Thursday, August 21, 2008
Dug My First Ginseng of 2008
I went 2 out of 3 days over the weekend and found quite a few roots. Probably about 2 and a half pounds green. The weather is still very hot so I didn't stay but a few hours each time. I saw a lot more ginseng than I saw last year though in this area. A lot of nice four prongs, too. I also hear a lot more people are looking for it this year because of last year's high prices. That combined with the abundance of it this year is going to have to bring the price down. I'm going to call my dealer soon and see what they expect the price to be. They can't buy it until Sept. 1 I think.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Ginseng Season is Here
Finally, the wait is over. Ginseng season starts tomorrow in Kentucky. I'll probably go everyday this weekend to some spots where it disappears earlier because it gets too much sunlight and the ground is drier. Hopefully, I'll find some big roots and lots of them.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Lots of Ginseng
Ginseng appears to be quite abundant this year compared to last. I saw quite a few nice plants today and can't wait until the season gets here. Only three more months until the season opens here. I have a feeling we are going to see quite a price drop this year though. Everyone keeps saying they think it will be $1,000 a pound because it got so high last year. I think the ginseng prices are going to drop back down though. I would be thrilled with $500-600 a pound this year.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Finding Ginseng Hunting Locations
Well Spring has just about arrived and I am already thinking about finding ginseng this Fall. I need some new places to hunt so I've come up with a couple of ideas and located a couple of potentially good spots. Now I just have to wait until ginseng season starts and get permission from the landowners. I may go check some of my usual spots in a couple of months just to see how much has came up this year. Hopefully it won't get so dry this time and there will be lots more big roots to find.
Click Here to see the best guide on Wild Ginseng.
Click Here to see the best guide on Wild Ginseng.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Selling your Wild Ginseng Roots
Selling your ginseng roots can vary from state to state so be sure to check and find out what you must do in the state you live in. A quick google search will help you find the information you need for your state.
In Kentucky we don't have to do anything except locate a dealer, sell them our roots, fill out some information about when and what county it was dug in, and collect our money. Unless we want to hold onto it until the following year. Then we have to get it weighed and certified.
Before you take your ginseng roots to sell them, you should always weigh them beforehand. Most dealers are honest but there a couple out there that may shave a couple ounces off the weight or have a scale that is a little bit off. A couple ounces could mean a difference of $50.
You should also obtain a list of all the dealers in your state. If you can't find such a list online with a google search, you should be able to obtain one by calling your state agricultural deptartment who will then mail you a list or provide you the website URL if they have it listed online. Here is the one for Kentucky Kentucky Ginseng Dealer List . Find the ones in your area and call each of them to see what prices they are paying. Also ask if they pay a better price for a larger number of pounds. Many dealers will pay an extra $10-25 a pound if you have 3, 5, or 10 pounds or more.
One last note, often (but not always) the price goes up a little as it gets later in the buying season. If you don't need the money and the price isn't changing much or is moving slowly, it is often worth it to hold onto it a couple of months and sell it later in the season. Sometimes dealers have quotas that they need to fill for their buyer and will pay a little more to finish up their quota.
Hopefully this will help you get the fairest price out the hard work you put in finding and digging your wild ginseng roots.
In Kentucky we don't have to do anything except locate a dealer, sell them our roots, fill out some information about when and what county it was dug in, and collect our money. Unless we want to hold onto it until the following year. Then we have to get it weighed and certified.
Before you take your ginseng roots to sell them, you should always weigh them beforehand. Most dealers are honest but there a couple out there that may shave a couple ounces off the weight or have a scale that is a little bit off. A couple ounces could mean a difference of $50.
You should also obtain a list of all the dealers in your state. If you can't find such a list online with a google search, you should be able to obtain one by calling your state agricultural deptartment who will then mail you a list or provide you the website URL if they have it listed online. Here is the one for Kentucky Kentucky Ginseng Dealer List . Find the ones in your area and call each of them to see what prices they are paying. Also ask if they pay a better price for a larger number of pounds. Many dealers will pay an extra $10-25 a pound if you have 3, 5, or 10 pounds or more.
One last note, often (but not always) the price goes up a little as it gets later in the buying season. If you don't need the money and the price isn't changing much or is moving slowly, it is often worth it to hold onto it a couple of months and sell it later in the season. Sometimes dealers have quotas that they need to fill for their buyer and will pay a little more to finish up their quota.
Hopefully this will help you get the fairest price out the hard work you put in finding and digging your wild ginseng roots.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
How to Clean and Dry Wild Ginseng Roots
After I get home with my ginseng roots, I like to soak them in water for a bit. Then I fill the sink with water and take an old soft toothbrush and gently brush the dirt off the roots. You do not want to use a stiff brush or scrub hard or you'll end up breaking the skin covering the root.
Now you may hear some people who disagree with this and say that you should just rinse the dirt off under running water or to just soak them or whatever. They may also say that it is good to leave dirt around the rings as it looks better and adds value. All I can say is that I guess it depends on what your dealer prefers. I cleaned my roots more than adequately a few times, just soaking and rinsing them and rubbing off any obvious dirt that was left with my fingers and rinsing them again. When the roots dry they shrink in size considerably and thus look dirtier even though they looked really clean before. My particular dealer (who has been in business for a very long time and pays a better price than the dozens of other dealers I have contacted) complained about the amount of dirt on them, but still paid me full price. That's why I started using the soft toothbrush. It's still fairly quick and does a better job and my ginseng dealer likes the end result better.
After you get your ginseng roots cleaned, the next step is getting them dried out. First the don'ts. Do not put them in an oven or microwave or on top of a wood stove, etc. Do not set them out in the sunlight. Drying them fast or in the sun discolors them and the buyers do not like that.
If you have a screen or tray with a screen bottom that is perfect. If not you can use a tray, a shallow box, paper plates, a baking sheet, etc. and line it with paper towels. Place your roots on whatever you use in a single layer and spaced out enough that they aren't touching. Now you need a place to set them. Somewhere that stays 85-90 degrees with low humidity would be ideal. Places like this would include attics, storage buildings, or maybe your garage. Make sure mice or other rodents can't get to your ginseng. Drying will take probably at least 2 and maybe 3 weeks depending on the conditions, the size of the roots,etc. When it is dry it should break clean with a snap rather than bend.
In my next post we will discuss selling your roots.
Now you may hear some people who disagree with this and say that you should just rinse the dirt off under running water or to just soak them or whatever. They may also say that it is good to leave dirt around the rings as it looks better and adds value. All I can say is that I guess it depends on what your dealer prefers. I cleaned my roots more than adequately a few times, just soaking and rinsing them and rubbing off any obvious dirt that was left with my fingers and rinsing them again. When the roots dry they shrink in size considerably and thus look dirtier even though they looked really clean before. My particular dealer (who has been in business for a very long time and pays a better price than the dozens of other dealers I have contacted) complained about the amount of dirt on them, but still paid me full price. That's why I started using the soft toothbrush. It's still fairly quick and does a better job and my ginseng dealer likes the end result better.
After you get your ginseng roots cleaned, the next step is getting them dried out. First the don'ts. Do not put them in an oven or microwave or on top of a wood stove, etc. Do not set them out in the sunlight. Drying them fast or in the sun discolors them and the buyers do not like that.
If you have a screen or tray with a screen bottom that is perfect. If not you can use a tray, a shallow box, paper plates, a baking sheet, etc. and line it with paper towels. Place your roots on whatever you use in a single layer and spaced out enough that they aren't touching. Now you need a place to set them. Somewhere that stays 85-90 degrees with low humidity would be ideal. Places like this would include attics, storage buildings, or maybe your garage. Make sure mice or other rodents can't get to your ginseng. Drying will take probably at least 2 and maybe 3 weeks depending on the conditions, the size of the roots,etc. When it is dry it should break clean with a snap rather than bend.
In my next post we will discuss selling your roots.
Friday, November 2, 2007
How to Find and Dig Wild American Ginseng
The first thing you need to know is what you are looking for. Here are a few pictures of wild American ginseng plants in various stages of growth.
These photos are fairly typical of late July, late August, and late September where I live in Kentucky. Notice the leaf pattern, shape, size, edges. You will overlook many plants if you can't identify it by the leaves alone. People that just look for red berries or wait for it to turn yellow will not find as much.
First you need to find out when ginseng season starts in your state. In Kentucky it is August 15th. Next you need a place to go, something to dig the roots with, and something to put them in (any kind of sack or bag is fine really). Some people just like to use a flathead screwdriver. Some have "sang hoes" that they made themselves. I generally use one of the following.
Now to find some woods. If you don't have any suitable woods on your land or a friend, neighbor, or family member do not fret. You can get permits for most National Parks. You can also just simply ask someone for permission. Some will say no and some will say go ahead. Ideally the kind of woods we are looking for would be hardwood stands of poplar, maple, walnut, hickory and beech with around 70-80% shade. North-facing and East-facing slopes are best. The ground should be moist but well-drained. Now if it happens to be a dry year the ground may be dry nearly everywhere so if the other conditions are met, it still may be a good place.
Once you are in the woods, one way to tell if you are in a suitable spot is if you see some of the following wild plants: cohosh, goldenseal, trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit. You can find pictures of these by searching google images.
Just make sure you only harvest mature ginsing plants (three and four prongs) and plant the red berries back in the ground if they haven't fell off yet. When you dig a plant, first rake the leaves and debris away from it so you can see where the stalk enters the ground. Gently dig down around the stalk very carefully until you see the root. Usually you can see which way it is growing and then dig it up easier. If you are using a hoe type tool though you need to start digging away from the stalk and gently make your way back to the root and under it. If you happen to unearth a root that is quite small (say the size of a AAA battery for reference) or still young just plant it back. It should be 5 years or older before harvesting. You can count the bud scars to determine the age of the root. See below.
This should be enough to get you started. I'll put up an article tomorrow about what to do with your wild ginseng roots when you get home.
Click Here to see the best guide on Wild Ginseng.
These photos are fairly typical of late July, late August, and late September where I live in Kentucky. Notice the leaf pattern, shape, size, edges. You will overlook many plants if you can't identify it by the leaves alone. People that just look for red berries or wait for it to turn yellow will not find as much.
First you need to find out when ginseng season starts in your state. In Kentucky it is August 15th. Next you need a place to go, something to dig the roots with, and something to put them in (any kind of sack or bag is fine really). Some people just like to use a flathead screwdriver. Some have "sang hoes" that they made themselves. I generally use one of the following.
Now to find some woods. If you don't have any suitable woods on your land or a friend, neighbor, or family member do not fret. You can get permits for most National Parks. You can also just simply ask someone for permission. Some will say no and some will say go ahead. Ideally the kind of woods we are looking for would be hardwood stands of poplar, maple, walnut, hickory and beech with around 70-80% shade. North-facing and East-facing slopes are best. The ground should be moist but well-drained. Now if it happens to be a dry year the ground may be dry nearly everywhere so if the other conditions are met, it still may be a good place.
Once you are in the woods, one way to tell if you are in a suitable spot is if you see some of the following wild plants: cohosh, goldenseal, trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit. You can find pictures of these by searching google images.
Just make sure you only harvest mature ginsing plants (three and four prongs) and plant the red berries back in the ground if they haven't fell off yet. When you dig a plant, first rake the leaves and debris away from it so you can see where the stalk enters the ground. Gently dig down around the stalk very carefully until you see the root. Usually you can see which way it is growing and then dig it up easier. If you are using a hoe type tool though you need to start digging away from the stalk and gently make your way back to the root and under it. If you happen to unearth a root that is quite small (say the size of a AAA battery for reference) or still young just plant it back. It should be 5 years or older before harvesting. You can count the bud scars to determine the age of the root. See below.
This should be enough to get you started. I'll put up an article tomorrow about what to do with your wild ginseng roots when you get home.
Click Here to see the best guide on Wild Ginseng.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
