I'm eating blackberries and apricots already.

[Pat]

A few blackberries were ripe a couple weeks ago but the big blast hasn't happened yet. I have brush hogged some 6 ft wide paths through the larger patches. Fewer bushes but more access with less blood letting. More berries for me if fewer for the wildlife.

The apricot tree has produced for the first time (7-8) fruit stayed on to maturity. We ate the first three last night just a tad premature but we beat the birds!

Found a mulberry tree I wasn't aware of less than 100 ft from my mom's house. They are easier for me to identify with copius quantities of mulberies on them.

Our wild sand plums are producing well this time but it will be a challenge to see who gets the fruit first , the bugs, birds, folks who service the oil wells, or us.

Pat

[RobS]

We're a few weeks behind on the (wild) blackberries though it looks like it will be a bumper crop. Wild strawberries just showing red.

What do you do with mulberries? We've got several trees in the old fenceline that produce huge quantities of berries. Normally I just swear at the trees as they grow into my mowing area more than most, but maybe I should be picking the fruits?

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[Pat]

Rob, You can eat the berries. Alternatively you can grow silkworms on the leaves, Or both.

We have been getting a few strawberries for 6 weeks or so.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Bird]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
What do you do with mulberries?

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It's rare for me to see a fruit producing mulberry tree anymore, although there are lots of the fruitless mulberry trees around. And I don't know of any recipes or anything like that for mulberries, but I sure do like eating them fresh.

[Stoneheartfarm]

I'm not sure I've ever seen one with fruit on it. Or, if I have, I haven't recognized it for what it is.

Steve

[beenthere]

You are lucky. In Wisconsin, we don't even have the wild black raspberries ripe (starting to head out though), and the blackberries are another month to five weeks away, I'm guessing. With all the rain last month, the black raspberries should be good this year.

[egon]

And up north some gardens are still in the plantin stage. Life ain't fair.

Egon

[Bird]

If you've never seen them, you might read about them at http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/mulberry.html. The only ones I've seen were black and my grandparents used to have them. Most folks don't want them around at all because I'm not the only bird that likes'em and the purple bird manure is not welcomed by most people. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[beenthere]

I remember mulberries when growing up, and spending 'hours' in that tree eat'n 'em. Mom didn't like the mess they made of the clean laundry on the line. I can plainly recall the hustle back to the house with a messed up sheet that had to be re-washed. She wasn't happy at all. [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]

[DAP]

I've got several mullberry trees, both Red and White. The white berries are preferable for their higher sugar content. The Red ones however are more plentiful.

We're making another batch of mulberry ice cream. We also make mulberry jam and a mulberry concentrate that we add mix with other citrus juices or better yet, a nice ice packed glass of VODKA.

Yeeha.

I posted some other info over on TBN about our trees in the rural living threads.

OH and BTW, in the edible plants guide at home, it says that unripe shoots and berries from mulberry contain halucinogens.