Six Figs Farm LLC

Years ago, I began making elderberry syrup for our family to improve our health. I wanted to be able to use locally produced raw honey in our elderberry syrup, so I ordered dried berries from Amazon, and cooked them down, then added local honey. I was happy with that for a while. Then, I began to question. Does “organic” mean what I think it means? Are organic pesticides safe? If these elderberries aren’t from the USA, are the organic standards the same?

Where do these elderberries even come from?

I started looking for local elderberries, then, when we started our farm in Good Hope, Georgia, we planted a few elderberries for us. Then, a few more. Now, we have 300 (and counting) elderberry bushes, roughly an acre. We’re Certified Naturally Grown, don’t use pesticides, and use regenerative agriculture and permaculture principals.

Frequently asked questions

What are elderberries?

Elderberries are a bush that grows wild in Georgia, often in ditches by the roadside. They produce umbels (clusters) of white flowers in the spring, and tiny dark purple-black berries in the late summer. We don’t harvest these road-growing berries- exhaust fumes- yikes! We grow our elderberries on our farm.

What are the benefits of elderberries?

We aren’t doctors. We therefore don’t feel qualified to talk about benefits of elderberries. Here is a link to our page on elderberry studies, so that you can read for yourself. Please ask your doctor if you’re looking for medical information.

Do we make elderberry syrup?

We are not yet making elderberry syrup. The FDA regulates elderberry syrup, and there are a lot of hoops to jump through, and a lot of expenses involved to make elderberry syrup legally. Since we grow our elderberries, we are making a determination each year if our harvest is ample enough to justify the cost of those hoops. We’re expecting 2024 to be that time frame. In the meantime, our tea is made from cooked, dehydrated elderberries, and our elderberry kits are from dehydrated elderberries.

Do we use pesticides?

No, we do not use pesticides, nor do we use synthetic fertilizers. We grow using regenerative agriculture principals. We rotate our chickens, ducks, and geese through our elderberry orchards during the fall and winter. They scratch the soil, digging up and eating any pests that are overwintering there. They directly deposit their manure around our bushes. In addition, since we started out with Georgia red clay, we add compost, organic fertilizers, and mulch to optimize the growing conditions of our bushes. We do many many things to lower the number of pests without resorting to toxic pesticides.

Do we sell fresh elderberries?

So far, no. Elderberries flower in May and June, and ripen July through August. As a small family farm, harvest time is a busy time for us. It’s important that we harvest the elderberries at the peak of ripeness, then strip them from their stems, clean them, and get them into the freezer or dehydrator within hours. They are so perishable that it makes it near impossible to sell them fresh. They go into our freezer or dehydrators within hours of harvest.

How hard is it to make elderberry syrup?

It’s really not that hard. You can do it! You let it simmer on the stove for a while, strain it, cool it, and add honey. Total time about 1 hour, but hands on for only about 15-20 minutes.

I don’t have time to cook up stuff!

Ok, this really isn’t a question, but it is something we often hear. Boy, do we get it! We have tea- made from the same elderberry, even the same organic spices, and no caffeine. Add boiling water, steep for 10 minutes, strain.