The most frequently asked question is "How many mulberry trees do I need to raise a pound of silk?"
Truthfully, I don't know. I don't have enough personal experience in raising large quantities of silkworms, and there is little current writing on silk raising in North America. Older books say: nine trees to one pound of silk. By trees it's presumed they mean pollarded plants (those whose branches have been cut off to encourage the growth of new younger branches), at about 12 foot spacing. A true, full grown, unpruned mulberry tree reaches 30 feet, with a 40 feet spread. Two trees like that should be enough for a pound of silk, by my guess.
However, the modern preferred method of mulberry cultivation is to plant closely and prune to bushes. Shoots grow from stump-balls, and one cuts and feeds whole shoots, rather than strip off individual leaves. For this method, mulberries are planted close, at 3 foot to 4 foot spacings. My estimate would be that 100 such bushes would be needed for each pound of silk.
This is a great deal of planting. The advantage is that production can begin in the third year after planting year old starts. To grow mulberry to tree size would take 10 to 25 years.
It is also good to remember that the method of handspinning soft and fluffy yarns from the degummed cocoons gives a great yield of yarn per weight of silk. Four ounces is enough for a long sleeve body shirt or for a full size lace knit shawl.
Those of us who already have mulberry trees available can begin raising silk this year. Mulberry is plentiful in the Midwest. And in some Southwestern cities I've seen an abundance of trees planted as ornamentals in front yards. Ask your neighbors if you can harvest.
Many nurseries sell mulberries. Most are the white Russian mulberry, raised in quantity for windbreaks, erosion control and wildlife forage. Being seedlings, each plant is slightly different. A few out of a hundred grow delicately, with fine leaves and twigs. Most will have strong growth and fat leaves, which is what you want for raising silk.
Red mulberry is sometimes available, as is Black. All these types are fine for raising silk. They all have small berries which are good for jam or dried snacks, and the birds love them. If you want the big fat juicy berries, look for the grafted cultivar called, "Illinois Everbearing". To get berries you must let the plants grow into the larger tree-form. Red mulberry has a male and female separation, so the males do not fruit. Theres a bred fruitless variety that has good leaves and is planted a lot in Arizona.
Silkworms eat almost all types of mulberry but not those fruitless varieties that have big thick hairy leaves. When the silkworms are young, they like best the fine delicate leaves, and when the worms grow and are 2" or more they like the big but not too thick or dry leaves.
I always have or can get mulberries, so if you can't find them locally, or want quite a few at the best possible price, call me. I also sell the seeds for the white mulberry online.
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