Purple stained fingers, purple stained tongue, purple antioxidants for your digestion, and incomparable purple sweetness, all before school lets out at the end of May. But they aren’t all purple, and they don’t all stain.
For many gardeners the early sweetness of mulberries is the essential fruit to break the long berry-less winter. But for mulberry lovers, a strategic planting of several varieties can result in delicious mulberries all summer long. The fresh sweet taste, coupled with the burst of healthy energy and the easiness of growth, make mulberry trees one of the best for any garden. There are a handful of mulberry varieties to choose from, but first let’s dive into some history.
Geographical Range
It may seem like mulberries have been around for ages and come from all over the map. Well, they kinda do. They have been around since the fossil record and consumed by animals of every size and shape.
The White Mulberry (Morus alba) has its origins in Eastern China, as do many others, including Morus notabilis, the mulberry species believed to be the genetic base for all other mulberry species. The White mulberry was brought to Europe by the Romans and grown there for their medicinal qualities.
The Red, or American mulberry (Morus rubra) is native to, and common in the Eastern United States. Until the white mulberry was introduced to the United States (for silk production during colonial times,) it managed to survive genetic isolation. Now most Red Mulberries carry some White Mulberry genes. Nothing wrong with that, the fruit quality of these hybrids are often superior.
The Himalayan Mulberry/ Shahtoot (Morus macroura) is native from the Himalayas to Southern Asia.
Black Mulberries are thought to have originated in Southwest Asia, but have been grown in Europe for centuries. 10,000 trees were purchased by King James I around 1607 and planted in a large garden near Buckingham Palace in an effort to establish silk manufacturing to compete with France. Unfortunately, it is white mulberries that silkworms favor, and the investment failed, but some of the trees remain to this day.
More about Species
Differentiating mulberry species and varieties can be challenging. Mulberry varieties easily hybridize making it very difficult to know exactly what species you have. Plants that are easy to propagate such as figs, guavas, dragonfruit, and mulberries also lose distinct identification as cuttings are passed around; I can’t tell you how often I hear “I forget which one this was!” Understanding why this is important will become clearer as we get into specifics.
To briefly get into the weeds- or the trees for that matter, the genus classification is quite complicated due to various geographically isolated and genetically distinct strains, and an extreme propensity for hybridization among most varieties. Some taxonomists include as many as 200 distinct species, but only about 10-17 are officially recognized, and even those do not necessarily have clear genetic origins. The following are the most widely known and cultivated species, followed by a short list of others recognized:
MOST WIDELY CULTIVATED SPECIES:
White Mulberry (Morus alba) Eastern China
Australian Mulberry/ Chinese Mulberry/ Korean Mulberry (Morus australis) Southeast Asia
Himalayan Mulberry/ Shahtoot (Morus macroura, syns. M. laevigata, M. alba var. laevigata)
Himalayan Mulberry/ Shahtoot (Morus serrata, syn. M. alba var. serrata)
Black Mulberry (Morus nigra) Southwest Asia
Red Mulberry/ American Mulberry (Morus rubra) Eastern North America
Mongolian Mulberry (Morus mongolica, syns. M. alba var. mongolica, M. mesozygia) Central and South Africa
OTHERS RECOGNIZED INCLUDE:
Hua Sang (Morus cathayana) Eastern Asia
Texas Mulberry (Morus celtidifolia, syn. M. microphylla) Native from Arizona and Oklahoma south to Argentina
Silkworm Mulberry (Morus indica, syn. M.alba var. indica) Sub-tropical Himalayas
Evergreen Mulberry (Morus insignis) Central and South America
Japanese Mulberry (Morus japonica)
S.S. Chang (Morus liboensis) Guizhou, China
The Mulberry Tree (Morus notabilis) Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China (2n=14 chromosomes suggest this is the basal species for all others)
Three Lobed Mulberry (Morus trilobata, syn. M. australis var. trilobata)
(Morus wittiforum)
Since the vast majority of popular mulberry cultivars on the market belong to only four species classifications and their hybrids, the rest of the post will specifically refer to those. They are Morus alba (White Mulberry), Morus rubra (Red Mulberry), Morus nigra (Black Mulberry), and Morus macroura (Himalayan Mulberry). In order to fully understand distinctions between cultivars we will provide general information first, then a sampling of varieties near the end of the post.
Description
Lifespan
Morus rubra (Red Mulberry) is generally one of the shortest lived species reaching a maximum lifespan of about 75 years.
Morus macroura (Himalayan Mulberry) and Morus alba (White Mulberry) may live for as much as 100-250 years in ideal conditions, depending upon the cultivar.
Morus nigra (Black Mulberry) has a fruitful lifespan of between 500 to 1000 years. Many of those planted in the early 1600s in Great Britain by King James I are still alive and well.
Rate, Habit and Height
Mulberry trees vary greatly in size by variety and growing conditions, from cultivars Morus nigra ranging from about head high to 30 feet, to some Morus alba trees reaching as much as 80 ft. In rich soils of the warmer parts of the southern United States Morus rubra can grow as tall as 70 feet.
Roots can be thirsty and somewhat aggressive, finding their way into irrigation pipes, septic or sewer systems, or lifting and staining concrete that is in close proximity. To prevent potential damage to concrete and irrigation infrastructure many varieties may be kept as dwarfs or kept smaller when contained in tubs and pots. Most varieties will perform well in pot culture. Ultimate size, though somewhat affected by environmental conditions, is primarily determined by cultivar.
Most mulberry trees grow fast, but are dependent upon warm temperatures to do so. Morus nigra grows more slowly.
While most mulberries manifest rounded or spreading canopies, Morus alba and its hybrids have the greatest variability in form, including weeping, tiered and conical shapes. Morus nigra generally manifests a shrub form unless trained.
Foliage
All mulberry species grown in the continental United States are deciduous. One species, morus insignis, which is native to Central and South America, is evergreen. Mulberries break dormancy in spring based on temperature, not day length. Variability in the number of warm days required for bud break is dependent upon cultivar, with Morus nigra generally leafing out later than other species.
Leaves are serrated, variable in shape from spade to lobed, and often are variously lobed on the same plant, even unsymmetrical. Morus rubra has more consistent and prominent lobes than Morus alba. Mulberry leaves are green in spring and summer turning shades of yellow in fall. The leaves of Morus alba possess a shiny appearance on the upper side while those of Morus nigra appear dull and fuzzy. The milky sap from all species of Morus may cause skin irritations, but none have thorns.
Roots
The roots of mulberries are aggressive and usually fairly shallow- no more than 2 feet deep, extending laterally beyond the tree’s drip line as much as 1 ½ times as far from the trunk as the tree is tall. Having excavated some trees myself, I can attest that the lateral roots also have vertical sinker roots that are smaller in diameter. As may be mentioned several times, it is recommended to plant these trees far enough away from structures and plumbing infrastructure to avoid potential problems.
Flowers
Mulberry trees are either dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants) or monoecious (male and female flowers on the same plant), and sometimes mulberry trees will change from one sex to another (sequential hermaphroditism or dichogamy).
Male trees produce excessive amounts of allergy-causing pollen and therefore have won a place on the list of nuisance trees in many municipalities. Parthenocarpic cultivars are female trees that produce fruit without pollination or male trees.
Flowering occurs in spring, spring and fall, or sporadically throughout the warm season, depending on the specific cultivar.
The flowers often appear in multiples in the axils of this season’s new growth and spurs on older branches. The flowers are pendulous green catkins. They are wind pollinated and many cultivars do not produce pollen and will set fruit without any pollination. Cross-pollination between genetically distinct individuals is not necessary for mulberries to set fruit. Most cultivars sold at nurseries are parthenocarpic and set seedless fruit without pollination, but a few cultivars require a second tree as a pollenizer. Those only produce fruit if pollinated, and produce seedy fruit once pollinated. These are generally not recommended.
Fruit
Botanically a mulberry is not a “berry” but a syncarp, a collective aggregate of individual fruits. The flowers form on catkins. Once pollinated they swell to form a collective fruit cluster that resembles a blackberry.
As we often find fruit of varying degrees of white to pink to red to purple-black, it is often thought that the fruit color is the meaning of the common appellations of “White” or “Red” or “Black”, but that is a mistake. Morus alba, which means “white” may appear in any of those colors. The differentiation of mulberry varieties by the common name “Red,” “White,” or “Black,” does not actually refer to the color of the fruit, but rather to the color of the leaf buds on the dormant twigs.
Many growers prefer cultivars of Morus alba over Morus rubra types because cultivars of Morus alba and their hybrids tend to be non-staining. That’s right, no matter the color of the fruit, not all of these delicious berries stain fingers, clothes, driveway, and tongue. ‘Pakistan’ and several other cultivars provide the sweetness without the stain, though the juice may be red or transparent white. So sweet are some berries that In the Middle East these are often dried and used as a substitute for table sugar, though because of the flavor tones that pigmentations give to the fruit during dehydration, white colored fruit often provide the closest to a raw sweet.
Taste
While the flavors are often distinctively different from one species to another, it is a general finding that white mulberries (Morus alba) are considered the sweetest of the various species, having a higher Brix (sugar content), yet lack the needed tartness to provide a complexity of flavor that the others contain.
Red mulberry (Morus rubra) fruits are usually nearly black in color. The best red mulberries may be comparable in flavor to the black mulberries (Morus nigra), though the black mulberries generally are considered the most desirable combination of sweet and tart.
That said, taste tests have been done to determine which mulberry varieties are generally favored and the results are across the board. Individual taste preferences vary, some people preferring the sugar sweet, others preferring the complex flavor. A berry’s flavor will always depend on its ripeness, freshness, cultivar, soil moisture, terroir (soil characteristics that lend to flavor), and sunlight.
Cultivation
Temperatures
White mulberries (Morus alba) species enjoy the widest range in cold tolerance- experiencing damage anywhere from 25° F to well below -25° F, depending upon the cultivar and the characteristics of the individual clone and its environment. Red mulberries (Morus rubra) are hardy to somewhere below 0° F. Black mulberries (Morus nigra) are generally limited to 0° to 10° F average minimum temperature or warmer, but again, it still manifests quite a range in tolerance. These have not been planted extensively in the United States, and so we do not have the extent of data for black mulberries as we do for other varieties. The majority of Black mulberry specimens have been planted on the Pacific Coast.
While mulberries are tolerant of heat, fruit production is highest from 75-85°F and then drops significantly. At 90°F fruit production stops.
Chill hour requirements for mulberries, or the accumulated hours between 32-45°F, are listed as under 200, but possibly do not need any. Mulberries are listed as hardy in USDA hardiness zones 5-11, depending upon the cultivar.
Location/ Planting
While mulberries may be able to grow in filtered light they need full sun and well-draining soil to be able to thrive and produce.They also need adequate space. Because the trees are flexible and wind resistant smaller cultivars may be planted 10’ apart for espaliers, hedgerows, and windbreaks. Plant at least 15 ft apart for larger cultivars, away from sidewalks, patios, and 20’ away from foundations to avoid potential damage by roots. Fruit from many varieties will stain concrete and the sticky residue may be tracked indoors causing purple stains on carpet and linoleum, and endless regret. Plant 50′ away from water pipes that are not specifically serving the tree, sewer lines, and septic systems, as the roots can quickly cause damage to water infrastructure. Various dwarf cultivars may also be grown in containers.
When transplanting a mulberry tree, dig a hole as deep as the root ball and about 2-3 times as wide. If the native soil is very compact consider doing a drainage test. Dig the hole partially or completely, then fill with water. If it takes 24 hours to completely drain then your soil is too compact and you can expect root rot later on. It will be necessary to widen the hole and dig vertical drainage channels down below the hardpan that is preventing the drainage.
Once the hole is dug carefully remove the tree from its container and inspect the root ball. Large, circling roots may eventually cause girdling, slowing the tree’s growth and potentially killing it. If planting during the dormant season it is recommended to carefully wash soil off the roots, untangle them, remove damaged and problematic roots, and spread the roots out in the hole as a bare-root tree.
The tree trunk should be planted at the same depth that it was in the pot or slightly shallower. Showing the initial root flare should be ok. You may use the soil that was in the container to mix with native soil, or plant the tree directly in native soil leaving the potting mix and compost as a topdressing of several inches. This ensures that the roots are able to naturalize in the native soil environment, but still receive the benefit from whatever soil organisms and nutrients were in the soil that was in the pot to begin with.
Soil
Mulberries are tolerant of many soil types as long as they are well-draining, but thrive in a warm, deep loam. Shallow alkaline soils such as those frequently found on chalk or gravel are not recommended and may result in substantially slower growth and signs of iron chlorosis. Mulberries have shown a moderate tolerance to salt.
Water
Although drought tolerant for short periods once established, mulberries really need to be watered during dry spells. If the roots become too dry, the fruit is likely to drop before it has fully ripened.
Water deeply using flood or basin irrigation regularly the first two years to ensure a healthy root system. Ensure irrigation monthly during dry seasons, and weekly during fruit set and ripening. By limiting water supply in the fall you can encourage the tree to enter dormancy. Using a coarse wood chip mulch at the base of trees, kept a foot away from the trunk or so, will help to reduce evaporation and excess heat.
Fertilization
If planted in decent soil, your mulberry tree shouldn’t need much in the way of supplemental nutrients. If desired, an organic fertilizer may be applied after several months of active growth. If you are used to using chemical fertilizer, using a balanced one such as 10-10-10 should work but wait until the tree has been in the ground for a year or longer. Never fertilize during bloom season or fruit set, or the tree will drop its bounty prematurely.
In the desert Southwestern United States, as long as the tree is planted in a good sandy loam with plenty of moisture a slow release nitrogen fertilizer application around Valentine’s day is usually sufficient. Dwarf trees may appreciate an extra dose of organic nutrients in late spring and late summer. Too much nitrogen will result in fast growing, long, weak shoots that are prone to wind breakage. In areas where your particular tree may be borderline frost sensitive too much nitrogen may also cause the tree to be susceptible to freeze damage.
Pruning
Pruning is not recommended on mulberries during the first year in the ground. The root system should be allowed to attain sufficient development the first year for successive healthy growth. Depending upon the desired shape pruning may not be necessary at all except to remove crossovers in the center of the canopy. This is more often needed in Morus alba and Morus macroura.
Very little pruning should be needed once the branches are trained into the desired framework, other than for removal of dead or overcrowding branches in the crown. Fruiting spurs can be encouraged from the 6 lowest buds on each branch through strategic peak summer pruning. By tip pruning branches from the tree during this time you can limit growth, but allow the maximum fruiting buds for next year. However, it is critical that pruning during the active growth season is minimal to prevent excessive bleeding.
Mulberry trees bleed heavily, but are also susceptible to some diseases in cool weather, so the vast majority of pruning should be done near the end of the dormant period. Careful dormant pruning in late winter, early spring, about two weeks before bud-break will ensure quick healing and encourage strong spring growth. For us in Maricopa County, Arizona that’s when daily lows are about 50° F, or the beginning to mid-February, or just before Valentines Day.
Anything pruned over 2” in diameter at any time of year may not ever entirely heal. Large open wounds will continue to dehydrate throughout summer. Avoid pruning more than 25% of the tree annually to prevent sending the tree into shock. Shock can begin the tree on a decline of disease susceptibility that is very difficult to recover from.
ESPALIERING
Mulberries, particularly dwarf types and Morus nigra, respond quite well to espaliering. By training branches horizontally the fruiting buds and spurs will form closer together and will often fruit heavier for a given space. Train as you would grape cordons.
ROTATIONAL COPPICING
Another technique commonly used in colder climates to ensure that the tree stays within a manageable size for frost protection and harvest, or warmer climates simply to control size, is to coppice branches rotationally. This is done by cutting the central trunk low, beginning when still young. Many new leaders will grow from the base. Select one leader per year to keep for three years and trim off everything else during dormancy that is 3 or 4 years old. This ensures that each year the tree will have strong new growth that never achieves more than a three year height. This technique somewhat resembles cane pruning for grapes. As most of the crop is formed on new wood, only long-term fruiting spurs are sacrificed.
POLLARDING
Lastly, a note about pollarding. Pollarding is a technique of pruning mulberries, particularly fruitless mulberries for coppice wood, that achieved some level of popularity in the United States in recent decades. It was originally practiced to prevent grazing and browsing animals from reaching the branches. This pruning system encourages all new, uniform growth each year, similar to coppicing, but from a main set of head-high scaffold branches.
Pollarding training begins when the tree is still young; an initial scaffolding is selected and headed back to a chosen height. Each year the new growth is headed back to the same area of scaffolding, never cutting past the original scaffold, or last year’s cuts. Over time large knots, or knuckles form where branches have been successively pruned off.
While this technique provides a very uniform globose canopy, the branches are long and wispy, and in some climates, such as the desert southwest, the tree may not be as healthy, and much fruit will be sacrificed for new growth and appearance, as the majority of fruit forms on last seasons new growth.
Propagation
Most varieties of mulberries are especially easy to propagate by grafting, layering, or rooting, with or without rooting hormone. It is not uncommon for individuals making a wattle fence out of mulberry branches trimmed off in late-winter, to find them rooted out and grown in place, ultimately creating an unintentional living barrier.
PROPAGATE BY SEED
You would think that if you had mulberry trees popping up in your yard or neighborhood that the germination rate of mulberry seed would be high, but actually it’s pretty low. Mulberry’s propagation success can primarily be attributed to strength in numbers. Seeds used must be freshly extracted from the fruit and not allowed to fully dry out.
Starting Morus alba, Morus macroura, and Morus rubra mulberries from seed requires cold stratification for as much as 4 to 16 weeks in order to maximize germination and prepare the seed to sprout. After cold stratification seeds have a better success rate if sown shallowly in a well draining starting mix and kept moist. Once germination occurs they will need 12-16 hours of bright, indirect light, or filtered light through a sunny window. Harden off seedlings outdoors under filtered light for a couple of months.
Young trees under 2 years old should be taken indoors during freezing temperatures, or under shade during excessively hot temperatures. This is because the temperature hardiness of your young tree seedlings will not yet be known.
While mulberries may be grown from seed, it is generally not recommended. Trees can take 10 or more years to bear fruit, and until then it will be unknown whether they will be male, female, or parthenocarpic. Males will be mostly useless in a food production system and females that require pollination will result in seedy, crunchy fruit, assuming they have a male to pollinate them, otherwise there will be no fruit at all. Black mulberries (Morus nigra) will often take up to 15 years before full production.
PROPAGATE BY GRAFTING
Understanding the ultimate size of the variety you want to grow and the virtues of any rootstocks available may provide you with an advantage in selection. Some larger desirable cultivars such as “Pakistan” may be “dwarfed” by grafting using the rooted cuttings of cultivars such as “dwarf everbearing” as rootstock, effectively reducing the ultimate size of the tree to just larger than the rootstock itself would grow- maybe 12-15 feet tall instead of 30-80 feet.
Mulberries are most often grafted via shoot budding, veneer grafting, or cleft grafting. Shoot budding is begun by making a T-cut in the rootstock to be used. Then, a gradually sloping, smooth diagonal slice is made on the lower portion of the scion to be used. The scion is trimmed to 1-2 buds, inserted into the T cut, then wrapped and sealed with parafilm or grafting paste.
In dry climates, such as where we live, here in Arizona, a higher success rate on most grafts is achieved when the vertical tip of the scion is also sealed to minimize drying out. Other types of grafts such as veneer grafts and cleft grafts also bear satisfactory results.
Grafting mulberries are most often successful if done before the sap is really flowing, but after the bark slips, 2 weeks prior to bud-break. If sap is flowing it may interfere with the proper fusing of the graft. To address this I have recently heard about a method for dealing with problematic bleeding during grafting.
Before making the grafting cut, first make a small perpendicular cut about an inch below the area to be grafted to bleed off extra sap before it gets to the grafting area. Then prepare your scion wedge with one or two buds and carefully wash it in clean water. By only grafting one or two buds it reduces the energy needed to supply resources to others. When the rootstock is finally cut you should wash it as well with a spray bottle because it will only take a few seconds to begin drying out and interfering with the graft. Now join the scion and the rootstock and immediately seal with parafilm, buddy tape or some other favored grafting material. You can make sure that it is pulled together tight by wrapping the parafilm with electrical tape without covering the new buds.
When cleft grafting just make sure that your rootstock and scion diameters are identical or at least that the cambium layers are perfectly lined up on one side. Many grafters will also maintain a small amount of leafy growth on the rootstock to provide some nourishment to the new graft until it is mature enough that the growth on the rootstock may be permanently removed.
Bark grafting, or veneer grafting also works well for grafting mulberries, but it works the best when your rootstock caliper is larger than your scion. To perform this trim off the leaf below a bud on your scion wood, still leaving the petiole to be used as a handle. Then simply score the bark around the bud to be transferred in the shape of a square, and score the bark on the rootstock in the same shape. Gently lift the bark from the rootstock off and discard it, lift the bark off the scion and insert it, ensuring that the edges all match.
Tip: If your edges of your bud bark are larger in one dimension than the edges of the square you made on the rootstock, simply place the bud on the area, and trim to fit using a sharp knife. Note: Veneer, or bark grafting has a very high success rate on most plants, but is often slower to take. Be patient, but expect success.
If you time your grafting right the bud may begin to grow between 2 days to 2 weeks. If the weather is warm or sunlight is hitting the graft directly consider covering the area loosely with some aluminum foil until the fusion has taken place.
Mulberries can be grafted from late winter through summer in moderate climates. Some cultivars are difficult to graft in summer months, and here in Arizona we have a narrower window than the rest of the country. Only bark, or veneer grafting may be done in late spring or early summer. It is important to note that when grafting after the weather has begun to warm up you must keep direct sunlight away from your graft for 8-12 weeks.
Note: many varieties of mulberries may be grafted onto one tree, forming a “cocktail” mulberry tree of sorts, to extend season and flavors, however rarely are grafts successful between Morus nigra and other species. Morus rubra is also often difficult. Others may have limited compatibility or certain combinations may shorten the lifespan of the tree.
Mulberry scions should be collected during dormancy and should have two weeks in the refrigerator for maximum take. Many experts recommend grafting once buds have broken, but I have found that success is just as readily available on most varieties during late dormancy.
PROPAGATE BY CUTTINGS
Most mulberry cultivars are very easy to grow from cuttings. They may be propagated by both hardwood and softwood cuttings. Most mulberry varieties will fruit 2-3 years from rooted cuttings or if grafted onto rootstock, but some varieties like ‘Pakistan’ are so precocious that the cuttings will attempt to bloom before they have even put on roots and it will be necessary to pinch off the flowers to force the energy to go to root production.
To propagate by hardwood cuttings, take scions during dormancy that are between 3/16” to ½” diameter and about 6-10” long. You may place cuttings into the refrigerator until ready to use in a ziplock bag with a sprinkling of water.
Rooting hardwood cuttings should take place at about budbreak. Rooting hormone is highly recommended but not absolutely necessary. Push cuttings halfway down into a light well-draining potting medium such as one third peat moss, one third vermiculite, one third coarse perlite. It does not matter whether you use a pot or plastic dixie cup with some holes in the bottom for drainage. Rooting should occur in about 40-60 days. Keep the medium moist. Put a loose bag or bottle over the top of the pot for the first few weeks if needed.
To propagate by softwood cuttings, take budwood in early summer that is a ¼” in diameter or smaller and about 6-10” long with some leaves. Trim all the leaves off except one or two at the top and cut those down to 1-2” squares. You may place cuttings into the refrigerator in a ziplock bag with a sprinkling of water until ready to use.
Rooting softwood cuttings should take place in midsummer. Rooting hormone is highly recommended, but not absolutely necessary for most cuttings to take. As before, push them halfway down into a light well-draining potting medium such as one third peat moss, one third vermiculite, and one third perlite. It does not matter whether you use a pot or plastic dixie cup with some holes in the bottom for drainage. Rooting should occur in about 40-60 days. Keep the medium moist. Put a loose bag or bottle over the top of the pot for the first few weeks if needed. This method works great for Morus alba, and Morus macroura.
Once rooted begin the hardening-off process. Keep the rooted cuttings in a moist shady spot for the first week, then gradually expose them to sunlight. To make your chances of success even more solid add some rooting hormone again before planting.
Some mulberries, such as Morus nigra, are generally more difficult to root and tend to do better when grafted onto other species (though not all are compatible). If you’re going to root (Morus nigra) by cuttings there are a few things to do that will improve your odds.
First, Morus nigra bleeds too much and dehydrates quickly. Make sure to root from hardwood cuttings taken during dormancy. After planting keep it continually moist with a bucket or water jug perforated with small holes set next to the plant. Morus nigra, and morus rubra are more fastidious and will likely necessitate the use of a plastic bag covering or plastic water bottle with the bottom cut off to prevent the cutting from drying out. Red mulberries are just generally more stubborn.
Wildlife
With fruit trees come wildlife. If your trees are taller than yourself, be prepared to share with the critters. Beware of berry colored bird poop stains on your driveway, walls, or drying clothes on the line. Birds and squirrels are very much attracted to the fruit so if it is a small tree and you’re not willing to share with local wildlife you may have to resort to bird netting or holographic bird scare tape to prevent them from getting to it. The fruits are in fact so attractive to birds that many farmers will plant them in hedgerows to draw birds away from damaging crops.
Also, the animals are usually smart enough to not eat unripe fruit. You won’t want to either. It can cause a stomach ache and the milky sap is an irritant.
In the Landscape & Environment
Mulberries work wonderfully well in the landscape in the right spot. Not only are the vast majority of trees prolific fruiters, providing enough for you and the birds, but they also provide a fast-growing shade canopy while basking in the heat of the summer. They are wind tolerant and work well as a windbreak. The majority of their roots are within the top 2 feet, and they have a lot of them, and a lot of sinker/anchor roots, so it performs super as a bank stabilizer.
Some varieties can handle continuously wet soil, though not thriving there is a weakness of others. Most can tolerate temporary drought and air pollution. Even the residual toxins left in the soil by neighboring walnut trees won’t phase them, and are in fact used as a buffer between walnut trees and juglone sensitive apple trees in permaculture guilds. Fruitless cultivars are often used as street trees, though you will want to avoid that function with a fruiting one. The large leaves make for great foliage contrast in design, and make sure to consider the fall color as a feature.
Despite all of their virtues, many uncultivated seedling white and red mulberries and their hybrids can become weedy, growing quickly from seed deposited by birds in empty lots, parks, un-maintained flower beds and landscape borders. Black mulberries are not so prolific, having a narrower range of ideal climates and environments in which they thrive. They prefer warmer climates, and do not do nearly as well in locations that experience hot humid summers.
Pests and Diseases
Mulberries are generally pest free and affected by few diseases. For a list of the few that may occur, we have created a separate post on mulberry diseases here.
Harvesting and Processing
Mulberry fruits generally take 2-3 months from flower to harvest and ripen over an extended period allowing multiple harvests. Berries picked not quite at peak of ripeness will continue to ripen fully, but may not achieve the maximum Brix content that a fully tree-ripened berry will have. For cultivars that ripen to black, the fruit will be at peak ripeness when it changes from shiny to dull.
White mulberries Morus alba, Himalayan mulberry Morus macroura, and Red mulberry Morus rubra cultivars are ready for harvest in mid-to late spring, depending upon temperature. Peak productivity at harvest time will be while daytime temperatures are between 75-85 degrees. Black mulberries, Morus nigra, ripen later, usually during mid- to late-summer.
For a small hedge, espalier, or dwarf tree the picking is done easily enough by hand, or it can be shaken to collect a surprising quantity of fruit on a tarp, drop cloth, or sheet. For those who have a large tree, place a large flat sheet (that you don’t mind staining), painters cloth, or tarp underneath the tree canopy during harvest season, shake the tree or leave it laying there overnight. First thing in the morning go out and clean off the tarp. You now have a large gathering of its sweet fruit to eat with your breakfast. Those that drop throughout the day can be collected at intervals and put into the freezer for pancakes, syrups, pies, and desserts. The best quality fruit for fresh eating is harvested in the morning.
This method works best for Morus alba, Morus macroura, and Morus rubra fruit and hybrids, as they will more easily release from the tree and the flesh is firmer than that of Morus nigra, resulting in less damage from drop.
Black mulberry harvests are usually a little more labor intensive, as they will likely need to be harvested by hand to avoid damage to the fruit, which tends to be more tender in nature. The berries are juicier than those of Morus alba, Morus macroura, and Morus rubra and are easily bruised. Be prepared to be stained! The stem of Morus nigra also does not readily release from the branch until the second or third day after ripening, which allows additional harvest time, but requires harvest by hand using bonsai clippers during any time prior to that release. If done daily, harvesting only fully ripe berries may be done without the use of clippers. To ease in harvest Morus nigra trees are often more suitable for training into a low scaffold such as espaliering.
Storage
As I am sure you have noticed, you will not find mulberries in the grocery stores. They are too perishable to ship. It is recommended to eat them fresh or freeze for later use. They will keep up to two days in the refrigerator in a sealed container if not washed. Washing softens the skin further making them spoil faster.
Nutritional value
The mulberry is one of the best sources of antioxidants of any fruit consumed and is considered one of nature’s perfect superfoods. Not only is the mulberry an excellent digestive aid, it is also a great source of energy (as a prebiotic). They can improve metabolism, increase circulation, improve eyesight, boost immune system, help lower cholesterol, aid in weight loss, prevent some cancers, and ultimately slow down the aging process substantially. The fruit contains iron, riboflavin, vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, substantial fiber, and many phytonutrients. And as if it has not already earned itself a place at the table, it can also help lower blood sugar.
Uses
Best eaten fresh, as the high sugar content and tender fruit skin promotes quick oxidation, fermentation, and spoilage. Excellent frozen on the day of harvest to be used later in sherbet, icecream, jams, jellies, wine, pies, pastries, syrups, and other delicious confections. The fruits maintain their shape better for pies if they are used slightly unripe. Morus nigra may be used as a substitute for blackberries in any such recipes. Light colored berries pair well with apples, pears, and quince in recipes and are often sweeter without the complexity of flavor of the darker berries. Mulberries are often dried and crushed to use as a sugar substitute in the Middle-East. Mulberry leaves are an excellent substitute for grape leaves in recipes such as dolmas.
Cultivars
If you live in areas where you can grown all mulberries, by planting a variety you can be rest assured that you will have berries from spring through summer. Morus alba and Morus macroura mulberry cultivars and hybrids will satisfy your early season berry needs, Morus Rubra provides you with mid-season production, and Morus nigra mulberry varieties will most assuredly provide you with exceptional tasting fruit from mid to late summer. Black mulberry cultivars are considered the best tasting berries of all time by many, but the berries are a little more difficult to harvest due to their having a more delicate skin, collapsing when squeezed during harvest. Morus alba and Morus rubra varieties tend to release easily from the tree and have a sufficiently tough skin, but Morus nigra types have a stronger attachment.
Morus nigra types supposedly cannot hybridize with other mulberry species because it has 308, instead of 28, chromosomes in its genome. All hybrids are between other species, though there is rumor that a nurseryman in Belgium has successfully hybridized Morus nigra with Morus kagayame, Morus macroura, and Morus laevigata. More investigation is needed to confirm this.
Important note: Mulberries are often sold under incorrect names. Most of the time, I do not venture to think that nurseries are intentionally trying to cheat their customers, rather, I believe it is a result of ignorance. It is always best if you get a chance to sample the fruit of the tree that is being sold to determine that it is what you want. For example ‘Dwarf Everbearing’ and ‘Gerardi Dwarf’ (Morus alba) are often sold as “Black Mulberry”, sometimes even labeled Morus nigra!
Another important note: Flavor varies greatly in soil type and climate conditions. An excellent tasting fruit in California, may not be so excellent in Florida, and visa versa. Another good reason to attend taste tests offered by the nursery selling the trees if possible.
By carefully selecting the varieties you want (grafted onto different rootstocks if necessary) you may be able to provide yourself with tree-borne berries all summer long. The following are a few popular cultivars. This is by no means a comprehensive list and we have not yet tried them all, so feel free to let us know what your favorites are!
‘Oscar’
Morus alba x Morus rubra. Introduced by naturalist Oscar Clark. Self-fruitful. Reddish-black, staining fruit is about 1-¼” long by ½” wide. Performs best in USDA hardiness zones 6-9. Fast growing tree to 35’ tall and wide. Very good complex flavor is preferred over ‘Pakistan’ by many. We do like this one a lot!
‘World’s Best’ / ‘Eden’s Dwarf’
Morus alba. Originated in China, introduced publicly by Bryce Garling. Black berry up to 2” long, fast growing tree grows 12-15’, but may be kept much smaller. Late freezes may be problematic. So easy, and loves the heat!
‘Four Seasons’
Found in northern Taiwan in 1957. Known commercially as 46C019. Currently the most widely planted genotype in Taiwan. Tree is dwarf 12-15’, but may be kept smaller with light summer tip pruning. Berries are black, medium to large size with medium sweetness and complex flavor. Production is prolonged- known to fruit all summer long.
‘Persian’
Morus. nigra. Self fruitful. Black fruit is 1-¼” long and an inch wide. Juicy with a rich, subacid berry flavor. The fully ripe berry is considered to taste like every desirable berry species combined together. Considered drought tolerant once established. Strongly staining. Slow growing to 30′ tall. Handles higher pH soil better than many other mulberries. I have gotten to taste this one on an old flood irrigated farm in Queen Creek, AZ. The flavor was amazing.
‘Collier’
Morus alba X Morus rubra. Purplish-black fruit 1-1/8 inches long and 3/8 inch in diameter. Sweet flavor with just a trace of tartness. The quality is considered very good, on par with Illinois Everbearing. This tree has an extended ripening and harvest season. Medium sized spreading tree that is relatively hardy and very productive.
‘Downing’
Morus alba var. multicaulis was a seedling sown in 1846. The fruit is black with excellent flavor and ripens from June to September. Unfortunately the name has been contaminated and other varieties have subsequently been sold under the same name.
‘Illinois Everbearing’
M. alba X M. rubra. Originated in White County, Illinois. Introduced to the market in 1958. Black fruit is nearly seedless, large and long, averaging 12 berries per ounce. Flavor is rated good to very good and very sweet. Matures over a long season. The tree is vigorous and semi-dwarfed, extremely hardy and very productive. Still considered the best by many. For me the flavor of Illinois Everbearing is similar to Oscar.
‘Kaester’
Morus nigra. Originated in Los Angeles. Introduced to the market in 1971 by Nelson Westree. Black or deep purple, large and elongated fruit, 1-1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter. The flavor is very sweet with a good sweet/tart balance. Tree bears heavily.
‘Pakistan’
Probably Morus macroura, possibly hybridized with Morus alba. Originated in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is self fruitful and non-staining. Very large ruby-red to dark purple-black fruit from 2-½”, up to 4” long and ⅜” in diameter. The fruit is firmer than most cultivars and less juicy. Sweet with a good balance of flavors resembling a cross between raspberry and grape, exact flavor dependent upon climate and soil terroir. The quality is excellent. Fruit development is dependent upon root length and health more than other cultivars. Because of this it is not uncommon for fruit to not ripen the first year and drop most of them early. By its third year, the fruit will remain on the tree until fully ripe and delicious. Because it is loosely attached, the large fruit can be blown off the tree by a strong wind before it is evenly ripe. This tree grows 25-35′ high. It thrives in warmer zones in the Deep South, and mild winter areas such as southern California and the low desert region of Arizona, but often performs well enough in cooler regions.It is branch hardy to 25°F. The tree is large and spreading with large heart-shaped leaves. This is definitely one of our favorites!
‘White Pakistan’ / ‘King White’/ ‘White Shahtoot’
Morus macroura. A non-staining, white phenotype up to 4″ long, less juicy, with a sweet honey-like flavor. It grows in USDA zones 8b-10 and to 25-35′ high. There are several white Morus macroura varieties. For a sweet tooth like me, I find them all irresistible. They are the sweetest of all the mulberries that I have tasted.
‘Australian Green’
Morus macroura. This cultivar is a variation whose taste apparently resembles honeydew melon.
‘Dwarf Red Shahtoot’
Morus macroura. Originated in Australia. This dwarf red fruited variety may be easily kept as an espalier or small tree to 12’.
‘Riviera’
Morus alba. Originated in Vista, Calif. Purple-black fruits, 1 to 1-1/2 inches in length, 1/2 inch in diameter. Flesh somewhat juicy and very sweet. Very good dessert quality. Ripens over a long period, from April to June.
‘Russian’ (Tatarica)
One of the oldest cultivars still in propagation. Introduced into Europe from China about 1,500 years ago. Fruit is reddish-black and of good quality when ripe. The tree is bushy and grows up to 35 ft. tall. It is very hardy and drought resistant. Planted widely for windbreaks and hedgerows.
‘Shangri-La’
Morus alba x Morus rubra. Originated in Naples, Florida. Self fruitful with a complex sweet-tart flavor that has become a popular favorite. Produces staining, 1-½” long, black fruit. Good disease resistant mulberry for the Deep South, growing 25′ high in USDA zones 6-10. However, this cultivar is an early bloomer and will often lose fruit or branches when late frosts occur in the colder regions of its range. This may have something to do with the fact that this variety doesn’t seem quite as productive in Arizona as some other varieties. The tree has huge heart-shaped leaves. I love these fruits a bit better than ‘Pakistan’, but my conditions haven’t been as ideal and I haven’t seen these trees produce as much.
‘Tehama’ (Giant White)
Originated in Tehama County, Calif. Very large, white-colored fruit 2-¾” in length and ½” wide. Very sweet, “melting” flesh. This large-leaved tree has a beautiful form. Best adapted to mild winter areas. Produces some male flowers the first few years and eventually becomes fully parthenocarpic.
‘Wellington’
Originated in Geneva, New York. Reddish-black medium-sized fruit, 1-¼” long, ⅜” in diameter. Many berries are long and slender. Berry is very soft, but has a good flavor. Ripens over a period of several weeks. ‘Wellington’ is a heavy producer. Speculation exists that this variety may be the old cultivar ‘New American’, which was also sold many years ago as ‘Downing’.
‘White Persian’
Morus nigra. This is an unusual self-fruitful, and non-staining white fruiting phenotype of the black mulberry. Fruit measures up to 1-¼”, and is possibly the best tasting of the white fruited mulberries.
‘Dwarf Black’
A self-fruitful dwarf cultivar of Morus nigra, with strongly staining, small black berries, varying in size between 1/4″ to 1/2″ long, with an excellent sweet berry flavor. It produces both a spring and a fall crop, gradually increasing production over several years. The small berries are tedious to harvest, however, and are a bird magnet resulting in purple staining bird poop everywhere. The tree is rather slow growing up to 8-12′ high. USDA hardiness zones vary according to rootstock, either 5-11 or 7-11. A cultivar named ‘Black Beauty’ doesn’t seem to express much difference in berry size. Dwarf Black Mulberries do well in large containers.
‘Dwarf Everbearing’
Morus alba. Self fruitful. Heavy producer of strongly red-staining, small black berries. It grows 8-12′ high. USDA zones 5-11. This tree is often used as a rootstock to dwarf other M. alba trees, but is highly susceptible to root knot nematodes. This tree is often misrepresented as Morus nigra.
These have always been very abundant for us except when we have had root knot nematodes. The berries are tasty, albeit a bit fiddly to harvest (good for kids and chickens). Although the tarps-and-bowls-below-and-shake method works well for this one.
White Fruiting Mulberry
Morus alba. Self-fruitful. Non-staining, white colored berries up to 1″ long, are mild and sweet, and taste like mild honey mixed with melon or white peach. It grows to 30′ high. ‘Lavender’ is a pink to light purple-tinged variation, though birds are not as readily attracted to the white mulberry fruits. White mulberries tend to conserve the majority of their sweetness during dehydration.
‘Weeping Mulberry’ / ‘Pendula’
Morus alba hybrid. Not self-fruitful, staining, reddish-black. Fruit is relatively poor-tasting. Primarily grown as an ornamental from 8-15′ high and wide. I have tasted fruit of several trees. Fruit quality is inconsistent, some good, some taste green even when ripe.
Conclusion
Mulberry trees are very easy to grow and tolerate a wide range of soils and climates. Many modern varieties are self-fertile and still produce copious amounts of delicious, seedless fruit without the need for pollen. Some varieties have a long production season.
Pakistan and other M. macroura hybrids come off the tree easily for harvest, but are also blown off the tree easily in spring winds. Morus nigra are excellent options in regions where winds may be a concern. The fruit is kept fresh on the tree until several days after initial ripening, allowing harvest time.
They produce wonderful summer shade, but are also decidedly deciduous, allowing sun penetration and warming in the winter. An ideal location would be far enough away from potentially damaged concrete walls, walks, and from water lines, sewer lines, and septic systems.
Choose for flavor, or choose for non-staining berries. Keep away from sidewalks and driveways to prevent the extra mess of sticky berries. Birds love them as much as people and may spread seeds and purple poop everywhere. White fruiting types and some cultivars such as ‘Pakistan’ and ‘White King’ will not stain.
“Fruitless” mulberries produce pollen and should be avoided by people with allergies and in areas where allergies are especially a concern. Many municipalities erroneously ban the sale of all mulberries as “pollen producers”.
Morus alba and Morus macroura are used in the raising of silkworms, but they will not eat the leaves of Morus nigra. Morus alba has naturalized in much of North America and easily hybridizes with Morus rubra. Morus nigra is found occurring naturally in only a few states.
Regardless of what kind of mulberry you decide to grow, the shade, the lush greenery, and the amazing fruit are all worth the small amount of effort they require. You can’t get much better than a plant that is tasty, nutritious, AND so easy to grow. I hope you have fun designing your edible paradise and do let me know if you manage to find space for a delicious mulberry in your dreamscape!
~Jason Tibbetts
Edible Landscape Artist, Educator, Designer, and Coach
It is common knowledge among gardening folk in the desert that mesquite and many other desert trees are nitrogen fixing legumes. Here are a few reasons why the desert is full of nitrogen fixers.
Nitrogen is Essential
Nitrogen is one of the most important essential nutrients that plants need to be able to survive and thrive. Nitrogen is an essential ingredient in amino acids, proteins, hormones, etc, but while nitrogen makes up more than three quarters of the gas in our atmosphere, for plants to be able to use this nutrient it must be converted from its gaseous state into its ionized salt forms. Unfortunately, once converted into these usable forms it begins to vaporize back into a gas at a mere 90 degrees.
Here in the low desert of Arizona, we often don’t see the near side of 90 degrees for more than 6 months of the year. The process of converting nitrogen into a usable salt form is very energy intensive. This is because the molecular bonding of nitrogen is very strong, thus there are only three ways that I am aware of by which it can be achieved.
Three Ways Nitrogen is Converted into Usable Salt Forms
First, nitrogen can be converted into a plant usable salt form from mixed natural gases, such as methane through the industrial fertilizer manufacturing process known as the “hagen bosch system”. Again, energy intensive, but possible, and applied on a huge scale by industrial farming systems through the conversion of extracted fossil fuel natural gas into nitrate fertilizer.
Second, nitrogen can be converted by the ionization that occurs from lightning coming in contact with nitrogen gas. Ever wondered why rainwater seems to make plants grow better than municipal water? This is one of many possible reasons why. Again, an intense amount of energy is used to break these strong nitrogen bonds. Lighting is intense.
Lastly, the nitrification process can be accomplished by nitrifying bacteria that colonize the roots of many species of legumes, of which mesquite is one. This colonization thereby aids in the growth and survival of so many other plants in the mesquite or ironwood guilds in the hot, dry, desert climate. Nitrifying bacteria included in this powerful sorcery of ionized nitrogen include many species in the genera Nitrosomonas, Nitrosococcus, Nitrobacter and Nitrococcus. These are some of the smallest and most important superheroes on our planet.
Nitrifying Bacteria
Have you ever seen a tree growing out of a crack in a cliff, like in the photographs on the cover of an Arizona Highways magazine, or on a drive through the mountains? It is unlikely that there is any soil in that crack. No available nutrients via dirt. But the populations of bacteria on the roots of those plants are huge and essential. The bacterias and fungi are breaking down rock and extracting nutrients from the air. They then exchange those nutrients with the plant roots, even colonizing inside the plant’s cells!
So it turns out that this relationship between nitrifying bacteria and plants is a large-scale commonplace operation. Not just on legumes, but on the roots of many other plants too. Some of these plants have direct relationships with species of bacteria that do not fix nitrogen, but those have relationships with some species of bacteria that do fix nitrogen. It quickly becomes a very complex and interconnected web of micro and macro relationships.
But the most well-known relationship of nitrifying bacteria is with the roots of leguminous plants. This understanding that certain species of legumes enrich the soil for other crops is not new. In fact, the practice of using nitrogen-fixing legumes as a cover crop has been a practice in nearly every agricultural civilization probably since the dawn of time, even if all of the details of why it worked may not have been fully understood.
Nitrogen Fixing Cover Crops
Lupines in South America, clover in Europe and Australia, alfalfa in the Moroccan region, and vetch in the United States, cowpeas, bambara beans, and peanuts in Africa, rushpea, pigeon pea, and fenugreek in India, lentils in Western Asia and Canada. Native Americans cultivated pink fuzzy bean and hog peanuts in the woods, as well as Hopniss, a leguminous tuber that in southern regions also produces a reliable bean pod.
In perennial agroforestry applications black locust, acacias, leucaena, sesbania, and hundreds of others have been used worldwide for the same purpose- to increase fertility and production of surrounding crops. Another tree, Red Alder, which is not a legume, but also has a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria that colonize its root system, has also been used extensively in more recent times in permaculture guilds.
Nitrogen improves fertility and production for the garden and orchard
A few years ago, while in conversation with some county extension agents, I heard of a study that was conducted by the University of Arizona using clover as a living mulch under citrus trees. The scientists found that citrus orchards under-planted with some species of clover performed exceptionally well. The trial resulted in a citrus crop that required maybe a third as much fertilizer as traditional orcharding systems. (The study was terminated early due to an increase in overall biological diversity, which included a sharp increase in the rattlesnake population, thereby putting the scientists, orchardists, and fruit harvesters at greater risk).
Microbial Relationships
Every plant on the planet has essential microbial relationships. Ironically, some of these bacteria and fungi that are found on seed coats (that serve to strengthen a newly germinated root system) can handle boiling water, freezing temperatures, high salt environments, even the high
doses of chlorine found in our municipal water supply, but the microbes that coat seeds are often killed when seeds are coated in ionized nitrogen fertilizer.
And we think that our species is so smart! Sounds like a great idea- package a seed with a bit of “plant food” to give it a good start. However did nature manage without us for so long?!
Some people think that some other people run the world, but I beg to differ. I think that microbes run the planet, even in our hot deserts, and among their superheroes, are nitrifying bacteria. You want a healthy garden, plant some legumes and let the microbes do what microbes do best!
Most people think of Bermuda grass as “the tough grass.” But it’s not just that, it can be one of the most invasive weeds in the world, which may have something to do with its other appellation “devil grass”.
So here’s the scoop, for those of you are aware of it’s aggressiveness through personal experience, you know you have a few options. You can continue to hand pull it out of your garden… forever, you can ignore it’s incessant creep into your garden beds and tree wells, and just give up altogether as many gardeners are consigned to do, or you can sacrifice a season of planting to permanently eradicate it and likely never have to deal with it again!
In the 20+ years that I have been in the landscaping industry and over the course of the last decade of consulting only one person has taken me seriously enough to get rid of it before installing anything (including contractors who knew better). The rest were impatient, planted too soon, and probably continue to deal with it to this day. Maybe I am not convincing enough, which is one reason I am attempting to spread the word through this post. Get the stuff out!
WHAT IS BERMUDA GRASS?
“Never make a plan without knowing as much as you can of the enemy. Never be afraid to change your plans when you receive new information. Never believe you know everything and never wait to know everything.” ~Robert Jordan~
“The most efficient way to lose a fight is to act without knowing your enemy.” ~Frank Matobo~
Before attacking your enemy, it is imperative to know them. Bermuda grass, contrary to what may seem obvious, doesn’t hail from the island of Bermuda, but from South Africa. Why is this important information?
The climate in South Africa is similar to the sunny low deserts of Arizona, except for a couple of things. First, the average temperatures don’t dip quite as low as they do here in the winter, and second, the majority of the continent of Africa has basically one rainy season, and the rest of the year it is very dry.
As a result Bermuda grass loves sun, and has adapted to be very drought tolerant, surviving 9 months or more (up to several years) without water by forcing itself into dormancy when growing conditions are not suitable. When growing conditions are suitable (lots of sun and water) it grows very fast, actively storing sugars and nutrients in it’s rhizomes.
Bermuda does have a virtue. It is a bio-accumulator plant. Minerals and nutrients mined by it’s root system are brought to the surface and sloughed off as the plant sheds old material or dies. These nutrients will become available for your new plantings once you remove the active rhizomes of the grass.
Although many of us have made some efforts to eradicate it (like removing surface soil, or chemically spraying it,) we are often tempted to think that our Bermuda problem has been resolved, but in reality, it is just… “sleeping” only to roar to life with some sun, heat, and water. At least it’s not a deadly weed that will kill you upon touching it.
Such a grass was a perfect breeding stock for the agricultural and landscape industries, which have developed many different varieties over the years since its first debut into the landscaping scene. Before getting rid of it it may be helpful to know what kind you have and what it’s strengths and weaknesses are.
SEED-TYPE V.S. TIFF-TYPE BERMUDA GRASS
Bermuda grass, for the purpose of our discussion of removal, can be organized into two main types. Seed-type, and tiff-type. One is often grown or propagated via seed and the other is a seedless hybrid that is propagated only by “stolons” or pieces of the plant. Because this type rarely produces viable seed, this type is purchased primarily as sod.
For the remainder of this discussion I would like to refer to seed-types as “common” Bermuda, and tiff-types as “hybrid.” Common varieties are much harder to get rid of than hybrid varieties, but both are generally not welcome in gardens and tree wells. And frankly, I don’t even recommend them for lawns, myself. We can go into detail on what we do recommend for “lawns” in another post.
SEED-TYPE, OR “COMMON” BERMUDA GRASS
Common Bermuda varieties are usually very vigorous and often have roots that “mine” for nutrients and water up to many feet deep. If your grass is a seed type, congratulations, your Bermuda is going to be a lot harder to get rid of (but feel even MORE worth it!).
Pasture Bermuda is a type of common Bermuda grass that was bred to create large amounts of biomass to feed grazing animals. Unfortunately for those who are trying to remove this one, the depth of the rhizomes sometimes mirror the achievable height of the grass (4-6 feet tall/deep), and the feeder roots go much deeper.
You know you have some variety of common Bermuda grass if the un-mowed grass forms seed heads in the summer that resemble 2-3 inch wide inside-out umbrella ribs. Yes, those are seed heads and represent this plant’s ability to propagate and spread long into futurity.
The Ag industry realized at some point the terrible potential of this grass so many hybrid varieties have been developed that are much less aggressive and can make a decent summer lawn.
TIFF TYPE, OR “HYBRID” BERMUDA GRASS
Hybrid varieties are seedless. You can find this type at many garden supply stores in the warm weather. It is the sod we are all so familiar with. Breeders were able to cultivate characteristics into the grass that were desirable for a drought tolerant, manicured tiff-type turf. It is also “softer” because the leaf blades grow closer together and the grass doesn’t grow as tall. Thus, it also does not possess as deep of a root system, nor is as hardy to drought and other environmental factors.
Sod varieties of Bermuda are the ONLY types I have ever recommend to people who insist on installing a traditional summer lawn. While it may produce a small seed head 1-1.5 inches across, it never sets seed, and can be easier to manicure, maintain, and control. Because once you pick your grass, its quite a commitment.
Unfortunately, common Bermuda seed is cheaper to buy than sod, and is sold as “summer grass” seed as opposed to “winter grass” seed in many nurseries and garden centers in the western United States.
I personally prefer to take all Bermuda out, plant winter grass and other “lawns” earlier, and let it go later. This way I can enjoy a softer green during the cool season, and rarely have to mow the lawn in 115 degree weather!
Some of you may say “Why have a lawn at all?” Very good question, and for you maybe a lawn isn’t the answer. However, I am not just growing food, I am growing kids too, and they grow well on lawns.
Regardless of your motives, removing Bermuda can be a challenge.
HOW TO GET RID OF BERMUDA FOR GOOD
There are several ways to get rid of Bermuda grass that work depending upon your specific area and application. I recommend taking an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach, which considers attacking the problem from many different angles, working from least toxic to most toxic as necessary.
First, and most thoroughly, you can remove it through good old fashioned digging and sifting out rhizomes. This is generally my recommended method. This is how gardeners get buff!
Second, mulching often comes up online as a recommended method of removal by organic means, but be warned, from experience this only works for hybrid varieties with shallow root systems, and generally only after tilling the roots up or in conjunction with other eradication methods.
Third, solarization is the suffocation and “cooking” of Bermuda grass during the hottest months of the year. Again, this will kill only the rhizomes in the top few inches of soil and will leave that soil largely sterile, as most microbes will also perish in the process.
The last method, and ironically the most common, is using chemicals. While I may recommend the use of chemicals in some applications, I urge caution and education. Chemicals, are rarely sufficient on their own, and if they are entirely successful, you may be left with residual doses in your soil.
Also bear in mind that some varieties or individual stands of grass may have developed a genetic resistance to some chemicals, making complete eradication by this method not achievable. For more information on this subject we will be discussing the use of herbicides in another post.
In smaller garden and areas intended for the planting of trees I recommend digging and sifting first, then you may consider mulching or spraying whatever you missed. If you are thorough, you should not have to spray at all.
DIGGING TIPS
Here’s the meat of the whole subject.
When digging, you first need to know what you are looking for. The rhizomes are not too difficult to identify. They are thick, usually white or pale yellow and have joints. They generally grow in a horizontal direction unless they have been disturbed. These are the only ones you absolutely must remove. Any joint left in the soil has the potential to resurface with a vengeance.
If the soil moisture is consistent then the rhizomes are generally tough enough to be able to dig out in identifiable chunks, making the process not too complicated. If the soil is too dry, the rhizomes will be extra brittle. The feeder roots however, are thin and wiry, and head downward from the joints. These are not a concern and will not re-grow. That said, as I have been teaching my kids, “when in doubt, dig it out!”
1. WATER FIRST
Making sure that your patch to be removed has had moisture a few days in advance does a few things. First, and most importantly, its easier digging in softer soil. Second, the rhizomes will have sucked up some moisture and be more pliable and easier to follow without breaking off. Dry rhizomes are brittle and make removal in nice sized chunks more difficult. Don’t dig in mud though or you may damage your soil structure. Prepare a day or two in advance with a long-slow soak and then a partial dry-out period.
2. USE A SIFTER
If you find yourself questioning your life’s priorities and purpose as you tear up your backyard in an effort to eradicate a little weed, you may consider making it a little easier on yourself by acquiring or making a sifter. Mounting a screen onto a table-like frame that can be placed above the work area or a wheelbarrow may save your back. The best I have found is a wire mesh or expanded sheet metal with 1/2″ diameter holes. Just shovel the dirt onto that, shake with your hands, shovel, or trowel and it will catch most of the roots and rocks, just keep a sharp eye out for the occasional joint that slips through.
3. DON’T BRAKE IT OFF, FOLLOW IT
When digging out deeper rhizomes, try to not break pieces off. Instead, follow them down until you find the end. Follow it like you are carefully tracking the source of a disease! If you break it off prematurely and fail to get it all, it will send a vertical rhizome from the deeper area to the surface making the new rhizome thinner and harder to trace in the future.
4. WORK FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER, BE METHODICAL
Work from one end to the other. As you dig, place each clump of dirt that needs gone through in a “clean” spot and immediately go through it, this way you don’t loose your place and you are left with a pile of Bermuda free dirt!
5. BE THOROUGH, DON’T LEAVE ANY BEHIND
You have got to be thorough. Any joint left in the ground after your first attempt at removal has the potential to resurface and take over if left unchecked. Don’t leave any behind. From experience, such a rhizome can travel 15 feet or more before resurfacing in just a couple of months.
6. DON’T GIVE UP!
You are going to want to give up. Battling Bermuda is hard work if you are going to eliminate it. Just remember what you are working for… A BERMUDA FREE YARD! I promise it’s worth it! You will never have to stress about Bermuda grass again if you force yourself to get it out now.
MULCHING
As I said before, mulching may work in certain situations with hybrid Bermuda varieties, but it will require tilling/fine cultivation first to break up the grass’s ability to store and transport sugars to the foliage.
Bermuda needs sun. Think photosynthesis- the plant converts sunlight to sugars. If the grass is continually buried in a coarse mulch each time green pokes through, it will substantially weaken it, but blocking sun alone, will likely just force it into dormancy.
Bermuda is a grass. Grasses need a constant supply of nitrogen during their active growing season. In order for microbes to break down carbon, nitrogen is used up. Deep mulching (1-3 feet of woodchips or straw) will not only block out sunlight, but the grass will also have a hard time competing for nitrogen in such a carbon-rich environment (think of the process of making compost). Therefore, this method, if done right, should not be applied where fruit trees are already existing- they also need nitrogen to survive and will struggle along with your Bermuda grass.
From my experience, this method works best in tandem with the other methods.
SOLARIZATION
Have you ever heard of a solar oven? Using sunlight to “cook” Bermuda grass also works.
Solarization is the process of placing thick, clear greenhouse plastic over a large patch of bermuda for several months, sealing the edges with dirt and rocks. Thus, probably not an option in a front yard with an HOA because its not very pretty.
Bermuda begins actively growing when the night-time temperatures are consistently in the mid-sixties. For us in Phoenix metropolitan Arizona, this is usually early to mid-April.
Bermuda begins storing sugars for winter beginning in mid-August through about mid-October. Placing your lawn in a solar oven from mid-April to mid-August or September and then tilling it up does some substantial damage. Just be prepared to work on the remaining rhizomes that do emerge thereafter.
While solarization is considered an “organic” method, what will kill one organism will also hurt others. The cooking process leaves 3-4 inches of soil microbially “dead”. This takes quite a bit of time and organic resources to restore, though something that us gardeners are usually not afraid of.
The other downsides of solarization include an often-incomplete kill, (which is why this strategy works best in conjunction with others) and an ugly plastic sheet in your yard all summer that is sun-damaged itself by August and will need thrown away.
USING CHEMICALS
If you are attacking pasture, or some other aggressive form of Bermuda grass and have chosen to take the chemical route, this is what I recommend:
1. CHOOSING YOUR CHEMICAL
Despite all the litigation surrounding it right now, glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is one of the only chemicals I recommend. There are many herbicides that are much more toxic, and way more resistant to breaking down in your soil than glyphosate. This chemical may be useful when trying to eradicate a large area indiscriminately, as it is considered a “non-selective” herbicide.
The other useful chemical to battle Bermuda grass is the brand name Fusilade II. This is a remix of the chemical base Fluazifop. Fusilade II may be used to selectively eradicate Bermuda grass from plantings of shrubs, flowerbeds, and yes, gardens. It has been determined safe in garden settings, as it is minimally toxic and breaks down quickly. The only reason that I may consider glyphosate over Fusilade II is that Fusilade II is substantially more expensive.
To hopefully answer all your questions and concerns we will be doing another post on chemicals in the near future. To put it briefly for now, glyphosate and Fusilade II are minimally toxic in comparison to other herbicides and they break down relatively quickly in your soil.
2. WAIT UNTIL THE WEATHER IS RIGHT
The best time to spray is in the summer during its active growing season. The most effective kill will be from August through September, but don’t wait all summer to get on it, by then it will have taken over.
Don’t spray before rain. The chemical is only absorbed through the foliage of the plant, not the roots. If you spray and then it rains, you will have wasted your chemical and time. The chemical needs a minimum of 3 hours, preferably 24 hours prior to getting wet.
Spray in the early morning hours. The majority of the chemical is absorbed through the pores of the plant called the “stomata”. These pores will be much more open in the early morning hours and in the late evening hours.
3. WATER, BUT DON’T MOW FIRST
Because the chemical is absorbed only through the foliage and is inert at the root zone, it is much more effective to spray grass that is high and green- there will be more foliage to take the chemical in. Let it grow a little tall before spraying.
Watering the grass will stimulate the stomata to open up. Give it a little water a day or two before you spray, but don’t water after or you’ll be washing off the chemical.
3. DON’T STOP UNTIL IT’S DEAD
One application of chemical will rarely suffice. You will likely have to be on top of it the whole summer to be sure it’s completely dead. A good rule is to water, then spray, wait till it is all dry and dead, mow off the dead, water, then spray again in a week or two.
If you spray once and forget, the grass will go dormant and seem dead but may come back more resilient to glyphosate the next season. Bermuda allowed to go to seed after a spray application will produce some offspring that will be glyphosate resistant.
IS ALL THIS REALLY WORTH IT?
Bermuda can teach us lessons. As you spend time digging out Bermuda, you will find out much about yourself. You will discover your true ability to push forward through obstacles to create what you envision. You may also learn lessons. Resilience. Preparation. Adaptation. Hard work. Gratitude (there are worse weeds out there). Accomplishment.
I learned these lessons at 17 years old when I spent the summer tackling my first real Bermuda removal project. I envisioned a beautiful entertainment area from what was then a yard overrun with Bermuda grass and weeds. A hot summer with a pick and shovel taught me much. The task was monumental, but it became spiritual.
We had a friend a few years back who made a commendable effort to remove their Bermuda grass, but then decided that they had to get their potted trees in the ground before the heat of summer. They determined to just dig it out where they wanted trees now, cover the rest with wood chips and work on it piece-meal from there.
Not surprisingly they are still dealing with it. It has now taken over their tree wells, garden beds, and is coming up through the bottom of their pots. What a pain!
I have another friend who took me very seriously. As a university professor with a young family he was a very busy man, but he was determined. He built a sifter. He set up a tent. He worked his tail off all summer and within two years he had a thriving garden of beets, watermelons, onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers. He was picking apples, apricots, bananas, blackberries, grapes, figs, mulberries, papayas, plums, and pomegranates… in a Bermuda-FREE yard in just two years.
We have done the same thing and received the same results. Bermuda grass is a PAIN. Do yourself a favor and do the work from the start. I PROMISE you will be glad you did. If you have Bermuda grass, dig it all out. Period.
I get it. No one really wants to spend all of that effort, which is why few have done it. I’m starting all over in a new yard, and believe me, I am fighting off the urge to start sticking trees in the ground and planting garden beds. But the Bermuda has to come out first. We will plant our paradise, but only AFTER we dig out the grass. Until we accomplish task number one we just have to be patient and work hard.
We can do this. For questions and encouragement, use the comment section below.
We came across this beauty by mistake mislabeled at a local plant sale. It is no wonder that this plant is well known among flower gardeners. Jewels of Opar, known as “Fame Flower,” “Waterleaf”, “South American Ginseng,” and “Pink Baby’s Breath” is a purslane relative native to the Caribbean and southern portions of the United States. It’s sprays of tiny pink flowers that become ruby orange seed capsules can be a great addition to your edible landscape!
A BIT OF HISTORY…
Jewels of Opar has been used for centuries! Its seeds were collected by indigenous peoples (can be compared to flax seed). In the Chinese medicinal practice known as Tu-ren-shen it has been used to tone digestion, moisten the lungs, and promote breast milk. Here’s some trivia, soldiers in WWII ate the leaves as food!
DESCRIPTION
Jewels of Opar displays beautiful sprays of tiny pink flowers that bloom in the afternoon. As the season progresses these give way to ruby orange seed capsules that hover over lush green plants! Don’t be fooled by its daintiness! This is a tough little heat tolerant perennial that can grow in just about any soil. When cool weather greens such as lettuce begin to get bitter at the end of the season, jewels of opar stays tender and sweet with mild flavor and a hint of lemon. This green is an energy packed succulent that thrives in our hot summers, and comes back for several years.
This is one of our favorite Summer-greens because that’s when we’re craving cool foods like salads, sandwiches, and smoothies, to which this plant lends itself well. This crunchy succulent is excellent for picking and eating right off the plant and tastes great as a lettuce or spinach substitute!
NUTRITIONAL VALUE
This power packed succulent green is crammed with healthy goodness! Jewels of Opar is a great source of omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and is rich in iron & potassium. In fact, it contains such high levels of iron that scientists studying it developed the mantra, “a leaf a day keeps anemia away.” It has antifungal and antibacterial properties as well. In fact it is so amazing that I had to make a list of all the things it has been used for.
As an effective herb for treating lung diseases and ulcers
Enhances vitality
Used topically to treat edema, skin inflammation, cuts, and scrapes.
The juice soothes sore muscles and acts as a muscle toner
In China the roots are cultivated as a ginseng substitute
Used to treat diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, and pneumonia
Induces lactation, works as reproductive tonic and restores uterine functions postpartum
Used in Indonesia for liver and kidney problems
Treats diarrhea
It should be noted, these greens are great in moderate quantities. If consumed in large amounts may cause vomiting and shortness of breath in some people. Even so, we had a small handful in our green smoothie every morning for months during Marin’s pregnancy with amazing results.
TAKE NOTE: Because this plant is so effective at extracting minerals from the soil, it has been used in phytoremediation sites in soils that are contaminated with nitrates and metals. It will absorb toxic metals, from the soil, so don’t grow it in a contaminated area.
CULTIVATION
Jewels of Opar readily self sows in gardens, and you can collect the seeds yourself to plant where you desire. As an edible landscape plant it looks beautiful as a border flower. From June until frost they send out panicle after panicle without deadheading even as the older ones mature. We have found that it grows very well direct sown or from cuttings in direct sun or partial shade. They need plenty of water initially since they are a succulent, but may tolerate drought once established. They look beautiful in a flower bed as you start to see the delicate stalks pop up. Tolerant of poor soils and heat.
DESIGN
Jewels of Opar makes a gorgeous delicate filler flower for borders and containers. having several packed into one space is beautiful when sprays of delicate pink flowers start to bloom. Jewels of Opar provides features of interest throughout most of the year.
In sunny spots, it looks good paired with perennial border plants such as society garlic, garlic chives, Thai basil, penny royal and oregano. For afternoon shade settings, pair with flowers such as nasturtiums, pansies, violets and strawberries.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, Jewels of Opar tastes great as a snack right off the plant, but we especially enjoy it in salads and green smoothies! In fact, this is one of our sneaky ways to get our kids eating greens. They love picking and eating the leaves!
Without a doubt, Jewels of Opar wins. Absolutely one of our favorites. I like to think of it as a nice pick me up in the quiet peaceful morning when I’m out enjoying our edible paradise.
If you have any question or comments please share!
Sweet potatoes have been around for centuries. Domesticated sweet potatoes were present in Central and South America more than 5000 years ago. People obviously liked them and shared the bounty with others because now they are found all over the world including the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia. The first Europeans to taste sweet potato were some of the members of Columbus’s expedition when they landed in Haiti in 1492. Now, most of the world can enjoy this sweet tasty versatile food in their kitchen, and garden.
We first discovered the joys of growing sweet potato plants a year after we got married. Marin had just returned to Arizona from New York missing the greenery and ivy that grew wild there. The hottest part of an Arizona summer was just beginning, and not a season of weather we generally look forward to.
That May we plunked a leftover piece of a purple sweet potato in the ground. We put it right under the eves of the house not far from where the A/C unit left a constant condensation drip. Most plants this time of year wilt no matter how much water you give them and seem as if they will turn to dust if you touch them. But for this sweet potato, in the miserable summer heat, oh joy of joys! It thrived and quickly became a lush groundcover reminiscent of the ivy Marin so fondly remembered in New York! It took off and filled that entire border area so well that we had to trim it back drastically every time we mowed the lawn!
We have learned much about growing and using sweet potatoes since then and now we highly recommend this incredible plant for anyone who is growing an edible landscape! Not only are the tubers tasty and colorful and the greenery beautiful, but it is a two-for-one crop. Sweet potato leaves taste great too!
SWEET POTATO OR YAM?
This topic usually needs some clarification. The many different types of “Sweet potatoes” and “yams” found in markets in the continental United States are generally the same species, Ipomoea batatas. “Batatas” is the name that the native people in Haiti called them when Columbus arrived. The Spanish later changed the name to Patatas, and then when introduced to the common potato, they also called that patatas. Now we call them sweet potatoes because they resemble a potato, but the Ipomoea was there first!
Here’s where the names “sweet potato” and “yam” gets confusing. The tubers that we eat may be classified by their two different characteristics of texture when cooked. These two distinctions are those that become moist-and-sweet when cooked, and those that remain somewhat dry and flaky (resulting in different ideal uses in the kitchen). Some varieties are able to convert more starch to sugar during cooking and will be more moist and sweet. These are often marketed as “yams” while the varieties that are comparatively drier and starchier are usually differentiated as “sweet potatoes”. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always apply and they may be marketed with interchangeable classification. Generally, the drier ones are not as readily available to home gardeners and are less common in markets due to less popularity, giving rise to markets using the appellations “yams” and “sweet potatoes” more fluidly.
To complicate matters, “true yams” of the genus Dioscorea are often sold in international markets in bins right next to bins full of Ipomoea sweet potatoes and yams. Sometimes they go by the name “yams” and other times they go by “ñame”, the common name of yams in many Latin American countries. Another species of Dioscorea is called “yamaimo”, or “Chinese yam”, one of the varieties of Dioscorea from China or Japan. Occasionally there are other Dioscorea species available as well, but as true yams are a very interesting topic, we will save that discussion for another post. True yams are generally not as sweet as Ipomoea cultivars, which is why the differentiation “yam” can be so very frustrating. Note: while the leaves of sweet potatoes are edible and delicious (as will be discussed later), the leaves of most Dioscorea species are toxic, and even fewer of the tubers are safe to eat raw.
CHOOSE IT:
RELATIVES
In addition to the sweet potatoes that we are familiar with, the genus Ipomoea also contains several perennial wild types and relatives globally. Upon inspection, you will see that they all bear the signature flower of the common garden morning glory and moonflower, which are members of the genus though generally not considered edible without extensive preparation. In North America, there are a few that can get quite large (known colloquially as “manroot”) and are supposedly best when the roots are carrot size. One such is Ipomoea pandurata known by some indigenous American peoples as “mecha-meck”, and another is I. leptophylla. I. aquatica, also known as “kang kong” or “water spinach”, is invasive, and in some places illegal, aquatic species grown in Asian communities for its delicious greens. There are many other edible and medicinal species of Ipomoea around the world including I. mauritiana, I. costata, I. simplex, and others. Identification and methods for processing Ipomoea vary according to species and we will not go into detail here.
Ipomoea batatas, our common tetraploid sweet potato, only exists as we know it in cultivation. While not particularly cold hardy, in theory, it could potentially be crossed with some of its cold-tolerant wild relatives such as I. pandurata. Worldwide there are somewhere between 6500-7000 different varieties of the familiar domesticated sweet potatoes, with new ones coming out all the time. In the United States, there are roughly 100 popular ones. Here are some of the more common sweet potatoes that we have grown.
NOTABLE CULTIVARS:
‘All Purple’ (120 Days to harvest); Dark purple flesh with purple skin. Hardier than most. A fast and strong Grower (deep and long brittle roots may need containing). Roots are dry and starchy, slightly sweet, and store well. Best tubers are grown from slips. Will become fibrous and inedible if left in the ground too long.
‘Beauregard’ (90 days to harvest); Orange flesh with red-orange skin. Vigorous vines. The early-maturing variety produces high yields.
‘Centennial’ (100 days to harvest); Orange flesh with copper skin. Fine-grained. Early. Semi-bush vines produce tapered roots. A commercial standard in U.S. High yields and a good keeper. Performs well in clay soils.
‘Georgia Jet’ (90 days to harvest); Deep orange flesh with red skin. Moist. Very fast-growing semi-bush type.Early producer.
‘Ginseng’ (120 Days to harvest); Orange flesh with pale orange skin. Vigorous semi-bush vines. Prolific producer. Dry, but sweet. Distinctively lobed “trident” shaped leaves.
‘Hernandez’ (120 days to harvest); Orange flesh with light red skin. Reddish-purple-stemmed. High yields from vigorous vines may produce some “football-sized” tubers in each bunch. Mid-season. Very sweet and moist when cooked. Great baking potato.
‘Jewel’ (100 days to harvest); Orange flesh with copper skin. Moist. Vigorous semi-bush vines produce uniform roots that are good keepers. Mid-season.
‘Red Japanese’ (95 days); White flesh, with red skin. Dry but sweet. Popular in Asian markets. Vines of average vigor are disease resistant. Heavy producer (if watered well). Midseason. Cultivars we want to try:
‘Okinawa Purple’ Deep purple flesh with light beige skin. Slow vines. Very late.
‘Okinawan’ Purple flesh with pale purple skin. Slow vines. Very late.
‘O’Henry’ (100 days); White flesh with white skin. Sweet and creamy. Short busy vines. Early producer. Heirloom.
‘Porto Rico Bush’ (110 days); Copper skin covers sweet, moist, Deep orange flesh with copper skin. Moist. Compact bushy vines.
‘Vardaman’ (110 days); Deep red-orange flesh with yellow skin. Bush variety with burgundy-bronze new foliage. Midseason.
‘White Hayman’ (100 Days); White flesh with cream skin. The flesh is starchy and sweet and turns more yellow when cooked. A good substitute for “Irish Potatoes,” but with a sweeter flavor. Vigorous vines produce large uniform roots. Midseason. Heirloom.
New foliage of ‘Japanese Red’ sweet potato vine
Sweet potatoes come in many different foliage colors and textures. All ornamental varieties that can be purchased from your local garden center will have edible and nutritious leaves, which is why they are perfect for an edible landscape! (though very few will produce a tuber and even fewer that do will prove palatable). We often see the purple leaves next to the chartreuse green leaves that make a perfect pop. All are edible, but some are sold for their glamorous foliage, others for their tasty roots, and still others are cultivated specifically for their tender, flavorful greens.
PLANT IT:
SOIL PREPARATION
One of the most important things to consider when planting sweet potatoes is that they require a loose and “roomy” soil 8-12” deep to grow good tubers. Fail to provide this, and other aspects of planting and soil preparation will matter little, as your tubers will be no bigger, and of no more culinary value, than a doorstop.
PROPAGATION METHODS
The most common method of propagation is by “slips”. Slips are vegetative shoots that come from the tuber itself. These can be obtained by rooting a tuber, or a piece of the tuber, in a jar of water using toothpicks to suspend it partially submerged in the water. Keep the water fresh. The new shoots that result within a few weeks in a sunny windowsill or under a grow light can then be removed, and themselves rooted in water. Good slips will have sturdy, thick stems, be 6 to 9 inches long, and have at least 5 leaves. One medium-sized sweet potato should yield about 12-20 good slips.
Within a few days of placing slips in water, they will have inch long roots and will be ready to plant. These will have the highest likelihood of forming beautiful spuds. In areas with a long growing season, such as ours, you can also remove shoots from an actively growing plant and root them in water for transplant, though some sources say that the resulting tubers may be more fibrous- I have not noticed. Whichever method you choose, lay the sprigs sideways an inch or two under the surface 18” apart and top with compost and organic mulch.
I have also simply placed a sweet potato in a brown paper bag on the back porch in late April until it sprouted and then planted it. Tubers still result and it’s less effort!
PLANTING SEASON
The best time of year to plant sweet potatoes in our area is March to June, usually whenever you would also be planting okra. They both love that heat!
GROW IT:
MICROCLIMATES
Sweet potatoes are a tropical vegetable and appreciate the long, hot, humid summers. When it’s too hot for me and most of my garden, sweet potatoes thrive. The ideal location for growing thriving sweet potatoes is a position in the all-day open sun, though they can grow (with smaller tubers) in locations that receive a partial day’s shade. While sweet potatoes do not prefer reflected heat, most varieties can take it, as long as they have sufficient water.
COMPANION PLANTING
We have found in our own gardening experience that they make good companion plants for our banana trees, as they have the ability to shade the soil and improve fertility in the surrounding bed. They would also work well as a companion plant for ginger, canna lily, lemongrass, garlic chives and any other complimentary strap-like foliage that can hold up to the groundcover’s desire to “cover” its companions.
LANDSCAPE USES
Sweet potatoes make a marvelous summer ground cover to shield, protect, and nourish the soil. They look great covering a sloping mound, or greenery butting up against a lawn or a walk. Every container for effective curb appeal must have 3 features: a “thriller” in the center to catch the eye and provide a focal point, a “filler” to buffer the base and provide additional color, and a “spiller” to give the pot a skirt of foliage; a wall of greenery. In a sunny spot or hanging over a wall, sweet potatoes fill this function with stunning excellence. You may even be graced with some of the gorgeous morning-glory flowers late in the season.
As part of their effectiveness as a cover crop, they have also been found to have an allelopathic relationship against certain weed species. Of particular mention is their skill at making the soil environment less suitable for yellow nutsedge, an annoying perennial weed in warm weather climates that is very difficult to eradicate in cultivated and uncultivated areas alike.
Because sweet potatoes are a water and nutrient storage organ for the plant, they form as the long days wane and require regular watering for sizeable tubers. The plant is, however, fairly drought tolerant and will survive periods with little moisture, though the tubers may be of poorer quality. Sweet potatoes will produce the best tubers if they are watered regularly, starting with daily dosages the first week after planting and slowly weaning back the quantity throughout the season, while still maintaining consistency. Make sure that the watering is deep during hot, dry periods for best tubers. However, if plants receive too much water late in the season many varieties will crack and attract pests such as earwigs and woodlice, which will cause further damage to your tuber crop. The resulting tubers look more like garden goblins than those smooth sweet potatoes that you buy in the store. The trick is to find that balance.
FEEDING
While fertilization during the active growing season is not generally necessary because of its nature as a biodynamic nutrient accumulator, it is essential to start with a soil that has good tilth and have some level of organics and phosphorous. For extra vigorous plants, you may consider an occasional application of compost tea or liquid organic fertilizer as a foliar feed after the plants have been in the ground for a month or so. Be conservative, as too much nitrogen will result in excessive growth that will be a prime target for pests such as flea beetles, aphids, caterpillars, and crickets. While this largely doesn’t affect your tubers, if you are also planning to make meals out of the leafy vegetable part, this may present a problem. In short, feeding is helpful, but not too much!
MAINTENANCE
Pruning should be moderate. If you find that the plant is escaping its bed and traversing areas you would rather it not, simply pick up the vines and throw them back into the bed. By evening the leaves will likely reorient and you may not even be able to tell what you did.
MULCHING
We have found that a 2-3” layer of wood chips works wonders as a surface mulch for this plant. The chips keep the moisture in and evenly distributed while simultaneously providing a slow feeding as they break down. It is valuable to have a buffer layer of compost under the wood-chips to ensure that the plants are not starved of nitrogen. The added bonus is that the tubers form near the top of the soil just under the chips. Simply reach down under the mulch and pull up a tater for lunch (although it won’t have been cured yet)! This is an ideal way to maintain the aesthetics of the groundcover in the landscape and still get a harvest. The other advantage of this is that it prevents the vines from rooting in as they go across the ground. Instead of getting a million tiny tubers, the energy is spent on the tubers you will be harvesting.
HARVEST IT:
WHEN TO HARVEST
Sweet potatoes take about three to four months to reach maturity. Know your variety- If you let them go too long they may start to get tough or invite pests, but they are usually ok to leave until the first light fall frost. You can begin harvesting them as soon as they are big enough for a meal. Usually, sweet potatoes are ready to harvest when the leaves and ends of the vines begin to yellow. Some of the late-season varieties are best harvested after the first frost has turned the leaves black. If you are harvesting late, dig them out and leave them to sit on the ground with the dirt on them for another couple of cold nights to improve the flavor. This practice will depend upon the variety.
HOW TO HARVEST
Start by cutting the vines back to a six-inch shrub. This allows you room to work and a landmark for your digging. Most varieties will be found 4-6 inches deep in the soil with some vigorous varieties (like the ‘All Purple’) found deeper. If the tubers were grown in a raised bed or hilled they may be easier to dig out. Use a spading fork or broadfork to avoid the common mistake of slicing through tubers with a shovel. Loosen the dirt in a wide berth around the crown of the plant providing room around the roots so you don’t damage your crop. You may want to carefully lift the plant and use your hands to dig up the tubers, as they bruise easily. After digging up the tubers, shake off any excess dirt, but do not wash the roots.
The leaves are best in the early and mid-season but may be picked all summer long until the frost gets them in the late fall. Do not harvest too much, however, or you will be doing so at the expense of good tubers.
PROCESSING/CURING
Sweet potatoes need to be cured to develop maximum sweetness. Essentially this thickens the skin and heals over scratches that occurred during harvest. To begin that process a neighbor friend of mine recommends leaving the sweet potatoes out on the porch for the night after harvesting in cool weather, dirt and all. She said that’s what made them the sweetest!
Initially, they should be kept in a warm place but not too hot- about 75-85°F, ideally with a humidity of about 80-90% for 1-3 weeks. Warmer than that and they will sprout; too moist and they will spoil; drier than that and the skin won’t toughen up enough. Do not wash them however, as any residual moisture on the roots can cause them to spoil faster. Maintain good air circulation to prevent spoilage during curing. Placed in paper bags on the back porch in the shade with a wet towel on them works, placed one layer in a plastic grocery bag with holes on a sunny windowsill works, or in a storage tub on a rack with some water in the bottom works. Whatever your method, you have options. In the warm south where fall is still very warm (like here in Arizona) a garage or a shady garden shed works well for the location to cure them.
If you live in a more humid part of the United States an outdoor location in the shade works because the latter part of the summer usually includes humid weather. Some people pack them in crates of clean damp sand, but it is better if they have air circulation and are not touching. For this reason, you may opt to leave them in a single layer and use a small fan to improve the air circulation to prevent spoilage.
STORING
After curing, sort sweet potatoes and discard those that are bruised, sprouting or molding. You can then place them in the sand or wrap the tubers in a breathable newspaper and pack them in a box or basket for long term storage in a root cellar, basement, pantry, or garage. The ideal location for long-term storage would maintain a temperature range of 55°-60°F and 60% humidity for a minimum of 6 weeks. Storing in this way will improve the keeping quality and flavor yet more. If the storage location falls below 55 degrees for too long the centers of the potatoes may develop hard, white spots, but If it remains too warm, 60 degrees or higher, the potatoes may soften and shrivel and start to sprout. Stored properly, the tubers should last for up to 6 months.
Some people recommend putting an apple in each box of sweet potato tubers to prevent them from sprouting. This is probably because an apple releases ethylene gas as it continues to age. The gas acts as a growth suppression and fruiting hormone. Personally, I think that I would rather not find a rotten apple in my sweet potatoes a few months down the road, especially since The ripening enzymes found in the sweet potatoes themselves can accelerate the ripening process of other fruits and vegetables.
Without going through the effort for long-term storage you can keep sweet potatoes in a cool room for a few weeks in root form and a little longer in the fridge. For long-term cold storage (up to a year) they really should be diced or sliced, then cooked, or cooked then mashed before vacuum sealing and freezing. Adding some lemon juice to them will help maintain the vibrant color. We have found that slicing, roasting and freezing them works great for long term storage and convenient for later use.
The leaves work well frozen if you plan to use them within six months. For safety reasons we recommend blanching the leaves and then straining quickly and dropping them in ice water, then pat dry prior to freezing or dehydrating them. For leaves taken from our own yard we usually just rinse them and throw them in a freezer bag or use them directly.
USE IT:
TUBER VERSATILITY
Sweet potatoes can be used in curries, chutneys, casseroles, desserts, roasted, sauteed, boiled, baked, or cooked in a crockpot with other vegetables. They often make a superior substitute to pumpkin in dishes as well. Their uses are nearly endless. The drier, starchier varieties are sometimes used as a potato substitute, while the moist varieties don’t make good potato substitutes, but rather lend their own unique virtues to the culinary experience.
One of the best traditional uses is of course baked. The tubers should be washed clean, poked with a fork several times, then coated in olive oil and placed on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400°F for 40-60 minutes. Do not wrap in foil so that the sugars can caramelize. When they are done they will be soft when you squeeze them. Watch out it’s hot! Or you can cook them in the microwave on high for 4-6 minutes. They will be soft once cooled.
EAT YOUR GREENS!
Aside from the sweetest and tender root that is so familiar on our Thanksgiving plate, the leaves have a variety of uses in the kitchen as well. The leaves are great for stir fries, green smoothies, salads, and casseroles. One amazing quality is that the leaves hold flavor better than any green I have come across. If you season them well and saute in the flavor, they can be put into any dish such as quinoa or rice as a savory spinach substitute. One of our favorite recipes using the leaves is Savory Garlic Chicken Bake on a thick bed of sweet potato greens. While they do not disintegrate when cooking like spinach does, they cook down a lot and it is easy to use a whole bag full in one dish.
‘Japanese Red’ sweet potato vine
FEEL IT:
THE TUBERS
These naturally fat-free vegetables are rich in protein, fiber, sugars, and carbohydrates, but are lower in calories, and have a lower glycemic load than traditional Irish potatoes. The vegetable as a whole has a strong anti-inflammatory effect, whereas yams and Irish potatoes are moderately inflammatory.
An average sized cooked tuber without salt contains 37% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C, along with Vitamin K, and B Vitamins Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pyridoxine (B6), and Folate (B9). This dish also provides 438% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin A, which comes in the form of carotene. Carotene, once quickly converted into Vitamin A, has powerful free-radical fighting properties. Additionally, it is rich in other antioxidants, anthocyanins, chlorogenic acid, coumarins, and other nutrients.
Let’s not forget the minerals! It contains approximately 28% of the recommended daily value of Manganese, as well as high concentrations of absorbable Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Phosphorous, Magnesium, and Copper.
THE LEAVES
We love our summer greens! Part of our beloved morning routine includes going out in the morning to forage greens from our landscape, including sweet potato leaves, for our morning green smoothie. This tradition is largely to take daily advantage of the nutritional supplement provided by the greens that we are using.
Sweet potato leaves have many of the same nutrients as the tubers and are a great source of vegetable protein, Calcium, and Iron, and are highly anti-inflammatory. They are a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, and B Vitamins Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pyridoxine (B6), and Folate (B9). As a green leafy vegetable, they are also high in Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, and Manganese. Vitamins A, E, D, and K are fat-soluble minerals essential for building strong bones, cartilage, teeth, and hair.
Sweet potato leaves contain a small amount of oxalic acid, which adds to the pleasant flavor, but not enough to harm and therefore may be used raw as well as cooked. The leaves are also a great source of dietary fiber and very beneficial for maintaining the digestive tract, as evidenced by the slightly mucilaginous texture. There is also strong evidence that many nutrients in the leaves are anti-mutagenic, therefore showing potential as a wholesome anti-cancer food.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The sweet potato plant is one of the best options for a great edible landscape, not to mention one of the easiest groundcovers to grow! We hope this information leads you to a bounteous harvest in your progress to paradise!
How are your sweet potatoes growing? Any ideas, suggestions, or recipes that have worked for you? Please comment to share!
You may have heard of the great benefits of composting. You may have tried a few methods and had some success. Many people want to do it but don’t know where to start. There are tons of composting methods out there, and we have tried several. Here are the 5 simple steps that we recommend to have a compost system that works.
1. CHOSE A SITE FOR YOUR COMPOST
KEEP IT CLOSE
Ideally, a compost would be situated near your home so that it’s easy to dump your leftovers without excuses! As we use a substantial amount of produce and empty it multiple times a day, we recommend not placing your compost so far away that it’s a pain to take out!
AFTERNOON SHADE
Don’t put it right against the house, since there is a potential for bugs, decay, and some smell. Be assured, that if you are doing this correctly the smell is of minor concern! If it’s done right, it will have a sweet earthy smell that some describe as reminiscent of apple blossoms. Choose a place that provides some afternoon shade to prevent the pile from drying out too quickly.
NEAR THE COOP
Next to the chicken coop is also a good idea, because you would be visiting it often. Chicken manure is too “strong” to apply directly to your garden without composting it first. Every time you clean out the coop or pens you wouldn’t have far to haul the stuff! Some people I know even decorate their compost bins to match the “theme” of the chicken coop and make it “pretty.” The important point though is to have it in easy reach and ideally a straight shot from your back door. Other than that anywhere should work.
2. SET UP A COMPOST SYSTEM
There are an innumerable styles of compost systems out there. You can use a single bin and flip the pile right in place, or use multiple bins and just move the pile from one to the other. Find a system that works for YOU!
SINGLE BIN SYSTEMS
A single bin works great if you are generating a small amount of compost. Depending on where you live, cities may offer upcycled municipal waste collection bins for free or a small deposit. Some conveniently elevated models have a crankshaft for turning and can fit a wheelbarrow underneath.
MULTIPLE BIN SYSTEM
If you are like us and end up with an enormous pile of compost seasonally you may consider a multiple bin system. One stall is for the currently-working compost, the second for mostly-finished compost, and the third stall contains compost that has been sifted and ready to use, or is empty. Once a stall is empty it becomes the receptacle for the turned stuff from another stall.
The ideal sized compost pile for optimum breakdown is 3’H x 3’W x 3’D. In our case we used salvaged pallets for this. You can find them for free or low-cost if you ask local shopping locations, distribution centers, businesses, or plant nurseries (where we got ours). No pallets? Simple wood construction works just as well. There is no shortage of DIY compost system tutorials out there!
BUILDING YOUR COMPOST SYSTEM WITH PALLETS
Our system is composed of seven pallets of similar size with narrow gaps between boards. Each pallet is cut down to the desired height and the base boards removed. After several years of use we have had to reinforce the bottom portion of a few of the pallets with plywood. A few tree guy poles driven into the ground in strategic locations provide the vertical supports and everything is then screwed together with a box of deck screws. This provides three “stalls” open in the front.
If you want to get started right away and don’t want the hassle of setting up bins or stalls you can simply use piles and shift from one pile to the next. Just move it over and keep it moist. When our drip system is not hooked up to it, we have a hose with a valve operated spray nozzle on the end and just spray each layer between each toss with a hay-fork. This exercise provides an excellent upper body workout!
3. KNOW WHAT YOU CAN AND CANNOT PUT IN YOUR COMPOST
The basic idea is to put mostly PLANT material in your compost, and DIVERSITY is good. This includes vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, potato skins, leaves, small yard trimmings, grass, weeds, manures, and so on.
BALANCE THE GREENS AND BROWNS
There is a vast amount of scientific information out there about the perfect balance of carbon (browns) and nitrogen (greens), but that frankly overwhelms most people. Having composted for years I suggest not making it so difficult for yourself. Layer about half “greens” and half “browns” for a good mix that should break down fairly quickly.
For clarification, anything still juicy or with pliable cells, such as kitchen peelings, could be considered a “green”. Anything dehydrated and crispy, such as dried leaves or straw, may be considered a “brown.” Fresh citrus leaves have some tough cellulose so I consider them mostly a brown.
COMPOSTING WEEDS
I highly recommend composting weeds BEFORE they go to seed. If your compost is hot enough (we will cover “hot composting” below) there will be no problem and the weed seeds will break down, but rarely do they all. So compost your weeds early, and the really seedy ones just feed to the chickens, put in the trash, or dump in the burn pile.
EGG SHELLS
Although they are not plants, eggshells are great for adding nutrients and minerals to your compost soil, however I recommend processing them first. To use eggshells in your garden it is best to first let them dry somewhere (on the counter, in the garden shed, etc.).
Once they are fully dried then you can powder them in an old food processor (keep one in the garden shed?). Use an old one from a second-hand store because egg shells will dull the blades. The resulting powder can then be mixed with dusting sulfur to speed the breakdown process once it is added to your compost or soil.
You can amend your garden beds directly with eggshell fertilizer prior to planting! Not only do worms love it for the protein source in the dehydrated membrane of the shell, but it is a great source of calcium, which is essential to prevent blossom end rot on tomatoes, peppers, and squash. Be aware, because eggshells take a long time to break down, it is best to add this consistently over multiple seasons, thereby building up the available calcium in your soil.
WHAT NOT TO PUT IN YOUR COMPOST
Now that you are clear on what is safe to put in your compost, here is what you should NOT be adding! Avoid high proteins, fats, oils, and grease. In addition to favoring the wrong kinds of bacteria, these items may also attract the undesirable insects and critters. There are separate systems for these items such as vermicomposting, anaerobic digesters, and black soldier fly hatcheries. If you are interested in more information about these, feel free to leave a note in the comments below and we would be happy to share more info or possibly a future post.
WORMS
Do not put worms directly in your compost system. If your compost system is working properly the heat will kill the worms. I do however, throw every fat juicy beetle grub (Japanese beetles, June beetles, etc) that I find into the compost. I don’t necessarily like them munching on plant roots in my garden, but they do a fantastic job at speeding up the breakdown process of cellulose. If I find them in my sifted finished product they go to the chickens. The advantages of redirecting nature’s energies to fulfill multiple functions is marvelous!
DON’T FORGET THE LABELS!
Be sure to remove the plastic store-bought produce labels from your fruits and veggies. It is very annoying to find and remove them from the compost pile or garden beds after the fact. It took us a few rounds of finding old fruit labels in our garden soil and reminding the family before they were no longer showing up in the pile!
4. KEEP IT MOIST
WHY DOES MOISTURE MATTER?
Moisture is essential for your compost system to quickly break down organic material. As we live in a hot, dry desert climate, this may be an issue. If your pile is not maintaining sufficient moisture it will “petrify” and become hydrophobic, thereby becoming very difficult to re-wet and need an extra watering of each layer, as well as the addition of some liquid form of nitrogen (fish emulsion works) to restart the breakdown process. Additionally, if the pile stays too dry ants, cockroaches and other critters may decide to move in and call it home.
If your pile is too wet, it will “putrefy” and become gross and stinky. This problem seems to exist much less commonly here in the desert. For many years we had our drip system hooked up to the back of our compost stalls with a fogger emitter that wet it down every time the trees got watered. It certainly made the moisture levels more consistent and that has become my recommended way to go. We simply mounted drip lines on the outside of the back wall and attached a misting emitter to each line. Whatever method you choose, the idea is to maintain moisture. As you turn it you may find dry layers. This is when an additional spray between layers is needed.
5. TURN IT OFTEN
SPEED UP THE BREAK DOWN
A 3′ x 3′ x 3′ compost pile that has the perfect mixture of greens and browns and the perfect moisture content, but is not turned will take about a year to break down on its own. Each time you turn it you provide oxygen to the microbes and cut the break down time in about half. If your system is running smoothly and being turned every 2 or 3 days, you can ultimately get finished compost in as little as three weeks. Here in our hot, dry summer months it will likely be more like six weeks depending upon the pile’s moisture levels.
MICROBES
If the microbes in your compost system are busy doing work for you and they have an ideal environment, it is not uncommon for the pile to heat up to about 160°, and the center of the pile will likely be hotter. If the pile is sufficiently hot weed seeds and unwanted pathogens will cook. The result will be sweet, earthy compost, full of life-giving nutrients!
SIFTING YOUR COMPOST
The last step before having compost ready for your garden is to sift. In some cases, especially where the ideally-sized brown material had been used, this will likely be unnecessary, but in our case we are using yard clippings, sticks and all, in our compost.
A 1/2 wire mesh or expanded sheet metal screen attached to a wooden frame and mounted above a wheelbarrow is all you need. The compost is then shoveled on, agitated, and the remaining bulky material is then thrown back into the compost pile to break down further.
If you are really lucky, you may have a spinning compost trommel mounted at an angle that does the work for you. Rough compost loaded into one end is spun and sifted, and compost will drop below into a wheelbarrow or a tarp while the bulky material travels down the tube to a collection at the other end.
FINAL THOUGHTS
SCHEDULE TIME
Plan on spending about 15 minutes 2-3 days a week turning and watering your compost. These steps should lead to a great system that can produce compost in 3-8 weeks. The multi bin system will offer you a pile of compost ready at any time to use in your garden.
LET IT REST
One final step! After your compost has completely broken down and added to your garden, let the bed rest for a week or two before planting. This will allow the beneficial microbes and fungi to populate your soil and invite good garden critters back in such as worms. As long as you feed your soil, your soil will feed your plants and you will be a gardening success!
So what is your favorite compost system and how has it worked for you? We would love to hear how your garden is growing! And as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
