Plant medicinals in your food forest: Elderberry Syrup

It was really nice when we started feeling sick that I could walk into the pharmacy in my backyard and harvest some medicine. Don't overlook medicinal plants in your food forest!
Today we make elderberry syrup, and some seabuckthorn tea.
To see the incredible nutritional and health benefits of seabuckthorn, check out this video: • What is the healthiest...
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[@Gabi-lt4mx]

I have a steam juicer. I strip the elderberries with a fork. Heat until no more juice comes out. I collect the juice. Add some sugar to the juice and bring to the boil briefly. Pour hot into clean, small bottles and close immediately. This creates a vacuum. Store in a cool place. I mix it with fresh water. Yummy

[@gardenjoy9371]

Elderberries are great - thanks for demonstrating how you make syrup. My go-to herb for respiratory illnesses is thyme. Near boiling water over fresh leaves, let it cool and then inhale the warm steam.

[@CarrieLovesLife.]

Glad you are doing better!

[@pattibando3104]

You could be the next medicine man lol Awesome video to watch..feel better ❤

[@doinacampean9132]

good to hear you're on the mend. Don't forget echinacea!

[@susanbradleyskov9179]

I started my permaculture journey growing and foraging medicinals. One thing anyone can do is to grow lots of herbs. Most of them affect healthin a positive direction, while making food more interesting! 😁

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

So true

[@melissaroot1092]

Mullien made us feel so much better when we had Covid.

[@melissaroot1092]

In a strong tea

[@melissaroot1092]

BTW- planted my first sea buckthorn this week. It is just a little stick but I am so excited because of your channel.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

haha nice! Did you plant male and female? 1 male can pollinate roughly 6 females.

[@DaniellePJ]

Glad you’re all on the mend!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks 😊

[@angelbmann3531]

We had 3 elderberry bushes, i used 1/3 of the flowers to make sirup, 1/3 of the flowers to dry so I could make tea , I let 1/3 go to berries to make jam/jelly.the Flowers sirup is delicious and great for colds!!!!!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

❤️

[@saltriverorchards4190]

I like to use my elderberry juice for homemade ginger bug soda. I can’t believe how elderberry plants respond to permaculture. Mine are so huge and healthy.

[@lrrerh8090]

Good to see you out and about.

[@djmoulton1558]

A healthier alternative for sweetening is to use pitted dates: one date = one teaspoon sugar. Chop date(s) up finely or pulverize in the blender in a bit of water. The body digests dates as a whole, natural food so you don't get the blood sugar spike that you get with sugar, honey or maple syrup. If adding berries to your tea bag I suggest you crush them first to let more juice get into the tea. If you're using teas for health consider using hibiscus teas (anything with hibiscus listed first in the ingredients) as there are few other plants with as high antioxidant phytonutrients.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Great suggestion

[@trumpetingangel]

Sorry you were sick!Covid is so variable; glad you seem to be on the mend. The syrup sounds delicious, if intense!

[@smueller12244]

I didn't know that much about elderberries when I first started planting them...but I think I have over 60 bushes so far...soon to be 600+ :). Love this plant and it loves my wetter soil with partial sun. Sorry you got covid, shit fucked me up for 3+ weeks and I'm healthy...

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

That's a lot of elderberries!

[@janice8695]

Great to see you are feeling better. Elderberry and currents were on my list. Thinking elderberry will be a higher priority.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Wonderful!

[@julie-annepineau4022]

Glad you're improving. My elderberries put on their first blooms this year. Only a few berries but I know next year will be great. I also have 4 seabuckthorne plants on the way.

[@Crina-LudmilaCristeaAuthor]

I'm glad you're doing better! I've been taking elderberry syrup when I feel a cold coming and so far it stopped any more colds from evolving. Before, for me they used to last 2-3 weeks with taking pills and drinking tea. Now, a few spoons of elderberry syrup is enough. Take care!

[@chickadeecorner]

Glad y'all are on the mend! I had two wee elderberry plants still in their nursery pots and they got enormous and I got loads of berries off of them, more than enough to make enough syrup for the year, so I'm stoked. Have frozen them but will be making syrup here soon (after I'm done processing the glut of tomatoes) as well as fire cider. The combo of those two things has been an absolute game changer for me the past few years when it comes to immune function and support. I studied medicinal herbs/plants for a year under a seasoned herbalist, really great information that has been used for thousands of years. We have lost so much knowledge. Sea buckthorn is something I'm just starting to learn about but I have a plant I grew from seed that's about 3 inches tall haha!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I totally agree, this is information that humans have known about for eons and we are losing it slowly as we disconnect from nature.

[@ninemoonplanet]

People who are First Nations have used all sorts of herbs, plants, berries, but out "western" arrogance has all but wiped out that knowledge.

[@fourdayhomestead2839]

Just had a full size elderberry this year. Cuttings doing well & one bought European variety produced this year.

[@lwjenson]

Got some elderberries off my plants and I was just thinking go should make some syrup, do great timing!

[@MrMilio]

One tip: Use a fork to remove the berries from the small stems. Love you videos, greetings from Germany.

[@juliehorney995]

But the stems usually break off! 😅

[@MrMilio]

@@juliehorney995 I used this method this year and I had nearly 0 stems in the berries. Maybe you have to wait a little bit longer until they are more ripe.

[@Orange_You_Glad]

Brilliant

[@kynknaturals]

"Let (proper actual real unprocessed) food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food" -Hippocrates Be well...!

[@CMSCK]

I planted three buckthorns in the spring. Lots of flowers but no berries this year. They were attacked heavily by Japanese beetles so may have been stressed.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

That's super interesting. The Japanese beetles are all over most of my plants, but none on SBT. So odd.

[@susanbradleyskov9179]

It might be that you have three female plants and no male plants. I’m going to grow my sea buckthorn from seed, so I’m going to buy a single male plant, so I can be sure of getting berries. (Unless all my seed plants turn out to be male, then I’ll be buying a female and propagating it by other means.)

[@waterjade4198]

I'm glad to hear you're feeling better! A friend of mine makes elderberry tincture. She does it so it can be preserved for a longer period of time and also because it's more concentrated you only use a few drops under the tongue.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I'd love to learn from someone who does that stuff often. I've never made tinctures or poultice, etc.

[@bobburkinshaw9408]

Yes, elderberries are great! I'm glad you found they helped you and your family recover quickly. I found out the hard way, however, that they don't like dry soil so I have been doing a great deal of mulching several times a year to boost our thin, rocky soil. May I ask why you use so much water which then takes quite a bit of time and electricity to simmer it down? I use a lot less water and simply boil it long enough to ensure that they are cooked. Perhaps I'm missing something?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I looked up quite a few recipes and they all used a ton of water. I am not sure why, it may have to do with trying to dilute the toxin then boil it off. I'm honestly not sure.

[@basilsmith62]

Есть метод - каскадное сухое голодание, где ты 1 день не ешь и не пъёшь, и так через день, в течении месяца и более. Правда на этот месяц придется стать вегетарианцем:) Таким образом твой организм очищается 36 часов. Этим методом многие люди победили тяжёлые болезни.

[@annburge291]

I use a variation of this. I use the Valter Longo fasting mimicking diet for five days... it's nearly vegan but includes honey. For flu and COVID we drink the Flu Bomb which is a 'tea' of mashed up ginger, mashed up clove of garlic, tsp paprika, lemon juice and honey. I'm not a purist so sometimes I add fat wolf (gordolobo as a bronchial dilator) and cinnamon. I use dry fasting for detoxification but not when I am sick. My main remedy is to stay in bed as much as possible and go into the sunlight around noon. In reality, apart from catching COVID, I'm very rarely sick.

[@annburge291]

I am glad you are on the mend. I love knowing properties of plants. This video was full of things that I didn't have access to... even the tea bag was a 'ooh, that's nifty'. We just don't have berries (apart from mulberries). Rosemary is a powerful antihistamine. I tend to buy medicinal dried herbs from the Tarumara/Ralamuri people who bring the dried herbs from the mountains and sell them in the streets of Chihuahua.

[@doinacampean9132]

You don't need the tea bag, just boiling water and a strainer :)

[@waterjade4198]

Maybe you're in a climate that where you can grow tulsi or holy basil.

[@nancynesytofreske]

Glad you and your family are feeling better, was wondering where you were! You may want to wait until the tea cools a bit when adding the elderberry syrup so you don't destroy the raw honey.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Good point!

[@globulin]

Glad you're feeling better! Why add so much water then boil it off? Is it needed to cover the berries?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I'm not sure, every recipe I read said to do it. Maybe someone on the comments knows why? We have to boil it to remove the toxins in the fruit (although some studies showed that you need to eat a LOT before it builds up enough to matter). I think you could cut the water down and still boil a bunch off and end up with a thicker syrup.

[@theMusiCandMedicinE]

I hope to do the same with a future harvest of elderberry's, but the deer seem to highly prize my small trees/shrubs for browse and it's a constant battle at this point. I surround with welded wire, but they just snip off anything accessible and the plants are not progressing as they should 🤦🏻‍♂️ maybe I'll try spraying with something unpalatable next year

[@umeida]

Great video, thank you for sharing! I'm curious to know how long it keeps in the fridge? And can you freeze it or does it lose its good properties then?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

About a month or so is what I've read, but I usually push it on most foods. They call me the garbage disposal. I'll eat it as long as it doesn't smell funny or have visible mold.

[@johnransom1146]

Try freezing the elderberries on the stems. Then they just shake off so easily.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yeah that makes a lot of sense, I do that with seabuckthorn.

[@helio2k]

The too small pot on the burner triggers me a little bit :D

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

lol

[@thevagrowinggardener1898]

Great video! Can you juice the berries as opposed to boiling them? Then maybe boil the skin and pulp? I just worry about losing nutrients in the boiling process.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I'm not sure. There's a lot of conflicting messages online about the toxicity of the berries if you don't boil them, and not much information on where the toxicity is concentrated - skin, seeds, juice. Normally stuff like this tends to bioaccumulate in the seeds. So I just would rather err on the side of caution and boil it.

[@thevagrowinggardener1898]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Makes sense! Thanks Keith!

[@barbarasimoes9463]

Welcome back! I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better. Do you ever process/can you process (water bath) the syrup so that it's shelf-stable? I'm just thinking my fridge does not have the room to hold lots of stuff like this. I just harvested my aronia berries a few days ago and was reading about their properties; oh my gosh, talk about another "food as medicine" plant. There are studies about it being used to cure some cancers, heart issues and blood pressure, obesity, arthritis...all sorts of things. My plants did not produce a huge amount this year; they are still quite young, butI got some. I was hoping that I could use my steam juicer, but I only had about a cup! I got about the same from my elderberries and just made a tincture with them after muddling them. I have them 'steeping' in vodka in my cupboard next to the coffee cups, so I remember to shake them each day. Last year, I made some plantain salve after watching your video of when you cut yourself. I had had sores on my arms that would not go away (years!) After one day of using the salve, they started to heal, and within the week, they were completely gone. I, too, was skeptical, but I am a true believer now. Of course, this year, when I've gone out to harvest some plantain, I couldn't find but a leaf or two. I think that all of the rain we've had has really affected their growth. I'm hoping to find enough for another batch. The stuff is a miracle!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I never make enough. Maybe next year I will make a batch big enough to water bath and properly seal it for long term storage.

[@kayspitzmueller7544]

How long does the jar keep in the fridge?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Most places say about a month, but I always push it. If it doesn't smell or go moldy, I eat it.

[@Myladybug70]

When harvesting the sea bucket horn leaves do you harvest the whole branch or just strip some leaves of several? I have one plant that didn't produce berries (female) but her leaves are plenty!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I've done both before. It's a nitrogen fixer, so cutting branches off it is a good idea, it spurs regrowth, and gives a source of carbon for the woodchip pile (or biochar batch).

[@Myladybug70]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy thank you! Maybe I will try to root the branches as well.

[@CMSCK]

Was the seabuckthorn green for tea the leaves? Thanks.

[@CMSCK]

Happy you guys are on the mend. Covid is hitting my community right now plus RSV.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yes, the leaves make great tea 🍵

[@CMSCK]

Ha, ha! I wrote that late. So glad you answered me. I was asking about the leaves for tea. I have lots of leaves but no berries for their first year. Thank you.

[@leep4655]

😂👍🤝

[@busylittlegarden4519]

Don't let your elderberry syrup boil! Just let it steam, it tastes much nicer and it preserves much more of the vitamins and health benefits

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I thought you needed to let it boil to break down the toxins in the fruit?

[@JMags232]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy I'd read (source lost to time) that ripe elderberries are toxin free though some people may have a sensitivity to compounds contained when uncooked.

[@caitegraceify]

Hi - I need help. I have a food forest started in a different location, but I have started my own small business of growing specialty cut flowers to sell to local florists on my dads 160 acre farm that he only used for hay and his bees. I’m going to give some details because the situation was out of my control and done without my permission, I’m just dealing with the repercussions. My sister had her horse euthanized with pentobarbital last week (she has her own farm where he lived). After he was euthanized, she had his remains trucked to my fathers farm where my 1/4 acre flower plot is and had him buried in my no till cover crop which was planned to be used for shade loving flowers next spring. It’s also uphill but more than 100ft away from a natural spring. I don’t know why she did that, but I can’t change it now, so I want to know if I can fix what’s about to happen to the soil, and if I can, how? If the euthanasia medicine will travel downhill to the spring, if it will effect my dads bees if I plant a phytoremediator like sunflowers over the plot to help remove some of the toxin in the soil and they get nectar from the flowers? How long will it take to rebuild the soil life? He’s 6ft deep and in an 8ft hole. I don’t want to get into the emotional side of what happened, I just want to know if I can fix it. I’ve been trying to research it on google scholar but haven’t found too many papers that pertain to the specific situation. If you’re not sure or can’t find anything- how would I go about doing research myself to find out how this is going to effect the environment around my crops? I specifically grow with biodiversity, soil health, and wildlife in mind, so I’m extremely concerned about it. Thank you.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I don't know enough about it to be able to comment with any more intelligence than you showed here in your comment. My approach would be exactly what you started doing, planting sunflowers as a remediation tool is a great start. I wish I could help more.

[@caitegraceify]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy thank you so much! I’ll plant some cheap sunflowers and dispose of them before they bloom to avoid any issue with my dads bees. Any ideas on what types of samples I should take and what I should record along the way to track the health of the area for research purposes to help anyone else in case they end up in a similar situation?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

@caitegraceify I would just take an annual soil sample to your local university and tell them what concerns you had, so they can tell you if they can test for it.

[@ninemoonplanet]

Oh you both definitely got sick worse than my own family member who was up and going within about a week, no nasal or breathing problems. You may become annoyed with me, I haven't had flu, colds, or COVID in more than a decade. Sorry. Turmeric is shown to boost the immune system, and I use herbs every day for cooking all my meals. The hardest part for my family member was the loss of smell. Mend yourself, watch for symptoms of organ harm or "long covid". This syrup should help.

[@alanross2876]

How do you know it was covid?

[@ppkgaming210]

All that sugar can't be good for health.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yeah I mean, it's syrup. Honey is very healthy though, many consider it a super food. When taking this, you consume a tablespoon per day, so roughly half a tablespoon of honey. That's roughly what people put in a tea.