permaculture

[Sharon Gordon <gordonse@one.net>]

At 12:29 AM 2/17/02 -0600, you wrote:
> Can anyone point me to some info on propagating elderberries?  I know
> someone who knows someone who has some growing here in Oklahoma, is
> willing to share, but none of us know how to go about it.  Can
> cuttings or prunings be rooted?  in sand?  water? When is the best
> time to do this?

You can take hardwood cuttings now, or green wood cuttings in late spring.
Elderberries like rich soil in a close to neutral range of 6-7.  Keep
them regularly watered for several months while they are rooting and
after you plant them out. You will get more fruit if you have at least two
 kinds of elderberries.  The leaves
can be a skin irritant, so if you can put them somewhere that people won't
brush up against them by accident, that helps.


> Went to a local nursery today, which grows its own stock, and picked
> up some new additions for our forest garden:

Sounds like a lot of wonderful new additions.  I enjoyed the description of
your Front Yard garden.  You have an impressive variety of plants there.
How much of your household food do you expect to produce once your
plants are really bearing at a good rate in the next few years?

Sharon
gordonse@one.net