Friends of delicious elderberries can hardly wait for the long-awaited harvest time. The calendar provides an indication of when ripe fruit can be expected. How you can recognize the exact start date is no longer hidden from you here.
Harvest time starts in August
If the summer weather has been moving within normal parameters so far, the first ripe berry cones can be expected in August. Now the fruit branches bend towards the ground under the aromatic load. The collection time for elderberries extends well into September. Equipped with a washable basket, sharp scissors and gloves, the experts get to work. You should pay attention to these notes:
- only harvest fully colored umbels
- Use scissors to cut off the entire umbel including the fruit stalk
- reddish shimmering elderberries are poisonous and are picked out
Resist the temptation to snack on the raw fruit. The purple-black berries contain a toxin that only decomposes after cooking. Red elderberries can even be pitted because their seeds remain toxic even after heating.
Harvest time ends with the fall of leaves
Regardless of the calendar date, the beautiful elder season ends at the latest when the leaves fall. All elder species shed their fruit hangings along with the leaves. Clever hobby gardeners quickly pick the bush empty and freeze the harvest until it is processed.
tips and tricks
Anyone who collects elderberries in the wild should familiarize themselves with the differences between the harmless black elder and the poisonous dwarf elder. If in doubt, avoid any herbaceous plant with apparently ripe fruit if it also smells pitifully. The dangerous parakeet also carries its berry umbels upwards and not hanging down like its big brother.
GTH