Around the mulberry bush: Sample a juicy April delicacy in Hanoi

By Ngoc Thanh, Nga Nguyen April 2, 2018 | 04:41 pm PT

Hundreds of the capital's mulberry orchards are coming into season.

Groves of mulberries span over two hectares of Hiep Thuan Commune, Hanoi.The plants are divided between 14 households to be grown and harvested annually.

Groves of mulberries span two hectares in Hiep Thuan Commune, Hanoi. The field belongs to 14 families and are harvested annually.

Do Thi Can, a farmer, harvests the fruits.Our house has 400 square meters to plant 30 mulberry trees. We harvest them in April, then we cut off the stems to prepare for the next harvest season. Each tree produces about 80-90 kilograms of mulberries, she said.

Do Thi Can harvests the fruit. "We have 400 square meters and 30 mulberry trees. We harvest them in April, then we cut off the stems to prepare for the next season. Each tree produces about 80-90 kilograms of mulberries," she said.

Nguyen Thi Hoa plucks each mulberry meticuously.Weve had 20 trees for six years now. We started harvesting them back in February. Plucking them during sunny days will keep them shiny and juicy; we can harvest about two tonnes of mulberries each season, she said.

Nguyen Thi Hoa plucks the berries. "We've had 20 trees for six years now. We started harvesting them back in February. Plucking them during sunny days will keep them shiny and juicy; we can harvest about two tons of mulberries each season," she said.

Freshly harvested black and red mulberries.Color pigments from mulberries may leech onto the skin during harvesting. Farmers often rub limes onto hands to clean them.

Freshly harvested black and red mulberries. The juice from the berries leaves a stain on the skin, so farmers often use limes to clean their hands.

Clusters of mulberries wait to be harvested.40 days before harvesting, farmers would neither fertilize nor spray pesticides to let the mulberries ripen naturally, hence the varied colors.

Clusters of mulberries ready to be harvested. 40 days before harvesting, farmers stop using fertilizers and pesticides to let the mulberries ripen naturally, hence the varied colors.

Sellers come to orchards themselves to collect the mulberries.

Traders arrive to collect the mulberries.

Vibrant, succulent mulberries sit in containers, waiting to be delivered and consumed. Their main markets are Hanoi, Danang, Quang Binh, Quang Tri.In Hanoi, you can buy these at about VND25,000 ($1) per kilogram.

Vibrant, succulent mulberries sit in containers before being delivered to markets in Hanoi and central Vietnam's Da Nang, Quang Binh and Quang Tri. In Hanoi, you can buy them for about VND25,000 ($1) per kilogram.