metroMulberries


Kevin and his MulberryMobile!
Photo: Marsha Dillon

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Vendor: Kevin Lynch
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Website: www.metromulberries.com
Products: mulberries, nanking cherries, lemons, kumquats

Kevin Lynch, owner of metroMulberries, is not your typical vendor with large tables and a huge supply of produce, but he is a Market favorite and has become somewhat of a local icon on Saturday mornings. During the week he is a science teacher and on Saturday mornings he’s known as the "Mulberry Guy." Market customers find him selling purple mulberries from his electric car, aptly named the MulberryMobile, along with other produce he grows from his micro-farm in Palo Alto. Kevin took some time from his busy schedule to tell us more about how he started metroMulberries, his experiences with the Market and a favorite recipe for using mulberries.

In His Own Words: Q&A with Kevin Lynch

"How did the business start, and why mulberries?"
My wife and I are both PAUSD teachers. We had never tasted mulberries until we planted a tree in our backyard in 2003. We planted it along with other lesser-known fruit trees, like nanking cherry, serviceberry, and cornelian cherry. Our harvest was just one tiny mulberry fruit shared between us! But the taste was so unique that we bought three more trees the following winter, and our backyard is now overflowing with about 25 mulberry trees, along with all the other fruit we've shoehorned in there!

We started metroMulberries with our two young sons in mind -- to give them the experience of hard work, interacting with customers, managing money and so on.

"What do you enjoy most about the Market?"
The Downtown Palo Alto Farmers' Market has been a perfect fit for us. There's a real grassroots feeling here from the volunteer-run organization and a history of allowing tiny-but-local operations, like ours, to participate. I think our customers do appreciate that metroMulberries is the most locally-grown stuff at the Market; some are amazed that we produced all this fruit on a small residential property. But mostly they enjoy the taste of mulberries as much as we do. We display our berries on the back of our electric car, the MulberryMobile, which kids love gawking at.

We really look forward to our 10-week market season because we've made so many new friends among vendors and customers, and we’ve had a few adventures, too. Some people may remember when the wheel fell off my cart as I drove into the Market. We sold for four hours before finally calling for a tow truck! For two years all our sales receipts went into fixing the MulberryMobile, so it's certainly not about the money. It's about the people. Since we live and work in Palo Alto, we see some of our customers around town throughout the year, and many have become family friends.

"What's something people don't know about mulberries?"
There's no such thing as a mulberry bush. They are actually monster trees and easily grow five feet each year. I still don't know how to prune without sacrificing next year's fruit crop. The only way we squeeze so many apricots, cherries, and figs into our yard is to make heavy use of the espalier form. When I couldn't find any instances of mulberries grown this way, I decided to apply for a grant to conduct experiments on mulberry espalier techniques.

People do know this: you can't find mulberries at Safeway. Why? They are too fragile and perishable. We harvest by hand, tickling each berry from the branch. It's a Friday night family activity. My wife is an expert.

What lessons have you learned?
Birds love mulberries. So do squirrels. I'm grateful I don't farm for a living. Working at PAFM has given me new respect for our farm friends who bring in the fresh produce and baked goods we all love. It's really hard work with long hours.

What’s your favorite recipe using mulberries?
Here's a summer cocktail we enjoy after returning tired and happy from the Market. View the recipe.

What's on the horizon for metroMulberries?
We're working on a new mulberry variety that we’re excited about, and we’re hoping to get our boys more involved on Market days, but they're still pretty young.

How can people learn more about metroMulberries?
Serious chefs and others interested in midweek delivery can contact us at metromulberries@gmail.com. You can also visit my blog at www.metromulberries.com. Oh, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook as well!