Wild ginseng...

[ruby_jane]

A neighbor and I were talking, and he mentioned something about what grows in this area and what can be harvested--this area is known for it's molasses, apple butter, pickle beans...and wild ginseng I honestly did not know it grew in the US . I did read into it, and you don't have to have a license to harvest it on your own land but you do to purchase it...and there's a season for it too (here it's Aug 15th-Dec 31st). Anyone ever done this? I'm intrigued...

[FreightTrain]

5 years ago i was living in the Mtns of NE Tn and had someone offering, i think it was 400 a pound no questions asked... I never could find any tho

[ruby_jane]

$4.00 a pound? Is it that hard to find?

[ScrappyNana]

Several years back I moved to TN without much money or sense. One way we supported a household with 7 kids and 3 adults was to collect ginseng on the hillsides. It was easy enough that the kids all helped. We would take it to an old country store and sell it by the pound to a guy that drove from ??? He would sit there every day for ??? waiting for people to haul it to him.
We didn't have any sort of license but like I said...moved up there without alot of sense or cents!
At this point in my life, I don't know if I would even recognize it. My memory must have gotten left behind in TN

[njmama]

Originally Posted by ruby_jane

$4.00 a pound? Is it that hard to find?

You will get a lot more than 4.00 a pound for wild ginseng.

[ScrappyNana]

Originally Posted by ruby_jane

$4.00 a pound? Is it that hard to find?

We didn't have a hard time finding it at all. Don't know about now, things have really grown up in that area.

[Stephen in SOKY]

Has 'sang gone down that much in price? Geez, $4/oz maybe? It's hard to find woods with any left it's such a popular activity here. A good friend digs enough for her vacation every year, & we're talking Hawaii, & Europe.

[chickenista]

If you do find it...wildfood law..pick one - leave three. That insures tha the wildfood continues to thrive and will be there for you next year. Especially with ginseng because it grows so slowly. A big root is a vey old root. There is big money to be made with very little effort, but it is getting rarer every year. It is being depleted and encroached.

[ericjeeper]

Not exactly sure the going rate nowdays.
But I have sold it for well over 200 a dried pound..
Thats 200 dollars a pound 12.50 an ounce

[Hillbillybob]

I don't know about the wild as I grow mine but I grow mine as woods grown planting the seed and waiting about 15 to 20 years to harvest. I have been paid wild price every time that I have sold it and 4 dollars an oz wouldn't even come close. I get from 325.00 dollars a lb to 414.00 dollars per lb depending on the market.
1 lb of seed has about 7,000 seed in it and I figure that I get about a 75% harvest rate of the planted seed.
I wish you all the best.
Hillbillybob

[ruby_jane]

Originally Posted by rose2005

Ruby Jane...a local firm is offering $400 a pound, and yes it is grown wild around here.

Rose

My oldest DS just told me the Trader Times had that ad I've never seen wild ginseng before, and after talking to our neighbor , I was curious...but, too much on my plate now to be thinking about wandering into the woods with our neighborhood bear wandering around (LOL!) to be picking that stuff...a neat idea, though.

[BillHoo]

Go out to the wild ginseng patch at night during a full moon.

Look for the plant that is glowing slightly. KEEP YOUR EYE ON IT AND GET YOUR SPADE READY! Otherwise, if you glance away, it will get up and walk to another location.

Grasp the top of the plant firmly and loosen the earth around it. Pull it out quickly! You may hear a God awful scream, don't let that phase you!

Secure the root in a jar so it cannot get away.

Very strong medicinal properties!

[hillsidedigger]

I run across a ginseng plant occasionally and where there's one plant there's probably several nearby. It once was very common and the oldtimers say it was nothing to go out for a couple of hours and dig a burlap sack full of ginseng roots. Still even a burlap sack full when dry might only weigh a few pounds, but heck if it only took a couple of hours to harvest it ...

Originally Posted by BillHoo

Go out to the wild ginseng patch at night during a full moon.

Look for the plant that is glowing slightly. KEEP YOUR EYE ON IT AND GET YOUR SPADE READY! Otherwise, if you glance away, it will get up and walk to another location.

Grasp the top of the plant firmly and loosen the earth around it. Pull it out quickly! You may hear a God awful scream, don't let that phase you!

Secure the root in a jar so it cannot get away.

Very strong medicinal properties!

This sounds more like mandrake root to me. The shriek is supposed to be fatal to any who hear it.

.....Alan (so legend has it anyway).

[BillHoo]

Originally Posted by A.T. Hagan

This sounds more like mandrake root to me. The shriek is supposed to be fatal to any who hear it.

.....Alan (so legend has it anyway).

Then I guess I'm lucky I got wild ginseng and not mandrake!

[donsgal]

Originally Posted by ruby_jane

A neighbor and I were talking, and he mentioned something about what grows in this area and what can be harvested--this area is known for it's molasses, apple butter, pickle beans...and wild ginseng I honestly did not know it grew in the US . I did read into it, and you don't have to have a license to harvest it on your own land but you do to purchase it...and there's a season for it too (here it's Aug 15th-Dec 31st). Anyone ever done this? I'm intrigued...

There are laws (Federal, I believe) pertaining to the harvesting of wild ginseng. I know that in Missouri you can be subject to extraordinary fines and jail time if you are caught with the stuff. I suspect that it is the same in your neck of the woods. I would research carefully. Most buyers will not touch wild ginseng because of this and will only but woods-grown (cultivated) roots. I believe the going price is more like $40 a pound, if memory serves.

donsgal

[Hillbillybob]

Originally Posted by donsgal

There are laws (Federal, I believe) pertaining to the harvesting of wild ginseng. I know that in Missouri you can be subject to extraordinary fines and jail time if you are caught with the stuff. I suspect that it is the same in your neck of the woods. I would research carefully. Most buyers will not touch wild ginseng because of this and will only but woods-grown (cultivated) roots. I believe the going price is more like $40 a pound, if memory serves.

donsgal

Not quite right.
If you are cought digging it off state or federal property then you are subject to all the fines and jail time.
If you have wild ginseng growing on your property you own it by state law and you can harvest it but only after September 1st. You must also get it tagged by the conservation department rather wild or cultivated before you dry it.
If you are growing good woods grown ginseng you can't tell if it is wild or cultivated so I don't know how a buyer would know the difference after dried.
No reputable buyer will buy without the paper work from the conservation department though.
Hillbillybob

[donsgal]

Originally Posted by Hillbillybob

Not quite right.
If you are cought digging it off state or federal property then you are subject to all the fines and jail time.
If you have wild ginseng growing on your property you own it by state law and you can harvest it but only after September 1st. You must also get it tagged by the conservation department rather wild or cultivated before you dry it.
If you are growing good woods grown ginseng you can't tell if it is wild or cultivated so I don't know how a buyer would know the difference after dried.
No reputable buyer will buy without the paper work from the conservation department though.
Hillbillybob

Yeah. That's it. I knew it was something like that. Thanks for straightening me out on the particulars.

donsgal

[Just Little Me]

Here is what I found on it:

http://www.wildgrown.com/laws.htm

[Hoosierdaddy]

Some of you may know something about your local laws, but around here - Indiana _ most of what has been stated is BS. Way to much misinformation!

Brett