Elderberries In South Western Michigan

Good Morning: On the Pioneer Farm where I grew up in South Western Michigan were remnants and traces of a log cabin that my great-grand-parents built and was used to raise their family. My grand-father John B. Nixon was born in 1856 and raised in that log cabin. Just a few feet north east of the cabin were planted a patch of elderberries. I can remember as a child, even though the cabin was no longer standing, the elderberry patches were growing quite well. When those berries got ripe, I spent time among the bushes, more like small trees, eating those elderberries. I never realized the real health value those berries contained. In Pioneer times they were known as the pioneers medicine chest. The flowers, leaves, berries, bark and roots have all been used in traditional folk medicine for centuries. The fruits have been used to make elderberry wine, and when cooked, can be used in pies and jams. The berries contain more vitamin C than any other herb except rosehips and black currants. Read about the value of Vitamin=C at This Link. Today they are rediscovering the value of those little dark blue elderberries.

They are using elderberries to make an alternative tincture for the cure of the flu, colds, and viruses. It would be well to have this product on hand in view of the current Swine Flu Pandemic. It’s so easy to make, easy to take, that there is no reason not to be ready and have it on hand. Read my former blog article Flu Preparations And Prevention

Isn’t it interesting that the elderberries ripen from Mid August to Mid September, just in time for the colds and viruses. Get prepared, it takes about 30 days to make the tincture from the berries and have it ready for the flu when it comes around. You can purchase dried elderberries from the health food stores; and if they don’t carry them, have them put in an order for you.

You can grow your own elderberries by ordering plants from the following link Very Important: Be sure to order The Elderberry Black Beauty, Sambucus nigra. These plants are very hardy. The elderberries growing on the farm where I lived were planted by my great-grand-parents, and I arrived 25 years after they died. There were two places on the farm where they were growing and at the time I grew up, that area was being used as pasture for horses and cows. Once you get your own plants established, they will require little care. They are beautiful when they are in full bloom and they are beautiful when the berries ripen. I loved watching the birds fly in and out of those little trees. Those little trees were just the right size for a little adventuresome kid. I used to imagine I was deep into a forest and exploring. It was no bigger than a garden area but to me it was a wondrous world full of adventure.

Brad Vigansky