Mulberry leaves!

[Lennoncham]

So for the past month I have been collecting leaves off my mulberry tree and turning them into powder. I have only been taking the biggest leaves and letting the smaller ones grow.

I collect a bunch of leaves, cut the stems off, rinse them off, pat them dry with a towel, dehydrate them then use a magic bullet to turn them into a powder.

In the fall I will be harvesting the entire tree. I have been adding some of it to my dry gutloading mix (organic homemade) but the bulk of it will be turned into mulberry mash for silkworms. (Depending on how much I get I may have some for sale in the future)

I figured this is the best thing to do for long term storage. Last year I froze a bunch of leaves but they ended up getting freezer burn.

 

[JoXie411]

Looks like a lot of work good job

 

[Lennoncham]

Looks like a lot of work good job

Thanks. Ya it takes almost an hour for me to harvest and clean the amount of leaves in the first picture. Then I can only fit so many in the dehydrator which takes about 2 hours per batch to dehydrate. In the fall I may need to buy another dehydrator or 2 lol.

I was pulling leaves off the tree the other day and got kinda pissed because I have live here for 25 years so that’s 24 years of wasted leaves lol.

 

[Rlc1994]

Lucky! I’ve searched far and wide for a mulberry tree in my area only found 2 so far. One is in a park and the other was in a parking lot haha and I’m not about to go pick from those because I’m sure it’s against the law somehow and possible pesticides. I have 4 acres of woods behind my home and I still couldn’t find one. Guess I’ll just continue using the chow for now.

Do you just give them the blended leaves dry like that or do you add any water to it or anything?

 

[jamest0o0]

Very cool. I have a mulberry tree as well that I use for gutload, silks, myself, etc. Very nice tree to have around. Funny, as I've gotten more into the hobby, I have an appreciation for all the random plants and trees around. Constantly looking for something to use.

 

[Lennoncham]

Lucky! I’ve searched far and wide for a mulberry tree in my area only found 2 so far. One is in a park and the other was in a parking lot haha and I’m not about to go pick from those because I’m sure it’s against the law somehow and possible pesticides. I have 4 acres of woods behind my home and I still couldn’t find one. Guess I’ll just continue using the chow for now.

Do you just give them the blended leaves dry like that or do you add any water to it or anything?

Here is the recipe and cooking instructions for mulberry mash.

dried mulberry leaves - 29 ounces

soy flour - 28 ounces

Cornmeal - 6.1 ounces







Mix the powder with water.The first step in preparing powdered silkworm chow is to add water. You'll want to make sure that you use the right ratios of water and powder to achieve an ideal consistency.

• Some experts recommend a ratio of one part silkworm chow to two parts water.
• One pound (453.6 grams) of prepared chow should be sufficient to raise 20 to 25 silkworms through a complete life cycle.[5] You can scale your mix preparations up or down as needed.
• Use hot water to facilitate a better mix.
• Mix the powder and water for approximately three to five minutes to ensure that they are thoroughly blended together

Heat up the mixture in the microwave.Heating the mixture will help form a more solid chow patty. It can also help kill any bacteria or mold that may have formed in the chow mix.

• Cover the container with plastic wrap. This will help seal in moisture and heat the mixture more efficiently.
• Microwave the mixture for three to eight minutes, depending on the strength of your microwave.

Leave the chow in the refrigerator to harden.The heated chow patty should be left in the refrigerator until it hardens to a cream cheese-like consistency. Make sure the mixture is not too watery, as watery chow could potentially drown your silkworms.

• The exact duration of time it takes to harden will vary, depending on your refrigerator and the consistency of your chow.

 

[Lennoncham]

Lucky! I’ve searched far and wide for a mulberry tree in my area only found 2 so far. One is in a park and the other was in a parking lot haha and I’m not about to go pick from those because I’m sure it’s against the law somehow and possible pesticides. I have 4 acres of woods behind my home and I still couldn’t find one. Guess I’ll just continue using the chow for now.

Do you just give them the blended leaves dry like that or do you add any water to it or anything?

I have a weeping mulberry tree that came with the house lol. I believe it’s a male tree as it doesn’t grow fruit. Anyone know if that’s right? Lol.

Have you tried looking for weeping mulberry trees and not the red or white mulberry?

 

[Lennoncham]

Very cool. I have a mulberry tree as well that I use for gutload, silks, myself, etc. Very nice tree to have around. Funny, as I've gotten more into the hobby, I have an appreciation for all the random plants and trees around. Constantly looking for something to use.

Ya same. Stuff I used to pass by without a thought I’m now like oh can I use that somehow lol.

You must have a fruiting mulberry tree?

 

[Rlc1994]

I have a weeping mulberry tree that came with the house lol. I believe it’s a male tree as it doesn’t grow fruit. Anyone know if that’s right? Lol.

Have you tried looking for weeping mulberry trees and not the red or white mulberry?

I’m not sure haha. Do the leaves look similar to the white and red trees? I pretty much know when I see a red or white mulberry tree now because the leaves are pretty easy to tell apart from other trees and the ones bearing fruit always have a bunch of berries on the ground.

 

[jamest0o0]

I have white mulberry. It's in a pot still, but like 7ft tall.

 

[Lennoncham]

I’m not sure haha. Do the leaves look similar to the white and red trees? I pretty much know when I see a red or white mulberry tree now because the leaves are pretty easy to tell apart from other trees and the ones bearing fruit always have a bunch of berries on the ground.

I think they look the same. This is mine looks a little crappy cause I keep taking leave off it . A lot of my neighbours have them and I keep looking at them like I want your leaves! Lol.

 

[Rlc1994]

I think they look the same. This is mine looks a little crappy cause I keep taking leave off it . A lot of my neighbours have them and I keep looking at them like I want your leaves! Lol.

View attachment 240341

Yeah if they have similar leaves I don’t think I have any. I’ve looked pretty well and had no luck finding anything that looked like a mulberry tree. I have a bunch of oak,maple,crabapple and apple trees with a mixture of blackberry and blueberry bushes and a lot of bushy vines that I don’t know the name of. It’s pretty thick in those 4 acres so maybe I’m just not seeing one in the mass amount of brush and trees.

 

[Lennoncham]

Yeah if they have similar leaves I don’t think I have any. I’ve looked pretty well and had no luck finding anything that looked like a mulberry tree. I have a bunch of oak,maple,crabapple and apple trees with a mixture of blackberry and blueberry bushes and a lot of bushy vines that I don’t know the name of. It’s pretty thick in those 4 acres so maybe I’m just not seeing one in the mass amount of brush and trees.

Ya I haven’t even looked for wild ones around here. The red mulberry is actually endangered here so it’s pretty much illegal to even look at it lol. The white mulberry is apparently common here though and is mixing with the few red Mulberry’s left and altering there genetics to make them even more endangered.

 

[Connorology]

Have you successfully used that recipe for mash to feed any silkworms yet? I have been thinking about doing the same as I live in a neighborhood with several publicly accessible trees. I ground a bag of them up and was frustrated at only getting about a cup of powder so I have given up for now. I may resume if I get confirmation the recipe is solid.

 

[jamest0o0]

Wait. Why not just use them fresh?

 

[jamest0o0]

Oh nvm, winter storage... lol. My sticks ate frozen leaves over the winter, even freezer burnt. Not sure if silks would do that though

 

[Lennoncham]

Have you successfully used that recipe for mash to feed any silkworms yet? I have been thinking about doing the same as I live in a neighborhood with several publicly accessible trees. I ground a bag of them up and was frustrated at only getting about a cup of powder so I have given up for now. I may resume if I get confirmation the recipe is solid.

Not yet. It takes a lot of powder to make the mash. 29 ounces of dried powdered leaves = about 823 grams. That bag of powder in the pic is only about 200 grams.

I have used store bought silkworm mash in the past for silkworms though. But I basically had to fight with them to get it. It’s hard to find around here or you pay crazy shipping.

 

[Lennoncham]

Oh nvm, winter storage... lol. My sticks ate frozen leaves over the winter, even freezer burnt. Not sure if silks would do that though

Ya I did feed the less bad looking ones to silks but a bunch of them died. Not sure if it was the leaves or I was keeping them wrong.

 

[JIFFYPOP]

@Lennoncham gotsta send some of that my way, we are close enough eh lol looks aweome

 

[Lennoncham]

@Lennoncham gotsta send some of that my way, we are close enough eh lol looks aweome

Ya for sure! A batch of the chow makes about 4 pounds of powdered chow so I should have tons. Once I harvest the whole tree I should have enough to make at least 2-3 batches. Hopefully more.