Ten uses for an unexpected Mulberry Tree
When we bought our new home back in October, one of the many surprises that came with it was a mulberry tree at the rear of the yard, beside the vegie patch.
WonderHubby {who takes Fridays off during school holidays, yet another way he’s worth his weight in gold} and the Bump were pottering in the yard this morning.
In between devouring tongue of fire beans and sweet lemons, they discovered that we now have some ripe berries on the tree, and proceeded to taste the merchandise there, too.
Since I always try to get the most use out of things, I decided to google uses for mulberry leaves and fruit, and was surprised at some of what I found.
- You can eat them ~ okay, no surprise there.
- The leaves can be used for raising silkworms ~ again, not a surprise, but now I know where to find them (at pet shops, apparently).
- You can make a tea of the leaves ~ not sure what it’d taste like, maybe WH will be adventurous and try it for me (I’m a wimp when it comes to trying new foods).
- The twigs are good for basket making, wood is sometimes used for furnishings.
- Mulberry tree bark can be boiled used to make handmade Japanese “shoji” paper, some European papers, and Polynesian “tapa cloth”
- Also in Japan, the traditional “chashaku” green tea scoop used in semi-formal tea ceremonies is made of mulberry wood.
- The leaves can be used as a vegetable ~ not sure about that, but the guinea pigs sure like them…
- We could build a chicken coop around it and eat them, as the fallen fruit provides very good fodder.
- Once your neighbourhood birds eat them, their poop can be used as a permanent purplish dye. - or is that “stain”?
- Mulberries have a laxative effect (which may explain the bird poop thing).
So next time you see me, I’ll be dressed in a purplish-dyed tapa cloth dress, toting a mulberry-wood tray with a mulberry twig basket of mulberries, cups of mulberry tea, mulberry leaf salad, and my hand-made mulberry paper notebook, on which I may even jot a few notes in boiled mulberry juice, if I can figure out how to squeeze it out of the birdshit.
And afterwards, you can help me out with feeding the chickens & guinea pigs.
I’m taking part in Sited & Blogged ~ Weekend Garden meme today, so please call by and check out the other participants’ posts.
Grow Daisies from Cuttings
The kids were amazed at this little bit of “magic”. Imagine being able to cut part of a plant off and grow a new one from it!
If you don’t have a daisy plant to take a cutting from, chances are that someone you know will. They’re a very popular plant.
Choose a healthy daisy bush with lots of new growth on it. Using clean secateurs or sharp scissors, cut a length of about 10-15cm (5-7in) from the end of a branch. I have to say that although my own secateurs could use a good going over, most of my cuttings still strike (grow roots).
Gently strip the leaves from the woody part of the stem and dip the cut end in some honey. This acts as an antiseptic, to kill any germs and give your cuttings a head start at fighting diseases in the soil (or from my secateurs).
Poke a hole in your potting mix with another stick and plant the cutting, pressing the soil around it. Gently water in.
Leave for a few weeks in a sheltered spot - filtered sunlight is probably best. Keep moist but not wet, so that the cuttings won’t rot. Less moisture is needed after the first week.
After about three weeks, you can very gently move the stem of a cutting to see if it has grown roots. Once roots have grown, you can put it into a slightly more sunny spot.
Leave it in the original pot for at least 2 months before re~potting, and longer before planting into the garden.
Other thoughts:
- Cuttings usually strike best in mid- to late-Spring.
- It’s a good idea to take a few cuttings to grow at one time, as they may not all strike.
- If you have curious little hands like we do here, you may need to put them up out of reach (but not out of sight) of children until they grow roots.
Sprouting Seeds on Cotton Wool
You might be able to see that we grew our sprouts from fresh peas, in a little plastic food container.
We’re going to have a go at using the seeds from beans too.
They may as well be of some interest to the kids, since they certainly don’t eat them.
Tomato Plants from Seeds
Next time you have a particularly tasty tomato, put some of the seeds aside on a piece of paper towel and put them in a warm dry place to dry.
I guarantee you will have the tastiest tomatoes in town.
As you can see, we’re waiting on some of our own right now, and we’re all drooling at the thought of it.
Not only will the tomatoes be delicious, but all that drooling makes sure they’re very well watered…