Ginseng tall tales

[timbo]

I am new to ginseng and was wondering what a good forager can find on an average day and whats the best day you all have had? Kim Pritts book in the historical part mention men digging thirty to forty pounds a day who were accustomed to the work. What would you expect to hope for?
 

[Brad]

Others can speak to their own experiences, but your question really depends on the area in which one is hunting.  For instance, if there is a hillside as far as one can see that is covered with ginseng that is old and also has big roots, it might be possible to dig more than 10 pounds in a day.  You dig more if your time is spent digging rather than hunting for something to dig.

In my areas, you spend more time hunting than digging.  Based on the diggers I talk to and who sell their roots to me, I would venture to say that the average is a couple ounces dry in a day's outing.  Then again, there are folks who know where the ginseng is, and can reasonably dig 3 or 4 pounds in a day.

[timbo]

That's about what I figured. I live in northern NY state , Tug Hill region , which has a lot of woodland. Most of which is state land , which doesn't allow any digging what so ever. I was just trying to get the ball rolling on more experienced diggers best days stories. My plan is to do some deer  / ginseng scouting and start a map of ginseng ( if I find any) and then return later to harvest. I thought I would start seeding likely spots at that time. I'm going to be contacting you for seed and roots soon Brad. I know there are a couple farms nearer but You seem to have the expertise at handling seed and root stock.

[Brad]

Thank you for the kind words.

Availability to ground that has harvestable ginseng is the key.  If you can do the hunting part before the season starts.  Perhaps while digging goldenseal or bloodroot, and mark the ginseng on a personal GPS unit, that would save considerable time for digging during the season.

Keep in mind though, just because a plant is legal doesn't mean it should be harvested yet.  Larger is better. 10 or more years old a must in most cases.