HOW to HARVEST & PRESERVE ELDERBERRY Safely & Efficiently

[@rahneclark1902]

Beautiful color for the elderberrys like beats😊

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you!

[@peterellis4262]

Happy KZbin anniversary ;)

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you Peter!

[@garrettpeters3438]

Happy first Yourubeversary Stefan and Magali! Vous avez accompli énormément en un an seulement. Bravo et bonne continuation, vous êtes une excellente source d’information et un exemple de vivre en harmonie avec l’environnement. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Merci beaucoup Garrett! Toi et Carole, vous nous avez beaucoup inspirés aussi!

[@katherinenightingale2205]

Congratulations and happy anniversary! Your videos and attitude are the Best ❤

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you so much Katherine!

[@tammyharder7488]

Hi , my first time here I just saw your video here and wanted to say thank you, I am from Minnesota and we just planted some Elderberry this past spring . It will be a while before we are enjoying a harvest like yours but I am very hopeful It absolutely looks delicious thanks for sharing.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Welcome to Willows Green Permaculture! All the best with your elderberries and everything else you do!

[@rogerkenworthy6380]

Hi Stefan, WGP; Congrats on your first anniversary! What an amazing property. Roger

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you Roger!

[@AlsanPine]

oh, the ones i planted last year are not ripe yet. we have had a very cool august and they are not fully established yet. they are also getting a bit too much shade from a cherry tree. absolutely gorgeous flowers though 😍 animals do learn, you are absolutely correct. my resident deer could easily get into my food forest but they don't. in fact they chase non resident and young deer out of my gardens. i love my girls 🙂we have 5 pairs of fawns this year ❤ happy anniversary ❤❤😁

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

I would love to have some resident dear! I love the stories you tell about your wildlife. Elderberries tolerate shade very well. They may not give as many berries in the same area, but it doesn't matter, because they can occupy spots that you might no otherwise be able to produce food on. We have elderberries in the forest surrounded by trees, some we propagate, some started growing on their own, doing fine.

[@AlsanPine]

@@WillowsGreenPermaculture took a better look today. it looks like there were ripe ones on the other side but the side i see all the time is still flowering and has younger berries. it is the pocahontas variety and it is going nuts! taller than i am and heavy growth with many heads of flowers and berries at different stages. the w. side gets more sun and those were the berries that are gone 🙂 i absolutely love the flowers. so beautiful. in your land, i am sure they will propagate like crazy but here, i have to water them. the other variety, cant remember the name now, is farther out of the way and didn't get as much water and is much smaller and only has a couple heads of flowers. wonderful experience though, i am glad i got these slips last year. always wanted to try elderberry 🙂

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

@@AlsanPinethat’s great! It’s nice when they ripen at different times. It makes the harvest more relaxed.

[@AlsanPine]

@@WillowsGreenPermacultureive been so busy with the section i revamped this year, all the elderberries were harvested by the birds 🙂 i am surprised at how verdant this one is. constant growth and constant flowers. i guess she is happy 🙂

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

@@AlsanPineit’s a very beautiful plant, just on its own, and then those giant flower clusters and fruit clusters!!

[@happyhobbit8450]

Nature is cooperation Competition is the way 'they' divide us ... we actually do it to ourselves I need to grow Elderberry ... Thank you for your awesome video!!!

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

You’re very welcome! It’s a pleasure!

[@coletupling5008]

Happy first anniversary Stefan! Hope you know you're not just a dude on KZbin making videos about permaculture, you're an inspiration. I'm only in my mid-twenties, and discovered your channel just a few months ago, and permaculture only last year. It's really encouraging to see someone out there living a dream I only really figured out was an actual possibility recently. Your outward gratitude and kindness to the rest of nature emboldens me to wear those values on my sleeve instead of feeling unusual for holding them, and gives me hope for the world. Cheers to another year! 🎉

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you Cole! You have shown me that you have captured the essence of my videos, and that is very heartening! That gratitude... I learn more every day, more than I already thought I knew, how connected we all are to nature, and how nature gives so much to us.

[@kirstypollock6811]

Great video. I have lots of elderberries, and as well as syrup, I've also frozen the (unsweetened) juice in ice cube trays then pop the cubes out and store in the freezer for making tea. I use old tights (pantyhose) to strain!

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

That's great! Love the old tights usage! There are so many ways to do so many things!

[@peterellis4262]

I harvested our first crop of elderberries from our own bushes this year and used them to make tincture.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

That's great! How do you do that with elderberries? Do you put the whole berry in alcohol, or just the juice?

[@maryjane-vx4dd]

I didn't expect elderberries this year because I just planted them last year. I was told they would take several years to produce. My bushes are totally covered. I will probably go forage in the mountains also. All the berries are green, so I'll have to wait to pick

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

I'm sure they'll be ready soon enough! Good luck foraging!

[@GrandmomZoo]

You changed my elderberry picking life!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you so much! I am glad I can be helpful!

[@RhondaMurphy-r4m]

Happy Anniversary. I love watchin your videos. They are so beautiful and i am learnin a lot from you. Thank you.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you!

[@GardnSavvy]

Got my first bunch this year and I’m drying them to store for syrup ❤

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

That’s great! All the best!

[@ssstults999]

Happy youtube anniversary WGP! Thanks for another informative video. Keep being real and I'll keep following. I love to learn, you are a fantastic teacher.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you so much!

[@bertandyvonne.campers6157]

Great content and congrats on the year. Keep on keeping on.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you Bert & Yvonne!

[@paulac.1308]

Thanks for sharing your knowldege. Also, if you want a safe and gelled jelly using only the same amount of sugar that you would use in your syrup, you can use pamona pectin. I use very little sugar in my jellies and make a lot mire jelly now that i have this option.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you! In the past, I have used whole lemon or just the lemon peel in my jams, as my pectin replacement. I actually have two indoor lemon trees that I put outside in the summer. I wonder if I'll get lemons from them. The leaves are great for lemon flavouring though. And now I'm wondering if my prickly ash berries, which is a citrus fruit tree and the only one that is native to northern temperate regions like here in Ontario, could be used for pectin! I'm going to look it up!

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

And here's an updage to my reply! I didn't learn anything about the prickly ash, but I was reminded that quince is high in pectin, and I have at least two dozen fruit on them this year, including an unripe one in my kitchen that fell a few weeks ago. I just read that the unripe quince is higher in pectin, so I'm going to look up how to use it now!

[@paulac.1308]

@@WillowsGreenPermaculture Those sound like great options for pectin!

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

I look forward to trying the quince! I'll definitely do a video if it works, because it will become an option for growing your own pectin in a temperate climate. In the south, people can grow their own pectin with lemon trees, which is the pectin source in pomona.

[@russelltackett4779]

Elderberries grow wild around my house here in kentucky

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

That's great! They do here too!

[@WIgardener]

Happy 1 year anniversary! Another great video! Looking forward to watching your channel grow! Keep loving and learning!!

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you so much!

[@redeyerustler172]

Congrats 🍻✌️

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you!

[@kleineroteHex]

Mine are done! Let me see what I can learn for next year😊

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

I hope I could be helpful!

[@kleineroteHex]

@WillowsGreenPermaculture yes, shaking the ripe ones off, leaving the rest to fully ripen might be worth trying.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

@@kleineroteHexthat has really worked. I e gotten many progressive harvests now. Love to harvest them fully ripe. It’s so easy to separate them from the stems.

[@RayMirshahi]

Thanks for this timely elderberry video. My elderberries are still completely green. I was going to let birds have them all because I don't eat sugar at all and didn't want to make jelly and syrup so I like your elderberry juice recipe. I suppose I can freeze the juice to extend the shelf life. I also agree with your philosophy of sharing your harvest with wildlife (except for my figs!). For example, I only harvested 20% of our seaberries this year. Happy one year anniversary. All the best👍.

[@novampires223]

I don't eat jams and jellies because of the sugar so what I do is just cook the juice down until it's thick enough to pick up on my butter knife and drop onto my toast. Win win 😊

[@RayMirshahi]

@@novampires223 Thanks for the idea.

[@kleineroteHex]

The birds get all the top berries, I put the little organza bags on the ones I can reach, those are mine, not even half of all the berries, but enough for me!

[@kirstypollock6811]

I freeze the juice in ice cube trays then pop the cubes in bags and use them to make tea! 2 seems enough for a cup.

[@RayMirshahi]

@@kirstypollock6811 Thanks for the suggestion.

[@insAneTunA]

The syrup looks delicious, but I never had it myself. I suppose that the same process will also work for other fruits and berries, so it was very informative. Congrats with the one year YT anniversary. A big 👍

[@kirstypollock6811]

Rosehips are traditionally also made to make syrup in the UK!

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Yes, especially small fruit like crabapples where you'll want to separate them from the seeds and stuff. For most berries, because you can eat them raw and also whole, you don't even need to do this. No straining, etc., unless you want a clear jelly. Whenever possible, however, I like to eat the whole fruit.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

@@kirstypollock6811 I think we're going to get lots of rosehips this year! I look forward to trying this with them in the fall!

[@grenwood6551]

happy ytube anniversary

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

Thank you!

[@Jamouslizotte]

Have you tried to freeze the ripe berries? They just fall off like magic. Plus by freezing them It brakes the skins of the berries. So that the brake down faster in the process of making the syrup.

[@kirstypollock6811]

I have tried this. Nope, they didn't just "fall off" for me. I was very disappointed!

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

I have frozen mine when I haven't had time to process them. Sometimes I've frozen them still on the stem. If I tease the berries while they're still very frozen, then they do seem to fall off easier, but if they weren't ripe enough, freezing doesn't really make a difference, as they won't ripen more in the freezer.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

@@kirstypollock6811 they likely weren't ripe enough. I've decided now it's best to just wait until they start falling or getting eaten by the birds then I know they are ready to process easily. The animals always know best! 😊

[@rahneclark1902]

Can you harvest elderberry after first year or how many years until harvest. Other berries take years before harvesting so wondering.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

We got a few elderberries the first year, then the second we got a harvest, good for a couple of months. By the third year we were harvesting enough to have juice for the whole winter.

[@thenextpoetician6328]

Congrats. :) Out of curiosity would there be an advantage to you to tease the berries off while leaving the cluster on the bush going around with only with the pail and your keen eye?

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

That is certainly something I could try. I would need to set my pail up with some kind of strap so both my hands would be free. Then just let the less ripe ones that don't fall ripen in their own time.

[@thenextpoetician6328]

@@WillowsGreenPermaculture Apple picking style. I drove tractor in an orchard for a few seasons.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

@@thenextpoetician6328I don’t have any big machinery. My biggest garden machine is a battery powered self-propelled push lawnmower. Excellent quality though. Egopower brand. Most of our tools (chainsaw, generator, etc.) are by them.

[@thenextpoetician6328]

@@WillowsGreenPermaculture That's quality. Your garden needs no machinery. This should be the last year we use tractors to haul and spread to make beds. It'll be by wheel barrow after that in all likelihood.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

@@thenextpoetician6328 that’s great. It is nice to know that this work is all 100% of our hands.

[@lonefoxbushcraft]

I'm uk mine are green but i got the European elderberry

[@LittleGirlBlu]

The green ones are not too toxic to my chickens. They rush out of their pen every morning to eat any fallen berries, including the green ones.

[@WillowsGreenPermaculture]

I’d still be careful. Chickens don’t have as long a life as humans so wouldn’t have time to accumulate as many toxins.