{"id":151,"date":"2022-08-05T20:37:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-06T01:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/susannaridge.developerdan.com\/?p=151"},"modified":"2023-03-17T20:31:04","modified_gmt":"2023-03-18T01:31:04","slug":"elderberry-harvest-for-elixir-syrup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/susannaridge.com\/index.php\/2022\/08\/05\/elderberry-harvest-for-elixir-syrup\/","title":{"rendered":"Elderberry Harvest for Elixir\/Syrup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is a lot of work, but not hard labor. This is the fourth year of two original plants I purchased and planted. I have a John and Adam variety to ensure good pollination and production. When the berries start to turn black, I have to put netting on to prevent the birds from eating every one, as they do to the local wild plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is the Elderberry <\/em>section of my garden <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The dark spot in the upper right is a large plume of berries ripening. I have a wooden frame work to hold the netting, but I remove it after the harvest. Netting is tedious to rig as little birds can come in a small hole and become trapped. I cut off the plumes then rake or pick the berries off the stems. Laying them out lets them breath and ripen a little more. 
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Ripe berries before removal from stems<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is the tedious part, as there are usually a few green defective berries that need to be eliminated with the stems before they go on the dryer (dehydrator).
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This is a simple dehydrator without fans<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It takes about 24 hours to dry them sufficiently, as I rotate the trays. A dryer with a fan could be quicker. Then I remove them to jars for storage to keep the dried elderberries until we make our special elderberry elixir, a powered weapon against colds and sickness.
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I put the dried berries in jars for storage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Elderberry is used for the common cold, “the flu” (influenza), and H1N1 “swine” flu<\/strong>. It is also used for HIV\/AIDS and boosting the immune system. Elderberry is also used for sinus pain, back and leg pain (sciatica), nerve pain (neuralgia), and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).Jun 11, 2021 (https:\/\/www.rxlist.com \u203a supplements)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elderberry Syrup Recipe (the is one of many)<\/p>\n\n\n\n