Elderberry Plants for Farm
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Jeff and Melissa Delimont
Posted on: June 13, 2006

I was thinking of planting some elderberry plants on my farm. There is a local winery close to where I live and they use elderberry to make jams, wines and elderberry concentrate. I was wondering if you could tell me if raising this crop is an expensive endeavor and if you think it is a feasible idea to raise commercially.

We have not grown elderberries as a berry crop so we cannot offer any information based on direct experience. Elderberries seem to be easy to grow and aren’t as prone to attack by pests as other soft fruits are. As a commercial crop the main considerations are a) the initial outlay for planting stock, b) annual maintenance, c) potential yields, d) cost of harvesting, processing, packing and delivery, and e) the expected revenue.

Here are some links that may prove to be useful:

http://www.agr.gc.ca/mad-dam/index_e.php?s1=pubs&s2=bi&s3=php&page=bulletin_16_21_2003-12-05

http://extension.osu.edu/~news/story.php?id=2485

http://agebb.missouri.edu/mac/agopp/arc/agopp066.txt

I also want to thank you for all of the wonderful information that everyone receives from your web site. I have been doing business with your company since 2000 and have been very happy with every purchase I have made from your company. Just to let you know, I was cleaning out my freezer last year and came across some Loofah seeds I had purchased from you some 3 YEARS earlier. I had not used all of them and there were still 10 or 12 left over. I remember because the ones I planted 3 years earlier did so very well. I really did not expect these to grow due to the nature of storage and the fact they were so old. I planted them anyway just for fun. MAN OH MAN. They did just about as good as the ones I planted when I first got them from you. Now that is good quality products! Thanks again and I will defiantly be back.

Thank you for the kind words and for telling us about your experience with our luffa seeds. Much appreciated!

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