New to Elderberries

[Wade E]

How do you know when hey are ready to be picked. They are all black as of now but seem small. Does anyone have a pic of a berry thats ready with some sort of scale to go by like with a tape measure or in their hand? Should they be the size of a small blueberry or big Blueberry? I dont want to miss out on these this year as Ive found a few plants which are wild and may even try to transplant these when they go dormant.

 

[Luc]

Wade,

Look at my article about elderberry wine making 2 years ago.
There are some pics there. Especially one where I have a complete screen in my hand.

http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2007/08/scroll-down-for-english-version-ik-had.html

Those are really ripe.

But be aware that the size is not a sign of ripeness as there are many different elderberry varieties and they indeed vary enorm in size.
I have bushes around here that have very small berries and bushes with berries that are like the ones in the picture.

Berries that are green or light red or brownish are definitely not ripe. They have to be black to be ripe.

You could do the float test (also in that story).
There is some discussion regarding the float test as european berries are likely different as US berries. But on another forum someone did some test and the berries that floated definitely had a lower SG as those that sank.

Luc

 

[Wade E]

Thanks Luc, I forgot all about your float method and have read that somewhere else also. The berries are the size of BB's but soft and dark red juice inside. Ill bring some water with me and try a few.

 

[St Allie]

You can paint with elderberry juice too you know.. like a soft water colour . the juice paints on red/purple and dries a beautiful delft blue.

Allie

( having a trivia moment)