are a longer term investment than a traditional garden, but they'll reward you for years to come.
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