Goldenseal and black haw in tn

[Fenris]

I'm looking into making a few trips this summer while i wait on Ginseng season. I dig ginseng in the fall and im wondering if Seal is worth bothering with midsummer. How much do you dig on a good day? When i dig ginseng i usually get 3/4 to 1 lb green on a decent day which is always worth the effort(at least $90 worth at last years rate). But i find huge patches of seal sometimes. Never dug enough of it to speak of since the price is so low compared to ginseng.

I figure the tops aren't worth carrying home. They take up a lot of space and i dont have much room in my pack. Any opinions?

But the roots might be worth the trouble. If i could dig at least 5 lbs green in a day and it dries like ginseng that would probably make it worth the effort since i like digging anyway($30 for a day spent hiking, which is something i do anyway). What do ya'll think?

[Fenris]

Forgot to ask about the bark. Not normally something i fool with since its so labor intensive. I barked for 5 days straight once years ago. Made my arms strong but didnt pay off very well. Anyone else tried barking?

[Brad]

I don't know about other barks, but I have a market for sassafras root bark.  $7/lb and the red/purple in the spring/late fall is preferred...it must have NO wood attached.

I paid $20-22/lb dry last year for goldenseal as long as it was completely clean.  I think the tops were at $3/lb clean, green, and dry.

If you have large patches of goldenseal, late summer might be a good boost for you.  Be sure to not dig them out, and did the large mature plants (usually about 50% of the patch).  I don't have enough wild goldenseal here to dig for weight, but I do dig some wild to transplant into beds.  It takes me about an hour or two to fill up a small sack...maybe 200 or so roots.  If I were to guess, I'd say that was about five pounds of green roots.  I'm sure you will do better farther south as you have a better growing season.

[5prong]

If you have big enough patches and work it like a job you could probably dig at least about $50 worth a day.  It is a lot of work especially getting the roots clean, and they must be cleaned well to bring a good price. I usually dig a few dried pounds a year and could dig much more if I wanted.  My problem has always been that once I'm in the woods in mid summer I tend to get side tracked scouting for ginseng.   When I was much younger it was more worth it.  I remember prices around $35/ lb.  That was about 25-30 years ago and if you factor in for inflation that would probably equal out to $50 or better in todays money.  It has definately trended downward since those days.

I agree with Brad's post.  Especially about only digging the mature plants.  I have patches of seal that I've been digging for decades.  Leave the young ones to grow and by loosening the soil in the "beds" by digging the larger ones will yield bigger root in the future.  It definately seems that goldenseal will produce larger roots in soil that is less compacted.

I always wait til mid June or the first part of July after the berries have ripened on the seal before digging.