Harvesting Mulberries

Much to our surprise we found not one but two mulberry trees on our property. We have lived in our house almost three years! These trees are over 30 feet tall which can make harvesting difficult. Here are out tips to get most mulberries off the tree and into your kitchen.

Make sure the mulberries are ready. Our trees are black mulberry trees, so the fruit is dark purple when ready to be harvested.

Get a old clean sheet, tarp, or plastic drop cloth. We used an old flat sheet. We tried the tarp method but thought the sheet was a softer landing for the berries. If you use cloth make sure you don't mind it getting stained. The mulberries will leave some dark purple stains on your sheet.

Spread out the sheet under the tree or bush.

Now this is the fun part! Shake the branches directly over the sheet. All the ripe berries just fall off and onto your sheet! We also used a 6 foot ladder to reach some of the higher branches.

Gather the corners of the sheet and slide all the berries into the middle. Then gently slide the pile of berries to the edge of the sheet and pour the berries into a large bowl.

Repeat the process going around the remainder of the tree or bush.

Be sure to sort and wash your berries. You will get some small twigs and leaves with this harvesting process.