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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 11, 2018 17:22:51 GMT -6
Elderberry ThreadI didn't see an elderberry thread here, so I thought I'd start one today.
A few years ago, the Monks at Clear Creek Abby traded me 6 elderberry plants for some Heavy Hitter Okra seeds. Two of these six plants are prospering and bearing heavily this year. The other four are closely browsed by deer and can't seem to catch up. The ones that the deer browse, never get more than 2' or 3' feet tall before the deer eat all the upper branches off of them. They bloom, but deer eat all the berries.
Thank goodness, I planted two of these plants near our house! The two that are planted safely away from deer depredation are taller than I am and are covered in ripe berries.
I don't know the cultivar of these bushes, but I think next Spring, I'll have cuttings available to share with friends, if anyone is interested in digging a few.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jun 28, 2019 1:09:11 GMT -6
A wonderfully refreshing Elderflower cordial:
This year, I was blessed with an abundance of elderflower, from my 6, elderberry plants, so I thought I'd whip up a quick batch of elderflower cordial to commemorate the time of year when Spring turns to Summer.
I harvested 25 elderflower heads at sunrise, at the peak of blossom, and quickly plucked all the flowers from their boughs while the fragrance was still in them. Making sure to remove all the stems, as the stems are somewhat toxic. You only want the flowers themselves for the best flavor.
Then, I juiced two whole lemons as well as using the zest of both lemons.
Once that was done, I prepared a 1 to 1 solution of sugar and water, dissolving it by heating to nearly boiling. I used (4 cups of sugar added to 4 cups of well water). After the sugar syrup had been heated to dissolving and had cooled to the touch, I added it to the lemon pulp and zest mixture, plus 1 teaspoon of citric acid to stabilize the solution.
I poured this syrup over the 25 elderflower heads, inside a one-gallon-non-reactive-brining jar. Once all the ingredients were safely inside the jar, I covered it with cheesecloth to keep out any gnats and let it steep at room temperature on the kitchen counter for 4 days.
On the 4th day, I strained the mixture through muslin and placed it into jars to be refrigerated.
To use this as a wonderfully refreshing Summertime drink, just add about one Tablespoon of the elderflower syrup to one cup of ice cold water and stir.
It will become your favorite Summertime refresher, at least until the basil plants are ready to prepare those awesome basil spritzers of July, and the Mint is ready for making those mint mojitos of August.
One of my 6 elderberry plants this year. this thing is over 8' feet tall and is already about 4' feet wide.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 6, 2019 13:33:09 GMT -6
Incredible as it might seem, my Elderberry bushes are still flowering. Those wonderful blossoms are the main ingredient in several of my cold and flu season remedies, so it is a real blessing to have them in such abundance this year. This plant has been blooming, non-stop, since Mid-June; it is, nearly mid-July, now and this plant is showing no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Every day seems like a wedding celebration, with these beautiful blossoms in view along my daily garden walk. If I hadn't thinned so many elderflower heads, earlier in the season, this plant would not be able to stand up under the burden of its own berry production. Using my dog, Bandit, as a reference to this plant's immense proportions, you can see plainly that it will bare several pounds of berries, despite having donated so many of its blossoms to the production my Elderflower Cordials. Compare this photo to the one taken on June 28th, as testimony to its vigor.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 22, 2019 16:01:02 GMT -6
This season, I have the most beautiful, black clusters of elderberries I've ever seen.
This year has been an extraordinarily productive year for everything I've put a hand to growing. It has been a strain to keep up with the bountiful harvests, but what a wonderful problem to have.
This evening, I am working on cooking up some elderberry syrup as a cold and flu remedy for winter. My plants are heavy, nearly to the breaking point, with huge clusters of shiny, black, elderberries. It's a good thing I thinned this plant's blossoms to make a gallon of elderflower cordial and a quart jar of elderflower tincture this Spring. What giving plants elderberries are. First, elderflower cordials for Spring, now elderberry cordials and syrups for Summer, next, cold and flu remedies for winter. I just love these plants! Notice the brand new crown of blossoms this plant is still producing among its branches. I've never seen anything like it. The good Lord above has blessed me with 6 of these wonderful plants. It took a few years to get them established, but now, they are really showing off and making me glad I took the time to mulch them and water them in their youth. They have paid me back 100 fold for my efforts.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 22, 2019 17:49:01 GMT -6
Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu, of Hadassah-Hebrew University in Israel found that elderberry disarms the enzyme viruses use to penetrate healthy cells in the lining of the nose and throat. Taken before infection, it prevents infection. Taken after infection, it prevents spread of the virus through the respiratory tract. In a clinical trial, 20% of study subjects reported significant improvement within 24 hours, 70% by 48 hours, and 90% claimed complete cure in three days. In contrast, subjects receiving the placebo required 6 days to recover.
Excerpt taken from: wellnessmama.com/1888/elderberry-syrup/
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 23, 2019 22:14:42 GMT -6
I picked a 5-gallon bucket full of Elderberry umbrels this week and ended up with about 4 pounds of berries after de-stemming them.
Once the berries were de-stemmed, I processed them into syrup to use this winter in making elderberry cordials. I got 8 wide mouth pint jars of this concentrate. When I need the cordials for a flu or a cold, I'll mix 3 Tablespoons of the concentrate into a cup of water and drink it much the same way as Roselle Tea.
All those berries were not even half of what is still left on the bushes; they were just the first wave.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 25, 2019 20:54:52 GMT -6
Today is July 25th,
It has only been two days since I simmered down the first batch of Elderberry extract syrup for making cordials this winter. Today, I picked another bucketful of Elderberries and made 8 more pints of concentrate.
I'd say I've harvested about half of the available berries out there. Those young bushes are incredibly productive.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Apr 25, 2020 19:58:42 GMT -6
I now have 60 elderberry plants started in my old hog pen. In another couple of years, I ought to be covered up in fresh elderberries. Right now, my Cotton Patch Geese are really enjoying all the Spring grasses popping up between the rows. Geese don't like wide leafed plants, so they don't bother my elderberry starts, they just eat the weeds that are growing up between them.
Now, that I have 10 geese, the extra weeds are a welcome sight. Growing geese can eat their weight in weeds about once every two or three days. The 6' foot tall chain-link fence around my old hog pen makes a good way to keep cats and stray dogs from gobbling them up, but I still have to watch for hawks.
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Post by mountianj on Apr 26, 2020 21:05:09 GMT -6
those are some nice elderberries.elderberries all over were i live.i need grab few wild ones and put couple around the house.found quite a few wild blueberries as well other day.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Apr 28, 2020 21:36:20 GMT -6
All I did was collect cuttings, about finger to thumb size in diameter, all from good elderberry plants that I had marked as heavy producers last Summer. I waited until they were dormant in February, right as the first sap begins to flow to the branches. Elderberry cuttings don't care if they have a branched tip or not, just as long as you have two, good, dormant buds you're fine.
As soon as I had the cuttings, I took a piece of old re-bar and a hammer, and began punching pilot holes in our rocky ground. I'd slip a cutting into each hole, then tamp it in around the base, using the hammer. I placed the first bud, just below the surface, with about 5" or 6" inches of good wood below it, for the buds to two feed off the wood-sugar until they could take root. I left one bud above ground, in case it was a mild Winter, and left one bud an inch or three below the ground in case it was a hard Winter, hoping one or the other would make it.
If the top bud freezes off, you can often-times dig down in early-Spring and find the other one still preserved by warmer temperatures near the soil level.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on May 6, 2021 18:46:53 GMT -6
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Post by heavyhitterokra on May 14, 2021 16:48:23 GMT -6
I finally finished pulling weeds in the berry patch today! I think it took 8 or 9 days straight to get them all pulled and to get all 60 of the berry bushes mulched, but now that it's done, I can take a day off. (My poor old back is sure glad of that!)Last year at this time, these bushes were just cuttings poked into the bare ground. Last year, it looked like a goose pen, full of little pencil sized sticks poking up every 8' feet. These elderberry bushes sure have done some growing since then!The goslings are really enjoying their bounty of Spring grass. It's amazing how many weeds these little guys can put away in one afternoon!Mom and Pop Goose are glad to see the green grass too!Having these geese to keep me company sure makes chore time a lot happier time for me. This is Sweet Pea, dropping by to say, "Hello."Taking a break to eat a bug.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on May 14, 2021 19:54:06 GMT -6
What a year to get into growing Elderberries! This is an excerpt from the, Nutritional Outlook website:How elderberry became an immune-health superstar last year. 2021 Ingredient trends to watch for food, drinks, and dietary supplementsFebruary 12, 2021Sebastian KrawiecNutritional Outlook, Nutritional Outlook Vol. 24 No. 1, Volume 24, Issue 1The COVID-19 pandemic solidified elderberry's place in the immune-health market in 2020. Continued demand in 2021 will push innovation and new product development, but it's also critical to ensure quality and authenticity ... Then the article goes on to say:While skyrocketing demand in 2020 was excellent news for elderberry suppliers and finished-product manufacturers, meeting that demand was challenging. The nature of the global pandemic made business operations exceptionally difficult, straining the supply for raw materials.
“Whenever you experience such a significant increase in demand of two to four times, chances are high there is going to be a strain to keep up with the immediate surge coupled with ongoing requirements,” explains Leslie Gallo, president of elderberry supplier Artemis International (Ft. Wayne, IN).You can read the full article here: www.nutritionaloutlook.com/view/how-elderberry-became-an-immune-health-superstar-last-year-2021-ingredient-trends-to-watch-for-food-drinks-and-dietary-supplementsFrom the sound of this article, elderberries are unstoppable! Of course, as all things, only time will tell.
This will be our first year to enter the Elderberry market, if we get any berries that is. We just planted them from cuttings poked into the ground last year, so our bushes are only one year old, but they are from mature stock, so they are currently beginning to form blossom heads that will soon unfold to form umbrels. If they pollenate, we could have berries, but last year, hardly any of our other berry plants produced at all, because repeated, heavy rains kept pounding the blossom petals off before they could be pollinated.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jun 8, 2021 19:00:03 GMT -6
Today is June 8th, 2021. On May 14th, 2021, I had 28 elderberry plants as tall as I am. Today, I have 47 elderberry plants that are as tall as I am or taller (6' feet). They were all just cuttings a little over a year ago. I only planted them in February of 2020, so they are 17 months old right now and are loaded with blossoms. I've never seen anything grow so fast in my life!
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jun 10, 2021 6:36:37 GMT -6
Wow! I wonder if that’s elderberry in particular that grows so fast, or the location in your former hog pen. It must be beautiful and lush right now.
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