Ways To make Money Outdoors: Ginseng
Green gold can make you money ... or get you killed
(photo by Christopher Baldridge/stock.adobe.com)
When I was getting my masters I started reading a magazine called Fur-Fish-Game from my local newsstand (it was that long ago) because the area of my campus was semi-rural and we were teaming with beavers, minks and deer. Thus there were hunters and trappers plying their trade around there and I wanted to learn more about this. But it wasn’t furs and meat that caught my interest month to month - it was the prices of wild ginseng being sold. The magazine had a section that went over average expected prices for furs and other things people in the woods would have (antlers for example) and ginseng was one such commodity. The first time I read that section ginseng was fetching $350 a pound of so.
I was ecstatic because I knew where ginseng was in this area and I knew of places in NY where I’d seen it. Unfortunately both NY and CT - the states I was living in at this time - made it illegal to collect most of the available plants. Since that time I’ve day dreamt fondly of striking it rich by finding a huge patch of green gold.
American ginseng now goes for about $90 a pound as the economy has hit that market hard too. It is mostly sold for export to Asian countries where it is valued for the perceived medicinal value of the plant though much of it ends up here once processed. While the leaves are also used for medicines it is the root that is a valuable crop. Wild ginseng is considered superior to gardened but gardened can still find markets.
Ginseng hunting and growing for spare money has a history dating back to the 1700s and many a poor rural family can credit the root for helping them through hard times. Since we’re all about to hit hard times it’s good to know there are ways to earn a little extra cash while getting outside. Before I go into the basics of what you need to know to get started let me just state I expect the ginseng market to crash to about $40-50 a pound, however I do think trade and barter in the root will remain viable via farmers markets and such.
First here’s a quick video showing what one looks like:
I suggest going and watching a few videos and reading multiple sources on this. Once you know what to look for you want to scout for the plants before the legal season starts (usually September until the first frost) I like to look in July and August because around then the plant will have bright red berries on them.
This information is provided by the Korean Ginseng Corporation which sells the processed product. They provide a excellent graphic of the plant for identification:
They go on:
How to recognise a Ginseng plant?
Ginseng is a small, shade-loving plant with a light-colored, forked-shaped root and a relatively long stalk that features oval-shaped green leaves. A mature plant will have three to five compound leaves, and each comprises three to five leaflets. At three years of age, the plant grows a cluster of dull-yellow flowers in spring. These develop into a cluster of bright-red berries located just above the point where the compound leaves join the stem. The berries grow in early fall and contain seeds. Depending on the weather and climatic conditions, germination takes anywhere from 18 to 22 months. A fully-grown ginseng plant grows up to two feet tall.
2. Identify the habitat
If you are in pursuit of wild ginseng, you must carefully identify its habitat or a place where there's a good potential for its growth. Ginseng typically appears in deep forest areas with 70 to 90 percent shade.
It usually lies on North or East-facing slopes in hardwood forests and thrives in well-drained loam soil that gets 35 - 50 inches of rain. In the US, harvesting Wild ginseng is regulated only in 19 states. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
3. Hunt during the ginseng season
Wild ginseng cannot be harvested all year long. There's a short bracket within which you can harvest them. It is important to ensure that you hunt during the ginseng season, failing which you might further endanger this herb.
Ginseng can be legally harvested from 1st September to 31st December in the USA. You just need to make sure that you aren't in a state where ginseng harvesting is prohibited.
4. Harvest the ginseng root
Harvesting a ginseng root is not as difficult as it seems.
Dig at least 6 inches deep in the soil from the plant and carefully work your way down to the root.
Pull up the root carefully, ensuring the tiny rootlets attached.
Break off the stem while keeping the root neck intact.
Remove the seed-bearing berries and bury them where you found the plant.
The harvested root must be carefully cleaned with water, after which you must air-dry the cleaned roots for one to two weeks
Sounds simple enough. Magazines like Fur-Fish-Game will have ads from buyers in the back so grab a copy if you’re planning on hunting ‘seng. Wild ginseng should be harvested when it’s at least five years old. There are two ways to determine age according to Treehugger:
Here are two ways you can estimate the age of wild ginseng plants before you harvest. You must be able to do this to abide by any legal harvest age limit and to assure an adequate future crop. The two methods are: (1) by leaf prong count and (2) by rhizome leaf scar count at the root neck.
Leaf prong count method: Ginseng plants can have from one to as many as four palmately compound leaf prongs. Each prong can have as few as three leaflets but most will have five leaflets and should be considered mature plants. So, plants with three leaf prongs are legally considered to be at least five years old. Many states with wild ginseng harvest programs have regulations in place that prohibit the harvest of plants with fewer than three prongs and assumed to be less than five years old.
Leaf scar count method: The age of a ginseng plant can also be determined by counting the number of stem scars off the rhizome/root neck attachment. Each year of plant growth adds a stem scar to the rhizome after every stem dies back in the fall. These scars can be seen by carefully removing the soil around the area where the plant's rhizome joins the fleshy root. Count the stem scars on the rhizome. A five-year-old Panax will have four stem scars on the rhizome. Carefully cover your below-ground root digging with soil.
In general it is illegal to take the plant from any national or state park. Otherwise laws vary from state to state so check your local Department of Natural Resources website for information.
Harvesting it illegally will get you a fine.
Harvesting it from someone else’s property might get you shot!
WASHINGTON COUNTY, INDIANA, Ind. — A Scott County man is dead and a woman is in custody after a deadly shooting in southern Indiana.
Indiana State Police said the shooting happened Friday, Oct. 29 around 3:15 p.m.
Officers responding to a report of a person shot found 55-year-old Michael Walker of Austin dead in a wooded area behind a home in the 1600 block of Peacock Hollow Road east of Salem.
An investigation revealed Walker, two other men and two dogs were hunting for ginseng on property behind the home.
Police said their investigation determined Krystal N. Granger, 35, "fired at least one gunshot in the direction of Walker" and the dogs.
Police said Walker was struck by a shot allegedly fired by Granger.
Police initially held Granger on an allegation of false informing. A charge of reckless homicide was added after an Oct. 30 autopsy "determined that Walker sustained a gunshot wound which resulted in his death."
Granger was held at the Washington County Jail.
The History channel has an entire documentary about the fighting over ginseng called Appalachian Outlaws. There are some episodes for free on YouTube:
If this all sounds too exciting or complicated you can always grow your own ginseng on the homestead if you have the right conditions. Like wild ginseng though only roots five years old and up are valuable.
This isn’t a replacement for getting a decent job, but as families start living together and you have members not gainfully employed, or you have to stop taking vacations and start hiking or camping for recreation being able to make a few extra bucks while getting some exercise isn’t a bad deal.