wildcrafting
wildcrafting 101 – the first time i went wildcrafting for medicinal herbs – mullein, st. john' s wort and red clover
“real” healing potions – introducing the boys to wildcrafting. medicinal uses of yarrow and plantain
a wild edible plant guide is a must when you first begin the art of wildcrafting .
here are 10 tips for wildcrafting medicinal herbs that will help you on your plant foraging journey .
the word
wildcrafting
means harvesting wild plants in there natural habitat with as little impact as possible .
wildcrafting is an endeavor that every herbalist should try. these 10 tips for wildcrafting medicinal herbs should give you a good head start. the most important part is to just start looking, soon you’ll be surprised by how many plants you can identify !
wildcrafting wild plants has been revered in many traditions and cultures as a time of ceremony and sacred presence with the natural world .
again, be sure to check with all your state and local regulations before you go out wildcrafting, so that you can harvest herbs ethically and responsibly .
in addition to growing your own magical herbs in your garden, in many areas you can harvest herbs from their natural environment—in the wild. this is known as wildcrafting, and is becoming a popular pastime. if you’re one of the many pagans or wiccans who enjoys working with herbs, you may want to look into wildcrafting. however, much like any other natural resource, herbs must be harvested responsibly—otherwise, a once - plentiful plant can quickly end up on the endangered list !
it is important to also consider the overall heath of the biocommunity before a harvest. if a plant is an endangered species - - or even at risk if gathered on a commercial basis - - then any wildcrafting may present a threat to the species .
wildcrafting is the practice of foraging for useful plants from their natural, wild habitat for edible or medicinal purposes. wildcrafting for your own medicinal herbs is one of the most rewarding things that you can do. not only is it nice to know where your herbal remedies come from, but it’s fun to learn to identify plants and to see what the plants actually look like while they’re growing. plus, you might be surprised to find out about the medicinal qualities of common plants that you walk by every day !
wildcrafting, or gathering plant material from it’s native “wild” environment is becoming very popular. many local herbalists and wildcrafters are concerned about damage to our resources. a well - trained wildcrafter should never damage or deplete our inheritance from nature. a few actually intend to damage the environment for personal gain, but those folks will not be swayed by one article on the internet. the majority of the wildcrafters are looking for a way to connect with nature for the day, have fun, and finish with some plants for food, medicine, fiber, or art. these wildcrafting guidelines are for you .
wildcrafting is the activity of foraging for wild edibles and medicines in the bush. prior to the invention of agriculture most human civilization relied on this activity for sustenance, and today for health and economic reasons it is experiencing a revival. the edible world surrounds us, this site will help you take advantage .
this is the best part about wildcrafting – it gets you outside, exercising in nature, all with a purpose. it doesn’t matter if you go for a long hike in the woods or for a stroll in your own neighborhood, medicinal plants grow everywhere. you just have to get outside and start looking !
wildcrafting is a term for the age - old practice of collecting plant materials in their natural habitat for food, medicine, and craft. originally such activity was the only grocery store, medicine chest, and hardware store, available to man. but eventually the “found materials” became a source of income to buy what could not be “gleaned” from nature .
signs of spring are upon us. the warm rains of spring are replacing the cold rains of winter. fruit trees are wearing coats of color and fragrance, and the oso berry is announcing the return of another growing season. around this time of year i prepare myself for the new cycle of students. another year of teaching plant identification and wildcrafting ethics .
every time my apprentices harvest anything, i ask them what ‘wildcrafting is stewardship’ means to them. the answers become personalized for each individual. to me, it means if you take care of the earth, the earth will take care of you. i am a caretaker of these wild plants, returning year after year to many places to watch and protect the plants that support me. perhaps this year you will find a personal meaning for this phrase also .
included in this article is a wildcrafting checklist that you can print and carry with you into the field. use it every time you harvest. it will be difficult to answer all the questions. some questions will require returning to the site every year for a couple of years. if you can’t figure out if your population of plants (plant stand) is growing or shrinking, or if it’s being eaten by elk, don’t worry. just be aware of these thoughts, and try to answer them as time goes on .
of course, doing less does require knowledge. you must be well versed in how to harvest sustainably, and you must have an earnest familiarity with the character and history of the land you tend. this harvesting of plants from their native setting is called wildcrafting. there are those who wildcraft without regard to the ethics or laws of what they are doing. they are, of course, a threat to the plants and the ecosystems that provide a suitable environment for the plants. these are the people who do not own the land, enter it without permission and virtually strip it of whatever plant they are seeking or happen to find. this type of wildcrafter does not consider the welfare of the plant population. some plant colonies are very sensitive to soil compaction. once the soil that supports one of these colonies is trampled, the delicate ecological balance is shattered. the plant colony’s natural potential to adapt and survive climatic change is damaged, usually for years .
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an ethical harvester of wild plants ponders the best way to preserve and protect the wild plants he depends on .
i’m a lazy guy who enjoys the outdoors and good people, so the growing of native plants in their natural habitat provides the perfect setting for me. the less i do, the better the plants like it, and the people who share my passion tend to be good people .
at the other end of the spectrum are the ethical wildcrafters. they assume responsibility for what they harvest. they make positive identification of plants before they gather them. they investigate the health of the ecosystem and the plant population before they harvest. they do not gather more than they need. they harvest only in appropriate habitats, never in vulnerable environments. they wear proper clothing and use the correct tools when harvesting in order to minimize any injury to the site. they obtain written permission from the owner before entering the land, or harvest on their own land .
the behavior of wildcrafters paints a bell shaped curve with the smallest number at each end and most falling somewhere in the middle. however, wildcrafters, even ethical ones, may pose a threat to the bioregion .
the ethical guidelines for harvesting of plants, alone, are simply insufficient to protect the plants. wildcrafters by definition take from the wild, so they do not often have the ultimate responsibility or authority for the overall care of the land. it is difficult to gain the in - depth knowledge of the overall population of the plants for a given habitat without daily, first - hand experience .
wildcrafters generally are not on site throughout the years and so do not have the necessary knowledge to take into account the effect of natural local events such as droughts, floods, erosion, infestations, blights or forage patterns of animals, all of which contribute to the effect of a harvest. land use practices also need to be taken into account because of their impact and may not be known to the wildcrafter. logging, grazing, mining, weed abatement programs and recreational use all contribute to the consequences of the harvest .
sick plants or plants grown in contaminated soil may have altered chemistries. the claim that these plants are wildcrafted and therefore unaltered is a disservice to the buyer and consumer of these plants and has the overall effect of undermining the value of the plants .
even healthy plants in pristine locales can pose a dilemma. pristine locales with healthy colonies of desirable plants should probably not be harvested. they better serve as a way to measure the performance of areas that are harvested. problems also arise where wildcrafters attract attention to a healthy area. the trodding of feet from the curious as well as gatherers may compact the soil and ruin the habitat. most wildcrafters are not careless, or unethical. some are very ethical and very knowledgeable about the land conditions. however, even they may inadvertently contribute to the degradation of the bioregion. take the scenario where one ethical wildcrafter is followed, unknowingly, by another wildcrafter, each using the common rule of thumb: “take three of ten, leaving seven. ” that formula can only work a few times before the problem of over harvesting has resulted .
there is a market effect that must be considered as well. wildcrafters who go out and gather huge quantities of plant material without an order for the plant drive down the value of the plant. usually such a wildcrafter must quickly sell the product to maintain its value, and can do so without having to add in the costs of landownership, taxes, or maintaining the plant population. this artificially low price makes it more difficult for the ethical harvester to compete .
yet it may be as necessary to the plant population' s heath to be gathered as it is to try and protect it by not gathering it. please let me explain .
in one sense, it would make absolute sense to not gather any plant that was endangered. but to do so, i think, fails on a very practical level. plants are generally held to have their greatest value if they are used. i believe that the greater the plant’s value, the greater chance it has of surviving long - range—with organizational help. research and development to manage and propagate a species that has commercial value may do more to protect it than prohibiting its harvest “under any circumstances”. many organizations are geared toward preservation and, although i applaud their efforts, it may often be counterproductive .
plants grow old and die. would it not be better to harvest the mature plants for use, allowing space for the younger plants to grow, rather than to simply let it grow old and die without its commercial value being appreciated ?
the preservation concept of absolute prohibition championed by some wildlife organizations may make theoretical sense, but for the most part it simply generates a relatively small and ineffectual following whose contribution to the cause does not offset the commercial demand for the plants. certain plants that are deemed by the preservation groups to be endangered or at risk command prices reaching 375 dollars or more a pound. under these circumstances, advocating absolute prohibition applies a lock that keeps honest people honest but does nothing to protect against the determined thief .
prohibiting the harvest of a plant rarely turns back the blade of the bulldozer. plants must be used in order to demonstrate their value. if plants can be shown to have a demonstrable commercial and health value, then the market demand may have a positive effect on the plants survival because it will result in a substantial effort to produce commercial quantities .
a more effective approach, in my opinion, would be to teach how to guard against improper harvests, propagate these important plants and develop an ethical market for their trade. this in turn would stimulate a market demand for sources that cultivate and preserve and sustain .
this is an important issue to me. the land in our region is being developed and used for many different reasons. unless we can demonstrate that the value of the plants in their undisturbed habitat exceeds some of the other land uses, the plants will continue to lose ground .
farmers commonly look at woodlands as unproductive land. they measure land value in tillable acres. thus the woods, once timbered, are of greater value to them as field land … and more habitats are lost. landowners look at the woods for the timber value and take out of it what they can because they don' t realize the value of the plants … and so habitat is lost. farmers and other landowners who view these habitats as unproductive sell the land off for development or other uses that are destructive to native habitats .
i recommend that if you are interested in learning more about this fascinating and profitable aspect of farming there are a number of good books available. the best way to learn is by spending time in the field with a good field guide like peterson’s field guide to medicinal plants published by houghton mifflin and written by foster and duke. to order or learn more about this and other books on medicinal plants, click here .
there are several good organizations that i am aware of that have a great deal of useful information to pass along. join worth - while organizations like united plant savers and abundant life seed foundation .
be aware, protect, preserve and cultivate; and above all learn how to sustain .
you will definitely want to invest in 2 or 3 good plant identification books to help you. it’s especially helpful to find books that are geared towards medicinal and edible plants, and even better if you can find one specifically for your region. there are many great books on the market for this, you can see some of my favorites here. try to go on a few plant walks with a local expert before venturing out on your own, and be 100% sure of your plant identification before harvesting, as there are some toxic lookalikes .
before you leave, put together a backpack or bag with your plant books, water, a snack or two, extra clothing, and even a small first aid kit (make a hiking first aid kit). you will also want to bring a pocket knife and scissors and / or small pruners for collecting. if you think you might be collecting some roots, a small gardener’s trowel is also handy. small baggies of some sort for your collections is helpful as well .
as a longtime hiker, this one was actually a hard one for me to start doing. i like to walk fast and get in some good mileage, but when your goal is to collect wild plants, you need to take it slow so that you actually have the chance to notice your surroundings. if you’re like me and you have a hard time with slowing down, maybe take a child or an elderly person with you. they naturally walk slow and force you to move at a different pace, plus i’m sure they would love the adventure !
as you’re walking slowly, look down. scan the trail, path, or sidewalk that you’re walking on. look in all directions, and sometimes even behind you. look up. stop from time to time just to take in your surroundings. pick out plants and practice looking them up in your identification books. really, just keep looking !
when you’re on the trail, try going off trail for a bit. be gentle when doing this, as you don’t want to disturb the natural habitat. beyond the woods, however, there are many places to wildcraft .
sidewalks and quiet gravel road edges are good places to look, as are open fields and empty lots. make sure to get permission first for anything that is private property, and steer clear of busy roadsides to avoid runoff and pesticide contaminants. also avoid areas that are close to industrial and construction sites, under power lines, or near commercial farms that could be using pesticides and have toxic runoff. many local places like parks, green spaces, and school grounds can also be good; just be sure to check that collecting wild plants is allowed before you start .
wherever you collect, be sure that the plants aren’t being sprayed with pesticides and are not growing on polluted land, and always check if foraging is allowed. you might even want to look in your own backyard !
unless you know without a doubt that a specific plant grows in a specific place, you don’t want to set yourself up for failure by thinking that you’re going to go out and collect a whole bunch of a certain plant. half of the fun is the adventure and not knowing what you’re going to find. often, i will find several plant varieties, but on the rare occasion i won’t find any. that’s just how it goes sometimes .
there are so many medicinal plants that we have all grown up with that are easily identifiable. dandelion, red clover, plantain, yarrow, mullein, rosehips, and elderberry are just a few. learn about common plants like these first, then move on to more uncommon or harder to find plants .
research which medicinal plants are rare or endangered, and absolutely do not take any of those. over harvesting can be devastating for many threatened plant species. some example of medicinal plants that are at - risk are slippery elm, american ginseng, black cohosh, and goldenseal .
finally, even for plants that are abundant, do not take them all. if you want these wonderful medicinal plants to keep on giving us their wonderful benefits, we have to leave some for future years. so always leave more that you take (a general rule is to harvest just 5 - 10% of a population), and better yet, plant a seed of the same variety whenever you remove a plant .
this post was written by colleen codekas who runs the blog grow forage cook ferment, a website that teaches about all types of homesteading endeavors, particularly related to food, herbalism, permaculture, health and survival. she loves growing and foraging for herbs and other plants, making herbal salves, cooking food from scratch and making mead (honey wine). she is currently taking the introductory herbal course and is absolutely loving it !
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forests are a great place to look for wild herbs to harvest - as long as you have permission! . image by patti wigington 2014
an ethical wildcrafter should never cause damage, nor should they deplete a resource. here' s how to be an ethical wildcrafter .
first, be sure you have permission to wildcraft in the area you' re visiting. some public lands require you to have a permit before you may harvest any plants. if you' re on private property, get permission from the landowner. also, be sure you check your local department of agriculture extension to see if there are plants that are on the endangered list in your area. that wild ginger may seem inviting, but if it' s being depleted in your region, you need to pass on it .
have a guidebook handy, with color photos of local plants. what grows in virginia is not the same as what grows in wyoming, and a plant common in new hampshire may be non - existent in florida. use a field guide to local plants to help you properly identify items you may wish to wildcraft .
when you' re looking for herbs to harvest, don' t collect from the first patch you see. typically, that first patch is the same one that everyone else sees when they' re walking down a trail or driving by. instead, go further afield, moving off - trail if possible to look for another patch. this way, you can harvest from a location that won' t be noticeably damaged the next time someone walks by .
in some public parks, you may only harvest at a certain distance away from trails, so be sure you check with your local agency .
pay attention to the environment around you. many a beginning wildcrafter has gotten lost in the woods because they weren' t paying attention to their surroundings. likewise, watch for hazards like loose rocks, narrow trails along ridges, or low - hanging tree limbs. remember that the further away from civilization you get, the further you are from help if you need it .
if possible, wildcraft with a friend, or at the very least, carry a cell phone and / or handheld gps with you .
try to harvest plants that are not damaged easily before you go for the more fragile ones. some plants, like dandelion, yarrow, and blackberry are just about impossible to kill simply by picking them - - they' ll always grow back. also, when you take a plant, take only what you can use in the foreseeable future. many wildcrafters try to use a specific ratio of one in four or even one in five - - that means for every plant you harvest, you must leave four to five plants in the same patch .
in many magical traditions, it is customary to offer a blessing or a prayer of thanks when harvesting wild herbs .
i offer thanks to the god and goddess, for allowing me this small gift .
you may also wish to leave an offering by scattering seeds, so that new plants will grow to replace the ones you have taken .
posts may contain affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission to support the site at no extra cost to you. thank you !
although not standard “garden” elements, my weeds are also harvested for culinary and medicinal use. the “weekly weeder” series provides identification and usage information for many common weeds, plus there are articles on some of my favorite herbal recipes and remedies that are a must for every homesteader .
i just rediscovered the book “ weeds - guardians of the soil ” thanks to phil nauta, the smiling gardener. i had read a page of this book years ago, and wanted to read the rest of it ever since. thanks, phil !
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you should do a post on the elderberry plant! thanks for all the wonderful posts you have done so far. i am learning so much! just looked at queen anne’s lace…. i happen to have tons of it here on my property! plantain is quickly taking over my yards…some kind of tiny yellow clover that tastes like vinegar, red clover ad white…the list keeps growing! i love finding new “food” on the land that we live on !
i don’t have any elderberries on my property, but i have a friend who does, so perhaps i can prevail upon her to snap some photos for me. we did make elderberry syrup, jelly and wine last fall :
my son and i were walking in the yard yesterday identifying edibles and medicinals as we went. it’s a good feeling to know your “plant allies”. 🙂
i love elderberry tincture that i make myself. also elderberry brandy with spices and fruits, both are medicinal (and good) …wonderful when coming down with a cold or flu, or just to help prevent! !
my neighbor says she knows of some elderberry stands nearby, so i’m looking forward to experimenting with blossoms this spring as well as fall fruit. the wine is lovely !
i just love reading these! i have learned so much. i find myself looking at weed everwhere now. lol. thanks for all you do !
i find myself doing the same thing. 🙂 weeds aren’t just “weeds” anymore .
i’ve been moving more and more into organic gardening and now want to “grow” edible weeds to go with the ‘greens’ i plant. also to attract “good” bugs and pollinators. a guy saw some mushrooms growing on my railroad toes and wanted to eat them …. . he said they smelled ok, but i wouldn’t let him do so and told him lots of preople have died from eating mis - identified mushrooms. i know mushrooms aren’t ‘weeds’ but really need to know what is in my yard that can be eaten – and – what should be avoided. i didn’t know thistle was edible. how does one get around those thorns ?
is that “railroad ties”? i would not eat any mushrooms growing out of those, as they are treated with chemicals that would be absorbed by the mushrooms .
one can handle thistles barehanded if one has tough fingers and manipulates them gingerly, but light gloves are helpful. you go for large plants with fat, juicy ribs, and sort of skin off the prickly outside. i’ve also munched roots of small plants as i am weeding – just rinse and go – no skinning .
i need a good post or some detailed information on the look and gathering of jerusalem artichoke. i know it grows around here, but each time i think i have identified it, i turns out not to be what i’m looking for. wikipedia isn’t detailed enough .
are you talking about cultivated herbs or wildcrafted plants? i’ve never heard of a calendar like this. it would be difficult to make, either way, because harvest dates will vary by zone and even by microclimate .
thanks for the info. its very interesting stuff. i hope to try some of it .
wow, i just gotta say thank you! the info and experience you’ve put into your life and site is amazing. thank you. i would love to come hang out with you for one day and just watch you do some of the things you talk about. i’m a single mother of two and i desperately try to find more ways to make living affordable. i love gardening and just being outside. i love the thought that i could just live off of everything i grow myself. thanks again .
thank you, monica. people like you are the reason i keep writing even when i feel completely swamped and overwhelmed. life’s not all roses, but we do the best we can with what we have, and try to keep learning and doing a little more each day .
i know i may be shooting in the dark here but…i saw on another blog where you guest posted on dehydrating fruits / herbs that you are a mechanical engineer by training. i am looking to build a medium scale tray dryer and was wondering if you had any previous experience in this regard or know anyone that can help guide me on building one. i am starting a small fruit drying business but the commercial dryers that i’ve seen are way out of my budget and i have heard of people building their own. do you think you can assist me in any way ?
check out the “ getting started with home food drying ” post. at the bottom there are links to a number of different diy dehydrators, including one that i think may be the sort of thing that you’re looking for .
a while back you mentioned a board game to learn herbs…. i can’t remember what it was called !
only one post so far, hopefully more to come – urltoken glad you like the site. 🙂
just found out about your wonderful website……went out this morning with a whole new attitude on the weeds that are beginning to show up here in early spring…. i’ve got so much to learn and will be reading your back post…. . i’ve signed up for your newsletter and i’m sharing it with all my friends…our mini farm never has been more exciting and appreciated…. truly a gift from god…. . thank you for your work and dedication…. i’m planning to purchase the books you mentioned…they sound like a world full of information…. i’ll be needing a dehydrator…. . mine was just a cheap plastic one and didn’t even last one garden season…. my grandmother use to dry all her herbs just by hanging them on the screened in back porch however i’m wanting to do fruits and vegetables…. one of my friends purchased an excalibur…i believe was the brand…. . it’s electric…. what is your way of drying? …do you have a store bought one or homemade…. . i saw one many years ago in mother earth magazine……just can’t seem to control myself…it must be common sense spring fever…ha! ! !
thank you for your kind words, your excitement and sharing the site with friends. sometimes it gets tough to make time to keep the site going with everything else going on in life, but comments like yours remind me why i keep writing .
i’ve ended up with two dehydrators – a small snackmaster that i bought many years ago, and a more recently purchased excalibur that i bought to handle the big drying jobs. i also sometimes hang dry some herbs when i’m doing bulk drying, like large quantities of catnip for the kitties .
i know what you mean about spring fever! it’s been tough to stay inside on these warm sunny days .
i have a post covering the basics of dehydrating located at: urltoken it includes links to specific drying tutorials, as well as more information on equipment options .
thank you for your kind words, kim. i’m on a mission. 🙂
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anyone can browse this site to learn about wild edibles and where to find them. once you register (free) you can also submit new edibles, submit your own pictures of edibles, mark locations on a map for your own private use, mark map locations for public sharing, share locations with a friend, vote and comment on marked locations, and more. this site exists as an addition to the
and the registration process is shared. once you register at the forums you are registered here and can enjoy all the free features this site offers. go get
so, to sum up, the two main ways to use this site are ...
as a private diary... use this site to organize your own list of known locations for foraging, if you make all your markings private, only you can see them .
as a mutually beneficial community... use this site to add locations you find and get locations others find, to help everyone be a better forager .
if you develop the skills and know your local area well you could make money by harvesting wild medicinal plants such as ginseng, goldenseal, may apple and bloodroot .
although it grows wild, goldenseal can also be raised commercially in lath sheds... as was the two - year - old specimen shown here. photo: james e. churchill
ginseng is the most famous of all wildcrafted items. in 1974m a root of the right size and shape could sell for more than $ 60 per pound. james e. churchill
one of the oldest professions in the civilized world is the collection and preparation of wild plants for use as drugs, special foods or home remedies. ancient as this skill is, however, it' s far from outdated. right this minute, in various parts of the united states and canada, wildcrafters are going about their business of gathering and drying various botanicals to be shipped to buyers .
the treasure these hunters seek in the woods and fields is a wide range of plants, both rare and common, for which dealers will pay correspondingly varied amounts. of course, only certain parts of a given species are valuable some are collected as herbs (which, in wildcrafters' terminology, means leaves and stems). in other cases only the bark is taken. this may be the covering of the root, as with blackberry, or — as with slippery elm — the inner skin of the trunks or limbs, after the outer layer has been scraped or
rossed
off .
the most profitable materials, however, tend to be roots. and the most famous root of all from a five leafed, dark green plant known as ginseng (panax quinquefolius) sells for over $ 50 pound (sometimes $ 60 and up). a really lucky hunter may find five or ten pounds in a single patch !
if the time honored vocation of herb collecting appeals to you, your first step is to learn to identify the plants you' ll hunt. the very best way to obtain this knowledge is by apprenticing yourself to a practicing wildcrafter and following him around all you can. it will probably take some doing to gain his confidence, however, since people of this calling are — by nature and necessity — a secretive, closemouthed lot when it comes to
stands
in their area .
i got pretty friendly with one fellow, many years ago, by helping him split wood and teaching him to eat several plants that were growing in his yard. then i still had to convince him that i wouldn' t be prospecting in his territory before he would show me how he dug and dried his stock in trade .
even at that, my instructor didn' t teach me much about how to work a new area. that' s something everyone must learn for himself... partly by instinct and partly by the common sense practice of hunting in spots with rich soil and deep to medium shade. it' s also helpful to look for the more common plants — nettles, catnip, wild ginger, may apple — that grow in conjunction with valuable herbs. (all these indicators, the way, have the added advantage of themselves being salable to drug companies. )
if you can' t find a working wildcrafter and have to go it alone, here' s how: first write to several herb buyers and ask for their price sheets. then go the library for a copy of recognizing flowering wild plants by william c. grimm... the best reference i' ve ever found that can be obtained in a hurry. if you have trouble with the confusing variety of common names for plants, find out the latin identification of the species you' re interested in and verify its salability with a drug dealer .
for a permanent reference you' ll want a copy of american medicinal plants of commercial importance by a. f. sievers, (usda publication no. 77, 1930). also purchase a copy of the herbalist by joseph e. meyer. (this work was originally published in 1918 and re - published in 1968 .) finally, if you can find a copy of the dispensatory of the united states of america (pdf) by arthur osol and robertson pratt (published by j. b. lippincott, now in its 27th edition), you' ll have access to a good part of the printed knowledge on plants of medicinal importance .
before you harvest a large number of plants, you' d probably do well to cut and dry two or three samples of the species you intend to collect and send them to the herb buyer of your choice. tell the dealer what you think the item is and ask for verification. also estimate how many pounds you can deliver and request the current rate if it' s different from the figure on the latest price list. payments for herbs vary considerably from one season to another and among different companies, so if you have a large amount it will pay you to shop around for the best offer. and there' s nothing wrong with holding well dried materials until the market is to your liking .
ok. with the foregoing out of the way, you' re ready to get started on the actual collecting of botanicals for sale .
it' s rather ironic that, as far as medical science knows, the aristocrat of botanicals has no remarkable properties as a drug, although some americans do take it for a variety of physical complaints. (several recent studies on the healing value of ginseng are described in the ginseng book by louise veninga, 1973. )
skepticism about ginseng, however, is confined to the west. the chinese import large amounts and the roots — especially the wild roots — command a very high, though fluctuating, price. note that the $ 50 plus figure i mentioned is only for the rough, untreated ginseng sold to dealers. once the roots are processed (by a tightly guarded secret method which makes the roots almost transparent), they can bring several hundred dollars apiece from wealthy oriental customers .
the root of the ginseng is thick, with many arms or branches. once in a great while it may have a human shape. such rarities can be very valuable, as they are supposed to be capable of reviving the waning physical powers of old men. ginseng loves to grow in colonies, and isolated plants will almost always be sickly, spindly - looking specimens, as if they suffered from loneliness .
the plant' s natural range is from quebec to manitoba and south to georgia, tennessee and oklahoma. since ginseng has been extensively cultivated, however, it' s likely to turn up in almost any location where the shade is deep and the soil rich. in my state, wisconsin, it occurs in hilly or semi - hilly terrain and usually in conjunction with hardwoods. the patches i' ve found were almost all on western or northern slopes, sometimes hidden in hazel brush and sometimes protected by nettles and other herbs .
i dig ginseng only in the fall, when it' s easiest to find and when the roots are heaviest and will fetch the best price. along about the last of september or the first of october, i watch the weather closely... and when a good stiff frost has dropped some of the lesser plants and made distinct outlines of others, i equip myself with a clean burlap bag and a small shovel and take to the hills .
i' ll poke around in all the rough country where i know the soil is good, with particular attention to out of the way places where no one goes but me. small isolated patches of forest left standing when fields are cleared, for instance, always seem to yield herbs. i walk very slowly and carefully and part each patch of dense vegetation, constantly on the lookout for the gleam of red berries that means ginseng .
when i find a patch, i carefully count the individual plants and calculate the number of ounces i can expect to harvest. (it takes 50 to 60 or more average sized specimens to make a pound of dried roots .) if only two or three are present, chances are i won' t dig them unless they look very old and very heavy .
my first step once i' ve decided to dig is to pick all the berries and set them aside where they won' t get lost while i' m working. next i use my shovel to remove the dirt from around individual plants taking great care not to break off any branch roots that extend to the sides. then i cut the root free from its stem, shake off the dirt as well as i can and place the treasure in my sack .
finally, to finish the job, i take the seeds i' ve set aside and carefully plant them about four inches deep in the spaded - up earth. i cover them with mineral soil and pat the dirt down very well so that rain won' t wash out the berries. then, to make the job really complete, i blanket the bed with whatever leaves are in the area. (another way to restock a ginseng patch after digging is to cut off the next year' s bud, which forms directly under the foliage of each plant, and set it in solid mineral soil as if it were a flower bulb. this works especially well if the bud has rootlets. )
back home with my sack of roots, i wash away whatever dirt is on them, shake them dry and place the harvest on screens in the attic. i turn my gatherings three or four times daily for the first four days, and once a day thereafter. in about two to four weeks they' re dry enough to ship .
ginseng, of course, can be domesticated and often is. the tame product sells for about one third the price of the wild and buyers can readily tell the difference, because all cultivated plants in a batch will be about the same age. in contrast, the age of roots in a foraged shipment will vary from about six years on up (possibly all the way to a century). nevertheless, raising this crop can be a very profitable enterprise for a grower who prepares the soil properly, controls disease and has the patience to wait six or eight years for his first harvest .
some folks stock their ginseng operations by replanting wild roots under small houses made of lath or in specially prepared beds. there are also many commercial sources of seed and growing instructions (see the classified sections of outdoor magazines) .
i' ve planted ginseng in half a dozen areas of a large national forest, and one patch is beginning to look very promising. if you do likewise, of course, you' ll want to choose locations where
the hand of man seldom sets foot .
comparatively few people nowadays know what ginseng looks like, so the risk of your private bed being pirated is small — a lot less, probably, than if you had it next to your cabin. (this may not be the case in all parts of the country. see the accompanying july / august 1974 article about harvesting ginseng by douglas elliott. — mother. )
valuable as ginseng is, it' s only one of many species that are worth seeking, digging or even replanting. for instance, when i' m out on my ginseng hunts i' m always glad to run across goldenseal (hydrastis canadensis). since the roots currently sell for about $ 5. 50 a pound, this find isn' t in the same class with ginseng. in some places, though, it' s much more common and can be just as profitable. (so much so that this herb, too, may be threatened by overhunting so use restraint when in the field. — mother. )
wildcrafting is the practice of harvesting plants from their natural , or " wild " habitat , for food or medicinal purposes . it applies to uncultivated plants wherever they may be found , and is not necessarily limited to wilderness areas . ethical considerations are often involved , such as protecting endangered species , potential for depletion of commonly held resources , and in the context of private property , preventing theft of valuable plants ( for example , ginseng ) . when wildcrafting is done sustainably and with proper respect , generally only the fruit , flowers or branches from plants are taken and the living plant is left , or if it is necessary to take the whole plant , seeds of the plant are placed in the empty hole from which the plant was taken . care is taken to remove only a few plants , flowers , or branches , so plenty remains to continue the supply . 
wildcrafting is the practice of harvesting plants from their natural, or " wild " habitat, for food or medicinal purposes. it applies to uncultivated plants wherever they may be found, and is not necessarily limited to wilderness areas. ethical considerations are often involved, such as protecting endangered species, potential for depletion of commonly held resources, and in the context of private property, preventing theft of valuable plants (for example, ginseng). when wildcrafting is done sustainably and with proper respect, generally only the fruit, flowers or branches from plants are taken and the living plant is left, or if it is necessary to take the whole plant, seeds of the plant are placed in the empty hole from which the plant was taken. care is taken to remove only a few plants, flowers, or branches, so plenty remains to continue the supply.
wildcrafting is the practice of harvesting plants from their natural, or " wild " habitat, for food or medicinal purposes. it applies to uncultivated plants wherever they may be found, and is not necessarily limited to wilderness areas. ethical considerations are often involved, such as protecting endangered species, potential for depletion of commonly held resources, and in the context of private property, preventing theft of valuable plants (for example, ginseng). when wildcrafting is done sustainably and with proper respect, generally only the fruit, flowers or branches from plants are taken and the living plant is left, or if it is necessary to take the whole plant, seeds of the plant are placed in the empty hole from which the plant was taken. care is taken to remove only a few plants, flowers, or branches, so plenty remains to continue the supply.