How different things are this year. Before COVID-19, my family would gather around the table in our home for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

One fond memory I have is seeing my father and grandfather both eating their jelly bread. My mother always made a great-tasting elderberry jelly. It tasted so good, my father could eat some on toast at breakfast and again as an after-dinner dessert.

About 10 years ago, I decided to plant some elderberry bushes on the border of my property. I had dreams of harvesting the fruit to make jelly.

The plants look good in as landscaping, with showy white flower clusters and edible purplish black berries.

The planting site was fertile soil that remained moist and had a partial sun southern exposure. Elderberry plants like a pH between 5.5 and 6 and are tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions.

I planted a single row of dormant plants of the York cultivar, with each one 4 feet apart, and another row of the Nova cultivar in a staggered formation on berms 3 feet apart in the late spring. It is thought that cross pollination of the two cultivars is important to have a full crop of berries.

I covered the elderberry roots with a 3-inch layer of compost to conserve moisture.

The following spring, I found that the planting site was at a low point on my property and I lost some plants due to frost damage.

I was surprised to find clusters of white flowers that turned into a partial crop of berries after the first year of growth. I provided an inch of water per week during the dry periods as directed.

The third year after planting I expected a full crop of delicious berries. I waited patiently for my bountiful berries to ripen in the heat of the summer. However, I traveled over the weekend in late August and returned to find my berries gone.

The plants grew well in year four, and I kept a careful watch on my elderberries during the harvest period between mid-August to mid-September. I noticed as the summer passed, so did a few of my berries each day. I thought I had plenty to spare so I would not fret over a few lost here and there. I came out one day after work to discover my bushes were bare.

Seems to me word travels fast in the bird community; an all-you-can-eat festival was held in my backyard.

The bird netting was purchased in year five and applied to my elderberry plants. I told my wife to wash out her jars and get ready. Apparently, a conspiracy was in the works and the deer from the woods nearby would rise up and eat their fill too. Whatever hit the ground was food for the birds. I found the wildlife like elderberries more than my wife, so only store-bought jelly for me.

For useful information on growing elderberries, go to http://go.osu.edu/elderberries.

Eister is an Ohio State University Mahoning County Extension Master Gardener volunteer.