Concord grape
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/grapes_June6-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1654434926)
red raspberry
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/redraspberry.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1654434925)
Canada plum
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/plums-June5-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1654434923)
Canada plum (super) ;)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/plum-super-Jne5-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1654434921)
I've got grapes here.
Well raspberries too, out in the woods.
We had a great spot to pick black berries. Big ones too. As big as your thumb.
Then he rented his field out to someone with some cows and the black berries got fenced in.
Lots of grapes started on my vines also. Apple trees are loaded with marble size fruits. Been eating rhubarb for weeks and I have thousands of green strawberries on those plants I started last year. Not even one Flower on the pear trees I put in last year. Great time of the year.
I picked 2 - 5 gallon pales of grapes last year. I have 2 rows, only about 8 feet long. They were loaded, looks same this year. I let the birds eat some. The robins and blue jays eat'm. Never noticed the coons bother them, and we have plenty of coons.
Blackberries did not winter too great on one patch, but new shoots coming. I don't grow many of them, just two small enclosures for a taste. I mix them in with the elders, and probably will the black currents.
Black currents here have been blooming awhile. I only have 3 bushes. Planted last year, but loaded with blooms. ;D
Black elder, the older bushes
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/blackelder-Jul2-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1656786671)
These are the ones from cuttings, the 2 to the right are from the grow tent. The far left was was just stuck in the mud. ;D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/blackelders-jul2-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1656786671)
Black currant
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/black-current-jul2-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1656786676)
Raspberry patch, lots of new shoots for next year.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/raspberry-Jul2-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1656786678)
Grapes are going gang busters this year.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/grapes-Jul2-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1656786683)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/grapes2-jul-2-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1656786683)
Butternut
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/butternut-jul2-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1656786676)
In the photo of that bigger black elder, which is two root systems, the tallest shoot there is 6 feet of new growth from the ground up. It's over 1/2" diameter.
Black Elder same as what we call Elderberry? I'd never grow them as they are all along the roadsides here. Our vegan son drinks the juice.
I'd make wine from them but it has a "whang" I dislike, even after fermenting. Oliver winery in IN makes a great commercial Concord wine with a better taste than I can match and I've tried.
Raspberries
This makes two quartz since yesterday and a couple days before. This isn't rounded up but with the first picking added in it makes 2 quartz from 3 boxes. That's my math. :D Some seem to have a touch of rust on them, but edible. ;D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/raspberries-July13-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1657739067)
@kantuckid (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=7283) Yes same elder. I mix my elder with black berry or grapes. Last year I tried syrup. What is syrupy when hot turns to jelly in the jar when cool. :D
We have red elder here mostly, but not edible. It flowers as soon as the snow goes. I have seen black elder in places growing here, but any time I see it it is only in flower. :D That 6 footer is now an 8 footer. ;D
I freeze my elderberries as I pick them. This year I'm going to thaw them and put them through the press.
Elderberries go good in a clear liquid.
Blueberries are putting out 4 or 5 lbs per day now, good size and flavor this year. Michelle has been making blackberry, wineberry and blueberry sorbets for berry day at the farmers market this week. The sound of 3 freezers churning every night that past coupla weeks. It's all about quality control.
I've made wine from Marionberries, a tame blackberry and came out better than with the wild ones, probably because the sugar content's higher. My aunt made elderberry jam when I was a kid, we'd pick, she'd cook. They have a "whang" I'm not fond of but will eat them. Blueberries I have slopes full of them, but the critters get 99.9 % of them. We've been picking tame red raspberries here last few days, also wild ones but same as the blueberries-too much competition.
Blueberries are great, especially the wild ones, way tastier than cultivated. I used to sit on a stump and fill 5 gallon pales from bushes all around the stump. Old fire ground, sandy soil on jack pine ground. Biggest ones were a little shaded. None close by here, all way out in unsettled lands. :)
We've picked another 5 quarts of raspberries since the last update. I'm chomping them up as fast as I can. I think some went into the freezer when I wasn't around. :D
Cortland, first crop on this tree. More growing to do. ;) Might get 20 lbs of fruit. :)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/cortland-Jul23-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1658585379)
Grapes to no end. :D But a couple months yet to grow. Already showing some color though.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/concord-Jul23-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1658585385)
I hope to have some grapes this year too.
After 3 years there are finally figs on my 2 Chicago hardy figs. Looks like the grapes will be small this year with the lack of water.
I made awesome elderberry wine several years ago. It took 4 years to mellow out and become drinkable. First 3 years it tasted like rocket fuel and then the next year it was awesome. Have a batch of Concord/ elderberry mix sitting in the carboy 2 years now waiting to be bottled.
I like elderberry mixed with blackberry. Here I was experimenting last year. I got it syrupy, but when cooled it was jelly. :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/elderberry-syrup-jelly.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1629619868)
We've put up 25 gts. highbush blueberries so far this year and still picking daily.
Had some fresh in the pancakes w/homemade maple syrup this morning
mmmmm good. Apples not so many this year after a bumper crop last fall.
Funny how that works with fruit.
Also excited to have some of the 1st Hazelnuts this year. Planted five a couple years back and been nursing them along.....I see Japanese beetles like them pretty well so been picking them off and into a soapy water bucket they go.
"Plant it and they will come"
Elderberries here are just hanging with fruit. Not ripe yet though. One clump seems to flower a couple weeks before the other.
Picked a cup full of blackberries tonight. Not a big patch and not a big crop this year. Had a bunch of winter kill. I'll take what I can get. ;D
I picked and froze 2 lbs of black elderberries this morning for later processing. :)
We went on top of Gordon Hill to pick black berries. Not a large amount in any one spot.
I have no idea how much we picked.
Brenda made some turnovers and froze 2-quart zip lock bags.
We had some above the old farmhouse that came in when we were letting someone else cut the fields. They never mowed above the house for 2 years.
My Father and me took care of the berries for years. Then he passed away and I kept taking care of them like we always did. But I guess the black berries missed my Father, they died.
We had a real nice spot by a cow pasture. Berries as big as your thumb and did not have to move to get a lot. Then he let someone else put their cows in there and moved the fence. No more blackberries.
We saw one elder bush ready for picking, but saw many not ready.
Yeah I have one mature bush here that is mostly green, the other was mostly ripe from which I picked. I'm making syrup from mine. Drizzle a little on the ice cream. ;D
Picked and froze another 4 lbs of black elderberries this morning. More to harvest next weekend. ;)
Harvested the apples off the Cortland tree today, 11 lbs of big apples. Was the first ever harvest off this small tree. They are running large to, mostly. :)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/apple-cortland-Sept3-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1662226230)
The Moose have eaten 6 of the 7 Apple trees I planted a year ago. I dunno why the 7th tree was spared. There was practically no Raspberries this year also.
Picked up some of these the other day when grabbing seed. Not sure how I'd never crossed paths with them before as I really like fresh peaches.
Donut peaches , whole lot of peach flavor in a little package. (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/40841/AB9B2CCE-A3F6-47D6-B7C2-3727ADD6B9B4.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1662258799)
Sure love peaches here. Been eating 2 basket fulls a week now for 3 weeks. :D
Last year the new raspberries canes were hit hard by a shoot moth. They don't hit the fruit barring canes. But last years canes are what bares this year so we had a low crop. I did notice a small number of new canes that grew fast and bore fruit this year. Probably not unusual, but I have not took notice of it in the past. But this year the canes grew nice and tall and no shoot moths. So next summer will be the mother lode. :D Plus my patch is just starting to get going, new rows I transplanted 4 years ago. They produce huge berries on the bigger stronger canes. Black berries got hit to by the moth and winter kill. But I don't have many of those, just enough for maybe a large ziplock freezer bag. I like to use them in the elderberry juice. :)
Never bothered the rhubarb this year for juice, I let them rest this year. And they have never put up a seed stalk. I suspect some plants are sterile and never seed. They never have since I started the patch in the garden. And they get all kinds of manure as well as a good weeding in the spring and a cup of triple 15. And I have had to water them, not this year. They definitely get attention. ;D
Grapes? I've got the mother lode on them. Be picking in 4 weeks. No frost damage this spring. :)
Another 4 lbs of elderberries this morning. I think another 4 lbs next week will finish up the crop and let the birds have some. The blue jays and wax wings are sure active this week around the yard. ;D
Quote from: Mooseherder on September 03, 2022, 10:13:58 PM
The Moose have eaten 6 of the 7 Apple trees I planted a year ago. I dunno why the 7th tree was spared. There was practically no Raspberries this year also.
That's unfortunate but at the same time when I see a tasty animal eating my future harvest it reminds me there is a way to grow meat on a tree.
I took my wife apple picking in western NC yesterday on Thursday and the weather couldn't have been better. We went to one of the orchards we've gone to a few times in the past. McIntosh & honey crisp apples were ready to go so we picked a peck containing both for an obscene price I have to remind myself is 30% fruit and 70% agritainment. The apples were very good though.
Concord grapes. Not long now, a 2-3 weeks probably for them to ripen and sweeten up good. :)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/grapes-Sept11-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1662928179)
Those Cortlands sure made a nice pie. The apples I thought would not cook up to a sauce-like mixture, but was surprised they did. Must be that Carleton county soil. ;D Mother said when it was warm out of the oven yesterday she had a compulsion to eat the whole pie herself. :D Served with ice cream on top. ;)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/apple-pie-Sept15-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1663355530)
That would be my serving a few years back, half a pie.
Wife use to make one about 3 inches high.
I am addicted to apple pie 8). Spartans seem to do best, they are a firm apple that don't turn to mush when cooked. Also, one of my favorites for eating fresh. They don't seem to be doing well this year, fruit yields are down due to a hot dry summer. Neighbor got 40 lb of prune plums compared to 150 a year ago, another got ONE apple off his tree. :-\
Bluejays decimated my wolf river apples. Pecked the tops out of almost all of them.
Once birds get a taste of something they like they've got nothing but time. It's incredible what a flock of birds will do to a field of sweet corn. Absolutely devastate it.
There are truckloads of wild apples around here. There is an old farm down the road that grew up mostly in apple trees. I even see a wild crabbe apple beside the road, little red apples. Every line fence up here on these old farms has apple trees to no end. The New Brunswicker apples I planted 35 years ago were loaded. One tree had to be pole pruned, because the limbs got heavy and broke a big limb to the ground. You could probably have filled 4 cribs off them 2 trees. Been a normal summer here, no scarcity of water. Just had 2" this week. But nowhere is there muck holes, they have been bailing straw this year like gang busters. Even the neighbor, who has never made straw since he's been here, bought the choppings from the farm around the house and has put up round bailed. Most straw I have seen elsewhere is still doing square bales. Big stacks all tarped.
Picked the last of the elders this morning, probably a lb. Birds ate a lot of what I was thinking would be 4 lbs. Doesn't take long with blue jays, robins and cedar waxwings. Anyway, thawing 8 lbs to press for syrup. They don't make a lot of juice like say a raspberry would. We'll see. I reduce it a little and she thickens up. If I reduce it more it hardens to jelly. Good either way. ;)
Two half pints of black elder syrup from 8 lbs of berries. Cold pressed from thawed berries by hand before cooking. The tomato press idea did not work. After the juice is extracted about 3.5 pints: Cinnamon stick, a 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup of sugar and reduced.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/b-elder-jelly-Sept2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1663510170)
The elderberry syrup pour. ;D
https://youtu.be/NEDL_9n29h8 (https://youtu.be/NEDL_9n29h8)
Picked, stemmed and froze 34 lbs of concord grapes for juice and jelly making later. :)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/34-lb-concord-grape-2022.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1664116153)
Black elderberry and concord grape.
10 long neck bottles sealed for storage and one 2 quart jar to refrigerate for now. :)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/elder-concord-grape-juice-2.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1668439304)
My experience as a winemaker is that concord grape wine is drinkable for sure but has a whang I dislike. There is one commercial brand, Olivar in IN, that is the best I've found. They found a way to bring out the best flavor from Concord wine. It's not just a me thing, it's been discussed on winemaker forums.
Elderberrys are the other fruit I've not cared for the aftertaste.
Call it my tastebuds but I don't make it either.
One of our sons who a vegan makes a tincture from elderberries will live to be a grand old age huh? :D
I like frozen grapes eaten out of hand, including concords. Grandkids eat frozen blueberries often.
Concord are too seedy to eat out of hand for me. Elderberries have to be cold pressed and not cooked with the seeds in. I freeze them first and then thaw and use one of them perforated cones with wooden paddle you roll around to squeeze out the juice. I find no after taste from concord grape juice. I thaw frozen berries on the stove but don't cook them. The juice isn't hot, barely warm. When boiling the juice, I add some sugar, but not making it sweet like soda pop. I throw in a piece of cinnamon bark when boiling the mixture up. ;D Like anything else, soil it's grown in affects flavour. :) Some people sell it around here at farm markets, upwards of $16 a 750 ml bottle. I'd never pay more than $6, so I have to make my own. :D
Elderberry syrup looks like dark choc syrup with a berry taste. Liquid black gold. Mine is more concentrated that you can buy. The regular stuff costs a fortune. Tedious berry to pick. I just cut off the umbel and sit at my lawn chair to remove the berries. Might as well be comfy. ;D
I have 5 cups of raw grape juice for jelly making sometime soon.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/IMG_4137.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1686523315)
Looks like @Marty (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=34825) is gonna have some Blueberries so helped him out by picking a hat full for my breakfast cereal for the next few mornings. :)
Edited title to carry on as suggested by the MagicMan.
I'll be picking raspberries in 4 weeks. Tons of flowers and lots of canes this year. Blackberries had some winter kill on some canes, dead tops. But I see blossoms on the survivors. I don't want a lot of them, just a couple small patches.
Had lots of blooms on the currants and plums, we'll see how they make out. And the grapes are going gangbusters now, flowers out and some shoots are already 3 feet long. Also the elders are just beginning to bud for flowers, by the end of the month of first part of July they will be in full bloom. There is already lots of new long shoots.
We have picked about 6 gal of strawberries this season and we are just about done for the year since we have June bearing. Half are in the freezer already and a quarter have been turned into jam and the other quarter have been consumed as a constant string of strawberry sundaes. We pulled the netting system that I used to keep the squirrels out so they can have a few of the leftovers. Next up is black raspberries and then shortly after that the new blackberries we planted this year are starting to put fruit on. It was dry up until yesterday and then we got about 1.75 inches of steady rain over the day so we should be good for near future.
Raspberries in bloom and honey bees everywhere today.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/raspberry-June16-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686950325)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/rasp-bee-ant-June16-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1686950320)
I've jarred 4 bottles of rhubarb juice this month, one jar is a gallon. Enough for this season. The older plants are gigantic this year with flower spikes now over 6 feet tall. :D I could make some more but don't want to stress them out. ;D
SwampDonkey,what's the rules on picking rhubarb?I set out two plants this year and it's doing good but I don't know if I should pick any stems off this year or wait till next year.
W
I'd wait until next year so as not to stress the plant(s). Took mine 5 years to even flower when I moved them from their old spots. And this year the 2 old fella's are huge. I have two smaller ones I bought a couple years ago, I harvested some off the bigger one this year. One is a little shaded in the middle so it's behind.
We are picking strawberries now, the warm dry weather has been good for them as they are plump and so sweet. Cherries will be next, I can hardly wait. 8)
Today ordered a Fabio Leonardi MR7 1HP Tomato Machine for tomatoes and fruit. 48% off listed, free ship. Can get a meat grinder for it to, but I don't do meat. I tried a knock off machine last year, it wasn't cut'n it.
Yes, we have strawberries here in the Maritimes now as well. They are ready in NS a week ahead of us, but we got some NS berries at the grocery. These ones I did not care for, I think they were kinda hard and no juice. There will be better ones locally. No good unless the juice runs down your chin. :D
Concord grapevine.Looks like they are going to be loaded this year. br>(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/68995/B3655EE8-C044-4B8A-86D0-F2F3EFCF5E26.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1687715796)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/68995/B3655EE8-C044-4B8A-86D0-F2F3EFCF5E26.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1687715796)
Yup, same here, grapes are going gang busters.
Raspberries to, best crop coming on since I started the new area. Lots of fruit set and just hanging. The elders to are just beginning to have flowers, but won't be in full bloom for a 2 or 3 weeks. The bushes are lush with growth. I don't need to start any more plants. :D :D I love the elderberry syrup though. :)
Canada Plum
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/plum2-Jul2-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1688300352)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/plum--Jul2-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1688300353)
Red raspberries another 12-14 days to go, berries to no end.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/raspberry-Jul2-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1688300361)
concord grape still in flower
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/concord-grape-Jul2-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1688300362)
blackberry, lots for my needs.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/balckberry-Jul2-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1688300371)
Black elder coming into bloom
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/elder-Jul2-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1688300380)
The central stem is a good nine feet tall.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/elder2-Jul2-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1688300371)
Like 21incher said, it's amazing the growth those 'weeds' put up in one year. Mine are beside the garden and I mow between and it's like going through a tunnel. :D
Picked the first raspberries today, 1 quart so far. Should be double that tomorrow. Lots of orange ones now.
Have picked 4 quarts of berries since Jul 12th.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/raspberry-Jul14-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1689359299)
We have an abundance of fresh raspberries, I did a quality assurance check this morning, along with other fruit such as cherries. I definitely have to restrain myself on those. ;D Apricots and peaches should be on the stands soon.
Another 2 quarts of raspberries for a running total of 6. I am starting to freeze the surplus now. 8) There will likely be another quart to pick by late this afternoon. Lots of half ripe ones and tons of green ones still to ripen.
3 more quarts of raspberries this morning. Lots of orange ones left. No doubt will be 2 more quarts later today if we are not being pounded by heavy rains by then. Dropped a 6 quart bag of berries into the freezer this morning. ;D
Running total is now 9 quarts since the 12th.
Picked one more quart before noon and now the rain is here for the day.
That makes 10 quarts.
6 quarts of raspberries have been picked today.
That makes 16 quarts so far.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/raspberries-July17-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1689619557)
Mother is going to make some jam tomorrow morning.
I remember when father would pick raspberries or blackberries, he'd put his belt threw two corners of the box(es), leaves your hands free. One of the advantages of this kind of box when picking raspberries. The aspen boxes are distinctly New Brunswick.
3 more quarts picked tonight.
19 quarts so far.
19 pint jars of raspberry jam.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/raspberry-jam-Jul18-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1689694911)
5 more quarts of raspberries today.
24 quarts so far.
5 more quarts of raspberries today, that makes 29 quarts so far.
Nice!
Another 5 quarts of raspberries today, that's now 34 quarts in total. :)
6 more quarts of raspberries today, we are at 40 quarts. Will make another 5 jars of raspberry jam tomorrow, and that will be 24 pints total. Still freezing surplus berries.
Another 6 quarts of raspberries, we're now at 46 quarts. :)
4 more quarts of raspberries, makes 50 quarts now. I'm thinking it's about enough raspberries. ;) I'll have to make a bunch of juice real soon. :)
I'm gonna say we've picked another 10 quarts this week off the raspberries so that's 60 quarts total. I could be picking more right now if I wanted to, but this week we just have been eating what we pick fresh. Going to do some juice tomorrow using canning jars, they are 750 ml. Later I will do long neck bottles with robber stoppers.
Have noticed some 3" diameter cantaloupes, some growing to do yet. A week ago they were no bigger than a thumb. ;D
8 - 750 ml jars of raspberry juice this morning.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/raspberry-juice-July29-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1690634836)
Have picked 4 quarts of blackberries off my little patch this week. Will be making 6 pints of jam tomorrow morning.
We seem to measure most of our fruit in pounds, and then convert to gallons. Our red raspberries are pretty much played out and the 10 +/- pounds is currently fermenting into a 4 gallon batch of wine. The first peach tree is also played out and cooking into a 5 gallon batch, with another 20-25 pounds waiting.
Blackberries should pretty much finish up this weekend, and the blueberries probably will also. We bag and freeze as we go so wont have weights until they get batched.
Will be making another 8 jars of raspberry juice later, they are in the freezer.
Next will be the black elderberries next month. Juice and syrup. I like the syrup on ice cream.
5 Jars of blackberry jam. I had 8 cups of crushed seedless berries and 9 cups of sugar, how come it don't make 8 pints? Mysteries of cooking. It don't boil that long to loose 3 pints of water. :D Has to be the sugar when changing state, no other explanation.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/blackberry-jam-Aug12-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1691845878)
Could be all the sampling you do :D :D weigh yourself before and after next batch. I'm going to have about 500 pounds of elderberries soon and need a good syrup recipe because I can't afford 500 pounds of sugar and 50 boxes of pectin to make jelly food6.
The key to elderberries is don't cook with the seeds in. I run mine through my food mill with a fine screen after they have been froze and thawed. I freeze as I pick them because they never ripen at once. 500 lbs? You'll need a crew for that job. :D The steam juicer won't have the good pulp to thicken it. I boil the juice/pulp down before adding sugar near the end, a stick of cinnamon and a cap full of lemon juice. I have boiled too far before and made it into jelly when it cooled. :D Takes a lot of berries for 2 pints of syrup I can tell ya that. :D More valuable than maple syrup. :D :D
Guillouard Food Mill (https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/kitchen/kitchen-tools/presses-and-mashers/mills/76216-guillouard-food-mill?item=EV504)
SD; This syrup you make, is it a pancake/waffle/ice cream etc. syrup?
The reason I ask is because my brother just planted a dozen Elderberry bushes this past Spring and he's wondering what he's going to do with all the berries!
You can use it on all that yes. It's a little thicker than maple syrup when I'm done. :)
When I pick, I bring a lawn chair over under the oak, then I cut the umbels off the bushes. Go over and sit in my comfy chair and pluck berries until the cows come home. Pluck berries, chuck umbels on the ground. :D
That's a new term for me, umbel.
I think it's the stem with lots of little branches with a berry on each.
I'll have to copy your recipe/procedure because I know he's going to have lots of berries either next year or the following year!
Yup, the things are like weeds once they establish. :D
Them things seem to grow on every wet hole around here.
I've picked a lot of those berries.
The wild ones I get around here are the red ones that you can't eat. Once in a blue moon I will find the black kind on a road berm in the woods. The red ones flower before the snow is gone around here.
Did not know there was 2 different kinds.
I have the black ones.
There is an abandoned Christmas tree plantation up the road and between the rows where there is still sun, mostly at ends of rows now, the red ones have taken over.
SD; Do you have the actual syrup recipe written down so that it can be posted here?
I use the food mill to get the seeds out, once thawed. You don't cook with the seeds in. The process also retains the pulp that will thicken it. I throw that into a pot, add a cinnamon stick and a tablespoon of lemon juice, then boil it down to get some water off it, maybe 1/3 off the original depth. Then add sugar, which is around 2 cups to a gallon of syrup. Boil it further to a syrup consistency, mine is like 'chocolate syrup' thick.
black elder syrup pour - YouTube (https://youtu.be/NEDL_9n29h8)
Canned up the rest of the raspberry juice, another 8 - 750 ml jars. :)
Our raspberries are done, we had lots. Now I'm feasting on plums and peaches and I can't get enough. ;D
Been eating Niagara peaches here for 4 weeks. Juice running down your face kind. Not them hard dry things. ;D
Seems to me the squirrels plant nut trees and the birds plant berries and grapes .The front two acres of that woods I bought are a jungle of vines and canes .In the back three acres I found a grape vine that has to be 6 inches in diameter .From the ground up a 100 foot white oak . Might be as old as the oak tree for all I know .
There are no peach orchards locally .Those are up north near lake Erie .I bought some that they say are California smooth type with no fuzz .They were not the same as the Lake Erie type .
Musk melon season is just around the corner and the best I've found come from Pandora Ohio area .IMO better than Indiana melons .
We are buying the local Freestone peaches finally. Really late this year. The local Apple crop is in trouble because of the late hard freeze we got so apple prices will be high this year with limited availability.
Apples here in the yard did not get good pollination, wet cold June. I'll Only get half a bucket from my little Cortland this year. The New Brunswickers were full of worms and a lot fell premature. I got some yellow transparent locally grown and they are small this year.
I processed a 5 gallon pail of apples yesterday into applesauce. Another 5 picked and ready for today. I also picked 5 quarts of blueberries. So sweet this year.
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Them apples look good!!!
Are those yours?
I have not even checked on mine this year.
I don't spray them.
Some years are good, some years the apples are so bad, I don't get nothing.
We don't spray here either. Years ago, we had the best apples when we let young cattle run in the orchard. They would keep the fallen apples ate up so they would not perpetuate the rail road worms. I believe that was the way it was always done on old homesteads. You always had some cows and apple trees. The old tree up on the woodlot, that was planted over 100 years ago, was always kept ate up by the wildlife. The apples were good, but only in October when the frost hit it to ripen them up. Around here we would call them a winter storage apple. I remember when I was 6 or so, we stayed at a neighbor's during fall harvest, the lady would dry sliced apples by stringing them near the wood stove. She had several 1 gallon jars full of pickled eggs, but some may have been water glassed. My grandmother used to do that but they were in crocks in the basement.
Jeff likes his apple sauce. :)
First pickings of black elders, probably a couple pounds.
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I miss counted and some how missed local musk melons by about three weeks ..Sutters a local produce company has 500 acres of produce around Pandora Ohio ,about 30 miles from me .That ground was once part of the great black swamp area of Ohio .Very rich organic soil .It will grow anything .
Be mid September here before the cantaloupe is any good. Takes a good 90 days. Planted June 15th from seedlings.
I picked another couple pounds of black elders to freeze for later processing.
Quote from: SwampDonkey on August 29, 2023, 05:57:41 AM
I picked another couple pounds of black elders to freeze for later processing.
What do end up doing with the elder, i.e. what is "later processing"?
I thaw the berries. Then run it through my food mill to get the seeds out. So I have juice and pulp. So from there I can make jelly or syrup. If I make juice it gets tossed into a steamer juicer after running through the mill. Not suppose to cook the elderberries with the seed in. The juicer leaves only juice, no pulp.
Food Mill (https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/kitchen/kitchen-tools/presses-and-mashers/mills/76216-guillouard-food-mill?item=EV504)
Steamer Juicer (https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/kitchen/canning-and-preserving/67388-mehu-liisa-steamer-juicer?item=PS502)
SD- neat to see the elderberries, we have a few wild but nothing we could pick for that quantity. Are those planted?
I like summer apples, Cornell is the know all be all of apples and there are many documentaries of their work on apple preservation and genetic material collection from the apple worlds "home range" in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia after the fall of the USSR.
#elderberries #herb #short Elderberries Good for come see - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph4Tn0OwTr0&list=UULFObv5IxwNdWXib5VULMJjQg&index=6)
we just saw some beside the road the other day.
Wife is not really able to walk out to get the berries. Most times it's very uneven where they grow. I just cut the heads off and she picks them off the stems and makes jelly.
But not this year. We just have too much going on.
The bushes just grow beside the road, most times in a wet area.
Last year there was a lot around the brook just down the road. This year there are not many there.
Quote from: nativewolf on August 30, 2023, 04:45:24 AM
SD- neat to see the elderberries, we have a few wild but nothing we could pick for that quantity. Are those planted?
Around my place we have just the red elders in the wild. I have a row of the black planted in the garden. We do have wild black ones in this region, but I have not seen any close by. I have seen them along woods roads 30 miles south of here. They each flower at different times of year up here. The red ones flower before the snow is all gone, late April- early May as they leaf out. The black ones flower in July after the leaves have been out awhile.
The robins have picked holes in a half dozen apples on the tree this year, so that reduces my harvest some more. :D
I got another 3 lbs yesterday off the edlerberries. I'll pick more on Sunday. They are ripening fast.
I have probably 400 pounds of elderberries that are ripening and should be ready next week problem is Tuesday I have cataract surgery and cannot lift or bend for 3 weeks so looks like I will have to leave them and the grapes for the birds now. Timing is everything with stuff like this.
If you intended to pick 400 lbs, I hope you have a crew. They have to be stem free and free of green berries. That's a lot of work for one guy at about 1 lb an hr of picking and cleaning. :D
Maybe one too many zeros.
I picked what I think was 4-5 pounds. That took a while.
Quote from: SwampDonkey on September 02, 2023, 07:27:12 AM
If you intended to pick 400 lbs, I hope you have a crew. They have to be stem free and free of green berries. That's a lot of work for one guy at about 1 lb an hr of picking and cleaning. :D
Each berry cluster is about a pound now and there are hundreds of them. Necer had elderberries like this before. I did 100 pounds a day when I made wine from them. Trying to find people that want some. I am hoping to at least save a couple
I've never seen a 1 lb elder umble before. :D
3 pints of elderberry syrup.
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Processing the Concord grapes today and making juice. I saved aside 5 cups for making a small batch of jelly. Just about done the steaming process, next is bottling and water bathing. :)
12 - 750 ml bottles of Concord grape juice. :)
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Had 1 litre left over for enjoying in a day or so.
4 pints of grape jelly from the reserved grape juice.
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P.S. Had some new elderberry syrup on my vanilla ice cream last night. Oh my goodness...mmm mmm. ;D
Looks good Swamp Donkey!
Next will be to trim out the old raspberry and blackberry canes. I will have a cane cutter this year for the task, we'll see how it goes. I usually do that when the leaves fall. ;D
Lee Valley makes or perhaps only designed the cane cutter.
When you cut them back, do you cut them close to the ground?
I don't get fussy Chuck, a little bit a of stick won't hurt anything. I probably end up with an 1" stub on most. But I don't try that hard.
I guess I never heard that they should be cut back!
That's what's so great about this place, you can learn a lot here that you never heard of before!
We always cut the old black berry cane out. When dead and dry they can hurt when picking!!!!