Foraged: Mulberries This Year?

Go, mulberries, go!

Just shy of a month ago, we had snow on the ground. I was worried about how the budding trees and plants would fare, but the mulberry tree, at least, is looking none the worse for wear: it’s full of green berries!

In past years, it’s been hit or miss with the mulberries. One year, it’ll have an abundance of plump, dark berries to the delight of humans and animals alike; the next, the berries will shrivel before reaching ripeness. It seems more sensitive to weather fluctuations than other fruiting plants (like elderberries), needing just the right conditions to produce copious quantities of berries. And those berries make delightful water kefir!

The birds have helpfully “planted” new mulberry trees in various spots, one of which we successfully transplanted to a more suitable location. In a few years, it, too, may bear fruit. The life cycle of trees is a true lesson in patience – one I’m still learning.

Small now, but one day…