"Aw thanks, Shannon - that's really sweet. :)"
elderberry, elderflower, and everything in between
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Amy Boyd
- Female
- Cedar Park, TX
- United States
- Blog Posts (2)
- Discussions (89)
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Amy Boyd's Discussions
elderberries.com moving to Facebook
4 Replies
Started this discussion. Last reply by Amy Boyd on Tuesday.
That's it - moderating members now!
1 Reply
Started this discussion. Last reply by Shannon Laud Mar 22.
How to make elderberry syrup (with photos)
Started Mar 10
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Shannon Laud replied to Amy Boyd's discussion elderberries.com moving to Facebook"Thank you Amy for all you have done here and thank you also for transferring everything over to Facebook when it became no longer reasonable to continue here. (elderberry plants everywhere thank you too, you have helped to increase their popularity…"
"Hey Linus! I'm not able to add people who aren't on my friends list, but if you have a facebook account, you can request to join, and I'll approve you asap. :)
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Linus Hollis, ScD replied to Amy Boyd's discussion elderberries.com moving to Facebook"please add me, Linus.hollis@gmail.com After 2 1/2 years, the antiviral properties of Elderberry juice are sustained. something in the juice prevents viral infection of mucous membranes. Won't cure a cold or flu, but defense is better! the…"
elderberries.com moving to Facebook
Hey everybody,I hate to do this, but after 7 years in its current form, it's time for elderberries.com to finally wind down. For several years, the Google ads were enough to cover the hosting costs, but over the past year, the income from those ads has dropped to almost nothing, and since Ning has eliminated the free option for its networks, I just can't afford to keep it going any longer.I'm creating an open Facebook group called "elderberries.com" and I am re-posting the informational docs…See More
elderberries.com moving to Facebook
Hey everybody,I hate to do this, but after 7 years in its current form, it's time for elderberries.com to finally wind down. For several years, the Google ads were enough to cover the hosting costs, but over the past year, the income from those ads has dropped to almost nothing, and since Ning has eliminated the free option for its networks, I just can't afford to keep it going any longer.I'm creating an open Facebook group called "elderberries.com" and I am re-posting the informational docs…See More
"My elderberry bush died back in the TX drought a couple years ago, and I held out hope it might come back, but there was no chance. It was nothing but a stick. :/ Glad yours came back!"
Shannon Laud replied to Amy Boyd's discussion That's it - moderating members now!"Thank you Amy for addressing this growing problem, this is a great site, lets not let the spammers ruin it. ! Talk about elderberries or be gone.
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That's it - moderating members now!
Spammers have been targeting this site a lot lately, and it's so frustrating! I have blocked every one of their ip addresses, I require people to fill out those funky little number/word combos, I even added a new signup question that forces people to actually read and answer before they can sign up, and yet they still keep coming. I've banned probably 500 members in the last month and a half.I've finally taken the step of requiring admin approval before anyone can join the site. I hate having…See More
"Thanks, Alice - I've blocked him too. Sorry about that. Spammers have been targeting this site a lot lately, and it's so frustrating! I have blocked every one of their ip addresses, I require people to fill out those funky little…"
How to make elderberry syrup (with photos)
Love this post!! It's not mine, but it just looked so good I had to share.http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2013/03/07/how-to-make-elderberry-syrup/See More
"That sounds really good! This is the only place I see to buy it... is there a better source? http://www.cellar53.com/vsku1437536.html?utm_source=amazon&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=ST%2E%20GERMAIN%20ELDERFLOWER%20LIQUEUR"
Andy Luegger left a comment for Amy Boyd"Thanks Amy,
We built and used the prototype for our machine to use during last harvest. We handpick into 5 gal buckets. The machine destemms a bucket full of berries in 5-10 minutes. Basically it's a shaker screen with 1/2 inch openings that…"
"Gorgeous photos! Would love to hear more about your destemming machine... that's the first I've heard of that.
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Amy Boyd's Photos
Amy Boyd's Blog
elderberry planting & growing tips
(Note: I’d like to thank Cornell University for allowing me to post this info here!)
Planting
Elderberries grow best in moist, fertile, well-drained soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5, but will tolerate a wide range of soil texture, fertility, and acidity. It’s a myth that they prefer swampy areas. In fact, they do not tolerate poor drainage. Plant elderberries in spring, as soon as possible after they arrive from the nursery to prevent plants from… Continue
Planting
Elderberries grow best in moist, fertile, well-drained soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5, but will tolerate a wide range of soil texture, fertility, and acidity. It’s a myth that they prefer swampy areas. In fact, they do not tolerate poor drainage. Plant elderberries in spring, as soon as possible after they arrive from the nursery to prevent plants from… Continue
Posted on June 13, 2009 at 10:30am
a history of elderberries.com
Welcome to elderberries.com, a site about everything elderberry! This version of the site is new as of 2009, but I’ve had the domain since 2000, after inspiration struck during the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail in the form of the line, “Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!” The name… Continue
Posted on June 13, 2009 at 1:20am
Comment Wall (11 comments)
- At 3:42pm on September 20, 2009,
Frank Hazeldine said… - Hi Amy wait untill spring and I will up load photo's of UK Elderberry flowers they really fill the air with their scent
- At 1:41pm on July 2, 2010, Rev Woodruff said…
- That's OK; most people stumble over it ( "Er, ah, that is REVEREND... ack ...?"
- At 6:59pm on August 18, 2010, Sammy Wight said…
- We just picked 16 lbs of elderberries and have processed them into a 5 gallon carboy for our 3rd year of elderberry wine. It turned out so good that we have friends who purchase it for $14.oo per bottle. It is delicious! Eydie and I can be found on Facebook, or email us at sammy.wight@gmail.com or guardianangel1423@yahoo.com We have tried "scalding" water to try and remove the "wax" from our processing buckets, but it just doesn't come off that easy. Anyone have any tips for removing it? Please write us.
- At 6:22pm on August 20, 2010,
Cracked Cork said… - Hi Amy, its http://www.oatmealjack.com/Elderberries/Elderberries.html (not a commercial site). Is there a way to make signatures or put the URL in our profiles? Thanks, Crackedcork
- At 7:08am on December 12, 2010, lexi simon said…
hello amy, i'm writing a paper for school and would like to use your website as one of my sorces. naturally, i have to create a works cited page. I've found almost everything i need, but i havent found the date you published this site. if you could post it for me that would be great. Thank you for all the great information :) also, my paper if due jan 20th so if you could post the date before that would perfect. thanks again
- At 5:17pm on December 14, 2010, lexi simon said…
thanks soo much
- At 1:15pm on August 12, 2011,
Elderberry LIFE said… - Amy, glad you liked the elderberries flowering in a row. You should see them at night with all the flowers illuminated by tens of thousands of fire flies. Absolutely stunning. Maybe you should come to Elderberry Festival!
- At 1:18pm on August 12, 2011,
Amy Boyd said…
That sounds gorgeous, Rodger! If you get a pic of that, be sure to post. :) And I'd love to see an elderberry festival someday.
- At 11:14pm on January 2, 2012,
Sandra said… Hi! - Have you thought about making "Groups" for various elderberry topics? Discussions seem to get scattered and disorganized. Groups could include various states, recipes, medicinal uses, utilitarian uses, etc etc.
- At 7:23am on February 23, 2013, Andy Luegger said…
- Thanks Amy,
We built and used the prototype for our machine to use during last harvest. We handpick into 5 gal buckets. The machine destemms a bucket full of berries in 5-10 minutes. Basically it's a shaker screen with 1/2 inch openings that moves sideways very fast. It has adjustable speed. You have to fill in the berry clusters, move them around a little, and periodically remove the empty twigs. It sure beats most other destemming methods I heard of.
Then we wash and sanitize them in a big tub, the good ones are at the bottom, the bad ones and the few left over fine stems swim at the top, so we flush that off.
Considering that our harvest goes on over a 4-6 week period, and that we only have a few acres, we think the machine about this capacity will be good enough for us. It could easily be built bigger though.
Our prototype had a wood frame and shaker frame. On the last day of harvest it came apart. But, that's ok, we proved the concept, the final version will be metal of course, and all connections will be able to handle the violent shaking this requires.
The berries had to be ripe to make this work but it looked like the process didn't damage the berries at all.
If somebody just needs to destemm a few buckets full, we will also have a hand operated table top version. It should be able to do a five gal bucket of berries in 10-15 minutes.
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