Elderberry Adventures

The last few years I planted a bunch of elderberry shrubs. I wanted a close source for berries. None of these shrubs are producing. Anyhoo I was crossing a perpetual beaver dam on my property and low and behold there are some elderberries growing.

This year I picked some to make elixir, haven't made it yet. I found a good way to harvest it to pick the berry cluster and then take a fork and rake them into a bowl. Seems to work pretty good.

The elixir is made from elderberries, a bit of ginger and a few cinnamon sticks. I'll post my results when I do it.

I never knew elderberry grew here.

 

Randyt, where are you located? I’m in zone 3B so technically, elderberries are possible to grow and have been thinking about it.

Currently, we are spending a good hour plus each day harvesting blueberries, raspberries, crowberrries (Alaskan black berries), low bush and high bush cranberries. We are filling a newly installed freezer with a goal of 20 gallons of blueberries and 5 gallons each of the other berries. We make a fruit smoothies for my wife and I each day throughout the year and this should be enough for this. It would be great to add elderberries to the mix.

 

I'm in 4a tipp of the mitt, michigan. I not seen many wild elderberry around here. I was a bit surprised when I found them growing.

I want them for a elixir, supposedly it is a potent anti-viral

 

Be warned that not all elderberries are eatable. My property and this area is a jungle of "RED" elderberry brush. Utilizing these berries is dangerous at best. Never to be eaten raw. Generally the advise given is do not eat period. However there are some native ways of preparing for use in very small dose.

Where I grew up in Pennsylvania there were large orchards of Elderberries on the large old mansion estates.

 

A teaspoon full of elderberry syrup is a daily staple during the long winters.

 

In West Virginia they grow every where like weeds. Beside of roads, ditch lines, edge of fields, along creeks... literally everywhere. My family had an uncle that would collect 15 to 20 gallons every year to make wine with. I never acquired the taste for them I guess. Supposed to be good for you if your tired or in bad health.

Sourdough, I've never seen the red variety that I know of. Do the plants look similar? Do the berries cluster similar? Have always heard to never eat red berries unless you know what they are.

Dale

 

That "wretched" woman "Grizzlygirl" at the start of this Crovid-19 convinced me that I needed to add that for my immune health.

I get it from Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ESA36I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I am actually one of about 700 men smitten with "Grizzlygirl".

 

I was going to mention that elderberry elixir is reputed to fight off the covid.

Back to the edibility, it is my understanding that elderberry must be cooked in order to be consumed. The cooking breaks down a poison in the seed.

 

This is close to my favourite berry picker.
https://www.amazon.com/Linden-Swede...59181&sprefix=berry+,instant-video,251&sr=8-5

A cross between this and the other is what I use to pick hard berries like blueberries.
https://www.amazon.com/Berry-Comb-P...56&sprefix=berry+com,instant-video,241&sr=8-4

 

https://www.bing.com/images/search?...&form=IQFRML&first=1&scenario=ImageBasicHover

http://nativeplantspnw.com/red-elderberry-sambucus-racemosa/

 

Ref. Poison.......no 100% "Clear" answer.
https://normsfarms.com/blogs/growing-and-harvesting-elderberry/are-elderberry-bushes-poisonous

 

I think elderberry is akin to rhubarb or cherry pits. They claim a rhubarb stalk is good to eat but the leaf isn't, a cherry is good to eat but the pit is poisonous.

i harvest elderberries by picking the berry cluster by hand and then hold it over a bowl and take a fork and comb the berries into a bowl.

Here is a berry picker I made for blueberries. I have trimmed the wires back almost to the box.

 

grizzlyetteadams

 

I think some folks communicate on and off the forum.

 

I think that is used in a "tongue and cheek" manner. not meant literally

 

A couple of our members have posted pictures of berry pickers. I am rather on in life and I have never seen a berry picker of any variety whatsoever. Not one.

Made me think how these would have two purposes. 1) Pick berries; 2) Possibly prevent a snake bite.

Survival note of the day (I didst warneth thou):

One blueberry bush concentration where we used to pick blueberries was at approx 4000 ft. (1220 meters). A forestry road, but somewhat graveled (great!), led to the top of that mountain. The Appalachian Trail cut across it also. Therefore it was super easy to get up there (hiked/drove up there with friends, mainly the XX variety). Down a side trail, say 200 ft drop in elevation, was this Perfect gathering of blueberry bushes and they were immediately on the trail -- right on the trail, like God put them there. I'm seeing them right now in my mind; I'm there; left side, heading down.

OK, so this area was bear sanctuary even 45+ years ago. Never saw a bear on this mountain. Bears definitely not a problem, however had I seen one in the berries, I'd have let Mr. Bear have them. Problem: Birds like berries. Timber rattlers like birds. BIG snakes get into berry bushes, they just do.

Picking berries you WILL take your TALL walking stick/staff and russle those bushes before picking any berries. Thou shalt! A snake big enough to get a bird in its mouth shall do thee harm unto death. Maybe super-religious snake-handling church-goers would just reach in there, but it would be a cold day in Hell for me to just reach in there before clearing it with my walking staff.

Berry pickers to the rescue. What if you were using a berry picker to pick your berries, yet unbeknownst to you, there yet resided in that bush a fanged, legless, coiled, long slithery critter with vertical pupils of death and damnation. Uh-oh! Springs the serpent towards thee! Yet the valiant berry picker defeats these daemonic fangs before they can sink themselves into your hand. Praise be unto the Lord (with the aid of a berry-picker)!


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