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2025 Elderberry Workshops
Welcome to your home for River Hills Harvest elderberry workshops! We are excited to announce a number of workshops being held here in Missouri this coming year and we hope you can join us for at least one.
For right now, we will add save the dates to this page and when the event is up, you'll also be able to find it here. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletters to be the first to know when tickets are available.
Beginning Growers Elderberry Workshop #1
Hands On Workshop About Dormant Hardwood Cuttings & Basic Growing Tips
Saturday, March 15th
Hartsburg, Missouri
**(In person, no virtual options available)
A hands-on workshop where you’ll learn to cut and make elderberry cuttings, plus grow them with success. We’ll go over risk mitigation, weed management, and how to plan your orchard. You can expect to learn how to harvest, process and get your berries ready for market. Explore your options after you’ve harvested and learn about selling your berries or making a value-added product. You'll make and plant your own flat of elderberries to take home and grow, as well as receive your own pair of Dramm brand pruners! Enjoy a relaxing reception at the end of the day where we’ll all commune together with elderberry snacks and drinks.
Plant your own elderberry cuttings.
Learn harvest techniques and procedures.
Learn to operate a destemming machine.
Learn processing safety and protocol.
Explore your options for selling your berries.
Add value to your elderberry crop.
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Lunch and snacks provided.
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Plant and take home your own flat of elderberry cuttings (over $200 value).
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Participants will get their own pair of Dramm brand pruners (over $25 value).
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Participants will also receive a River Hills Harvest bag of goodies to go home with.
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If you purchase a 1000 pack of elderberry cuttings, you can get a FREE ticket to this workshop!
This class is designed for new growers who would like to go into commercial farming but also has value if you are a backyard gardener. Our focus on marketing will be about how to sell your berries wholesale and/or your options of adding value to them on your farm. You will plant your own flat of cuttings to take home and get your own pair of Dramm brand pruners for future elderberry cuttings!
We have voted to end our workshops with a reception full of elderberry merriment. We know that community and communication with other growers is key. This will also allow you the opportunity to ask any number of questions you may have to be answered by our crew. You can expect an array of elderberry drinks and snacks to enjoy during, and there will be plenty of time to enjoy yourself and not feel rushed to leave.
REGISTER BELOW
Beginning Growers Elderberry Workshop #2
Hands On Workshop Designed for The Backyard Gardener or Homesteader
Date TBA Around Late April or May
Hartsburg, Missouri
**(In person, no virtual options available)
A beginning growers' workshop for gardeners and homesteaders alike. Learn how to start and grow American elderberries. We will also cover how to properly process, clean and store your harvested berries. We will show you a few simple but key recipes to make in your home and you'll get to make your own elderberry shrub to take home with you. Enjoy a relaxing reception at the end of the day where we’ll all commune together with elderberry snacks and drinks.
Learn to plant, harvest & process.
Learn to make elderberry juice & syrup.
Learn how to destem elderberries efficiently.
Learn processing safety and protocol.
Explore your options for selling your berries.
Make & take home your own elderberry shrub.
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Lunch and snacks provided.
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Participants can choose to purchase rooted elderberry cuttings at a discounted price the day of the workshop.
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Make the beginnings of your own elderberry shrub to take home and finish, then enjoy!
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Participants will also receive a River Hills Harvest bag of goodies to go home with.
This class is designed for homesteaders and backyard gardeners but holds great value if you are a beginning elderberry farmer too. Our focus on processing will be on a smaller scale than our large destemming machine. You'll learn how to efficiently harvest a small crop at home, clean it and then get it ready to be stored. We will also have a session at the end of the day where we will show you how to make a few things from your freshly frozen berries and you'll make your own elderberry shrub.
We have voted to end our workshops with a reception full of elderberry merriment. We know that community and communication with other growers is key. This will also allow you the opportunity to ask any number of questions you may have to be answered by our crew. You can expect an array of elderberry drinks and snacks to enjoy during and there will be plenty of time to enjoy yourself and not feel rushed to leave.
Stay tuned for the date and when tickets are available!
The 2nd Annual International Elderberry Symposium
We cannot express how excited we are for the 2nd Annual International Elderberry Symposium taking place in Columbia, Missouri in June! There is lots more information coming about this event coming soon, stay tuned. For now, here's what you need to know:
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The University of Missouri will have tickets available soon. We will be sure to send you a link once they are up.
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We will be holding an additional workshop on Tuesday, June 17th in the afternoon. This workshop will be an overview of elderberry basics, beginning growers' information and a look at elderberries throughout the world. These tickets will be separate from the main conference tickets and will be able to be purchased here once they are available.
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Our crew is also in charge of the vendors for the trade show during The International Elderberry Symposium. While we have a list of folks to invite already, we don't want to leave anyone out. If you are interested in being a vendor at this year's conference, please fill out the form below so we don't lose track of you when it's time to get things rolling out. We will be in touch soon with pricing, times and other important information.
On Farm Harvest Workshops
with River Hills Harvest
Join the crew for a day during harvest season! We'll start early in the day picking ripe berries out of the field then migrate to the processing area. You'll learn all the ins and outs of harvesting plus get a firsthand look at a day's progress. You will operate the destemming machine, sanitize berries and get them ready to be safely packed and frozen. We'll include a lunch break in there too!
Workshop dates will become available closer to harvest time. These workshops will be led by our entire crew, as all hands are on deck during harvest season. This is our busiest and most crucial time of year; we are only allowing a few spots for these workshops to be available. This will ensure we can give you the best experience and education as well as make sure we get an ample amount of harvesting and processing done on those days.
Participants will be expected to harvest berries, move bins of berries, use a destemming machine and sanitize berries. This will be a labor-intensive day, as you will be working alongside our crew. Depending on the heat, we may start very early in the morning. This is the nature of farming, and we hope to have participants who are serious and eager to pitch in as well as learn.
Stay tuned for the date and when tickets are available!
