The wild fruit we were forbidden to eat as kids now sells for 30 yuan per jin as a potted plant

Born in the 1980s in rural China, we were country kids through and through! As children we were curious about so many things in life, but anything to do with snakes, we always steered well clear of, just like the wild rural fruit we are talking about today - the mock strawberry (Duchesnea indica)!

I remember as a child, every Friday afternoon I would walk the mountain road home from the primary school in town, and on Sunday I would set off from home to walk back to school. It was hard going, but playing and roughhousing together with the kids from the same village was so much fun! I often saw bright red mock strawberries growing by the roadside and always wanted to pick a few to eat, but then I would remember what my family said - that mock strawberries are poisonous, or that there are snakes under the mock strawberry plants - and thinking of that, I did not dare.

The mock strawberry is a creeping, vine-like plant with incredibly strong survival ability. Every year after the spring rain, you will see lots of new shoots pushing up out of the ground. By summer you will see many small yellow flowers opening, and right after that comes the fruit, so in summer you see the red berries.

Last year I saw an elderly rural woman selling mock strawberries on the street, 30 yuan per jin! I was simply stunned. Shitou went back and looked up the information too, and found that mock strawberries are not only not poisonous, they also have the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, and of invigorating the blood and dissipating stasis, and are suitable to eat, so I planted a pot of them myself on the balcony!

Growing mock strawberries is very simple, because their survival ability is very strong. Generally you can sow seeds or take cuttings in spring, summer and autumn, and mock strawberries planted in spring and summer will all fruit in the same year. For the growing medium, ordinary flower soil is more than good enough. You can grow them on a balcony or outdoors. They quite like water, so water them generously, and that way more shoots will sprout. Mock strawberries generally fruit continuously in summer and autumn, and once the berries turn red they are ready to eat!

I always like growing a few potted vegetables and fruits on the balcony, to feed the family and to find a bit of fun too!