Average number of ginseng plants per (dry) pound

[Michael]

On average how many 7-year old ginseng plants are there per (dry) pound?

Thanks!

[Brad]

I don't think there is any way to really say for sure.  Maybe someone else has a better handle on your question.

Cultivated roots seldom are allowed to grow for seven years.  Most are harvested at four, earlier if they start to disease, and a year or so later if they are growing well without disease issues in the garden.  I have a picture of one root that was bigger than a $20 bill I put next to it.  That is not very uncommon for four year old cultivated roots either.

Talking wild, we have mixed ages from 7-80 years or so, and some years the average per pound is better than in others.  Last year, the wild ginseng I certified averaged about 150 roots per pound if memory serves.  I have heard and seen lots where the average count would be double that.

If you are talking woodsgrown root that is not fertilized, they will appear in all aspects to be wild and have similar weights.

[tnginseng]

It depends alot on what part of the country you are in as well, mountain ginseng and northern ginseng tend to be larger than ginseng in the south. Where i live in Tenessee wild ginseng will average about 250-300 plants per pound. usually ginseng will loose 2/3rds of its weight during the drying process.

[Whitjr]

 If you get the Person's book, you can get research on this.  As K-Duce and Brat posted above, it's only defined by what conditions/area the 'sang is grown in.