10. Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush

7th November 2013

Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush

Picture taken November 2012

Each year the first fruit crop of spring comes from our Black Mulberry bush. 

It always starts off the same way; with a small handful of deep red/purple berries, that we only get to enjoy if I get up at 5.30 am and beat the birds to them.

If the berries are to be eaten fresh or frozen I pick any berry that is purple, bring the bowl inside and wash the berries thoroughly. I then leave the bowl to sit on the windowsill for the day so the berries can properly ripen away from my friends the silver eyes! Come evening the berries are ready to eat, or if I am freezing the berries for later use, they are then popped into plastic takeaway containers and put straight into the freezer.

If  I want to use the berries for jam making, I can afford to be less fussy. The berries in their freshly picked and washed state are perfect for making jam as the pectin level is higher. In fact for a really good jam you should aim to include some unripe, pale red berries. 

By the end of the first week so many berries are ripening at the same time there are enough for both the birds and us. As a result I can pick fruit at whatever time suits me during the day. This trend continues for at least a week and then it is back to 5.30 am harvesting for the final week. 

Any berries after my three week blitz are left for my feathered friends to feed their babies and themselves with - I don't mind sharing!