by Lollykoko » Fri Nov 15, 2013 7:04 am
Myrth, thank you for the information on St. Johns Wort. It looks like something I might have a chance of growing, somewhere on the property! So far I've only been doing research on the stuff that is already there. Perhaps it's time to look at new items that will work in my climate.
Manny, I have never heard that elderberries were poisonous. And it's always time for me to learn a little bit more. This article says if they aren't ripe, they can cause stomach distress.
I'm glad I went looking for information, since I hadn't seen that particular video before. At the end, he is talking about the danger of confusing water hemlock with elderberry. I know just how possible that can be, until you learn what you are looking at. When I first bought my place, the bottom ground was infested with hemlock. It took several years of mowing to get the situation under control. Now the elderberry is creeping down out of the woods, moving across land that is currently too damp for pasture.
For about the past eight months I've been using elderberry syrup (about an ounce) in my daily juice drink. Since the M.E.N. Fair, sometimes add dried berries to a cup of mixed (hot) herb tea. I bought some dried blossom that I intend to use in a cold infusion. This year I had a plentiful crop, but wasn't able to spend time at the farm to harvest at the peak, and the birds got benefit of everything. Hopefully I will have a better plan next year, and about 3 more women to go out with me to harvest fruit for a couple of hours.
FWIW, I rarely get ill. If that is because of the immune system boost that comes form elderberry, it's a good thing.