Mulberry Syrup

Established mulberry trees are, actually, quite tough in a drought. They'll look terrible; may have branches and leaves die off; but they can hang on, if they have to, for quite some time. If they don't have sufficient water, in late spring, the crop of berries will all be aborted. So, if you're after berries, you've got to keep them well watered for at least the fruiting season.

The lush green leaves give the garden a cool feel, and plenty of shade. Nice leaves for silkworms; but the mulberry's near relative, the Osage Orange--Maclura pomifera--is even more drought-hardy than the mulberry; so if you are in a very dry place, and wish to raise silkworms, then having plenty of Osage Orange trees around would be a good backup source of leaves for hungry silkworms. Don't forget to give the silkworms a few beetroot leaves so as they can spin some pink silk, as well.

You'll find some parrots possibly visiting for a juicy mulberry snack; but you'll definitely have blackbirds coming to eat the berries; and you'll see their purple droppings all about the garden. Blackbirds like to sit quietly in mulberry trees; to quench their thirst; and to refresh themselves in the shade--their beaks stained purple.

To make your own mulberry cordial refreshment, simply get a large saucepan and fill it with ripe mulberries. Give them a quick rinse--if they need it--and drain saucepan. Then put them on the stove until they start to sweat, the juice leaking out of them. Stir with a wooden spoon, and keep moving the pot so as not to let them burn or caramelise. As they soften, mash them until all of the juice is squeezed out. Drain the syrup out, and sweeten it with sugar to taste. It makes a great fruit cordial, or ice cream topping. This will make a nice red/purple cordial, but you can also use honey-sweet white mulberries as well. It should also be possible to perform all of the above procedure with a microwave oven, simply sweating and steaming the mulberries under a ''tent'' of cling wrap. Again, stirring occasionally; then mashing; extracting off the liquid; and sweetening. Don't forget to toss the fruit remnants into the compost heap.