Urban Foraging Mulberries

On Saturday we were out visiting a historic site, and when I was walking around the side of the car to get back in, I noticed black globs smeared on the sidewalk.

That was my clue to look up.

I saw a fruiting mulberry tree! A perfect opportunity for urban foraging.

I climbed the four foot retaining wall up on to the lawn where I could easily reach the branches.

I gave little handfuls to my baby birds waiting in the car.

Mulberries are super sweet–not a berry that needs sugar or honey.  They are very tender berries that crush easily.  I’ve read that the reason they aren’t distributed in grocery stores is because they simply can’t hold up to distribution.

If you happen to have easy access to a mulberry tree an effective way to harvest the berries is to lay out a sheet on the ground under the tree, then rake through the branches causing the ripe fruits to fall onto the sheet to be collected.

We didn’t have time for that on Saturday, but certainly enjoyed stopping for a small snack along our way.