My Elder plants

[BobF]

Started adding pics of my Elderberry plants. A few more left to add when I get pics taken

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/album.php?albumid=272

 

[ffemt128]

Looks good there. I wish I had that much property.

 

[BobF]

Thanks. Be careful what you wish for, property is a lot of work. All together I have 158 acres in 3 parcels. The chores never end.

I'm gradually converting most of what was pasture to native prairie and doing stand management on the wooded parts, with a few savannah areas thrown in.

Did I mention that it's a lot of work?

 

[Midwest Vintner]

bob, if you can grow alot more of these, maybe we can do some business? I'm in need of specific type of fruits that are either not enough to make commercially or they are charging way too much!! I <3 elderberry. lol. Makes very good wine, IMO. Just a proposition.

It sounds like you got a nice thing there bob. 158 acres would be nice! I will have to agree about the chores. I got so much work to do and so little time. I like to live once and awhile too.

If anyone else has or knows anyone with some kind of fruit growing within 2-3 hrs of Hermann, MO, please contact me. PM's or soon I will have a business email.

 

[BobF]

I'll send you a PM

 

[BobF]

Just finished adding seventy-seven more elders & twenty -five golden currants. My back is sore. I think I'll have some wine!

 

[garymc]

Are your elderberries domestic or european varieties? I have some black lace and black beauty european elderberries. I planted the black lace a couple of years ago and then when I noticed that they blossom and don't bear, I suspected that they require another variety for pollination. I'm not sure, but I think the other variety has to be a european variety. The black lace makes a nice ornamental with leaves like a japanese maple.

 

[BobF]

Mine are domestic. Mostly wild varieties from the conservation nursery. I do have a York and Adams that I'm using as sources for cuttings. My test cuttings from each have rooted, so I'll be starting as many as I can from them over the next month or so.

My plan is to replace the weaker natives with these on an ongoing basis.

Those look great! The two varieties you have won't pollinate each other?

 

[BobF]

The new elders have done great this year. They were 8-12" bare root twigs when they went in. Here they are now. The tallest are about 3' and 50% have flower buds developing:


There is another half row, but the pic won't upload ...

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Very Nice Bob, do you have these guys under irrigation? One mistake we made was planting the rows to close together, its a tunnel in there sometimes and makes it hard to get enough light to see if the berries are really ripe on the insides of the tunnel! It looks like you could drive a big truck through there, great.

We had a nice warm spring here and I got flowers out the YingYang this year, we decided not to spray fungicides even though we got wiped out last year. Now we got bees working the flowers in the morning sun.

Crackedcork

 

[BobF]

Yep, I have soaker hoses weaved into them. The row centers are about 9'. I can just drive my tractor between rows without getting off of grass on either side.

These rows are 60' in length. I have another 30' row the other side of the blackberries. The other side of that row has blueberries, then Ben Sarek black currants, then golden currants.

There also two Danube sour cherry trees and 5 sweet cherries; Black Tartarian, Lapins and Black Golds. Red raspberries are in a different spot.

It's all still young. This is the 3rd year for the raspberries, second for the sour cherries. Blackberries went in last fall. Everything else went in this spring.

A ton of work, but my goal is to have more than I can possibly ferment!

 

[BobF]

I remember the fungus problem you had last year. Hopefully you'll get berries this year - I have my fingers crossed for you!

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Bob, one thing we did that improved the amount of fruit we got plus is making the fruit fill out better was to put some bees on them, plus we hope to get our own honey to make our own mead from the fruit they pollinate. It looks like you got the room for some and they LOVE raspberries and blackberries. CC

 

[BobF]

Let's see. I want to make wine, so I become a horticulturist. Then I become an apiary ... I wonder where this ends!!!