Chapter 15:
Ginseng Harvest
Ginseng farmers are certainly
a very patient group of individuals!. They spend a sizable amount
of money on a relatively small parcel of land, and then have to
nurture their crop over a 4 year (or more) time frame before they
can recover their investment as well as a profit. Woods cultivated
ginseng growers have to wait 6-8 years before their roots have
grown sufficiently. Finally, wild-simulated growers have to be
the most patient of all with a 6-10 year time span from planting
to digging. Reward comes to those that can wait!
The extended delay before the first harvest all the more underscores the importance of planting a new garden every year if the goal is too have a sustained harvest over a long period of time. Even growers with limited land holdings should consider at least a 1/4 acre planting each year. Wild ginseng stands in Appalachia have suffered from over-harvesting without sufficient care given to pushing the de-pulped berries 1/2” deep back into the ground, and then covering them with leaf mulch.
Fall digging
In the Pacific Northwest ginseng root destined for the dryer is
normally harvested after Labor Day as the plants are going into
dormancy. By the
n the foliage has
just about completely died off and the roots will have stored
all of the plants energy. The only reason to keep the plants an
extra year or two would be gather an additional crop of berries
for seed stratification.
Artificially cultivated growers often ask if there is any point to keeping root in the ground in order to increase yield or to make the roots look more like wild roots. While root volume may increase slightly after an additional year, they will never pass inspection by an Asian buyer for sale as woods cultivated or wild simulated root. When grown in raised beds with little competition from weeds or tree roots, artificially cultivated roots simply do not develop the characteristic ringed texture and color of roots grown in the woods.
Hand digging
On small plantations of less than 1/4 acre most growers dig the
root by hand themselves or hire workers to help out. While either
a shovel or a spading fork can be used to dig roots, the fork
has been found to break fewer of the roots. If the garden was
planted on well drained ground, and the beds were not walked upon,
root harvest should proceed fairly smoothly. Hand harvesting may
be the only option if the site is rocky. Growers will need to
train workers not to cut or damage the freshly dug roots (see
Figure 1). Woods cultivated growers will find their roots
are even more fragile and thus will require much more time in
digging. In Kim Derek Pritts book entitled: Ginseng, How to Find,
Use, and Grow Amer
ica’s Forest
Gold (see Chapter 18: Further
References) the author states that it might take as long
as 200 hours to harvest all of the root from an acre of woods
grown ginseng
Machine digging
Larger plantations are suited to the use of a modified potato
harvester that will lift the roots to the soil surface (see Figure
2). While there are companies that make diggers expressly
for ginseng harvest, they tend to be relatively expensive ($10,000
or more). These diggers have been designed for 5’ wide beds.
Their size and weight require that they be pulled with a 75 HP
tractor. In British Columbia it is not uncommon to find custom
ginseng harvesting as the machines are expensive and are not used
all that often. The basic machine simply lifts the root from a
depth of 12” and deposits it on the soil surface where workers
pick them up and place them into tote bins (see Figure 3).
Generally it’s best to go over the beds twice to ensure that
all the root has been lifted. Even more advanced harvesters have
a conveyor belt that lifts the roots off of the chains and deposits
them in a bin. When used on stone-free ground of excellent tilth,
harvest can proceed very quickly.
Used harvesters
With the smaller ginseng farms it’s hard to justify spending
a considerable amount of money on a new harvester that is not
used all that often during the year. Western states growers have
generally been able to find used 2-row potato harvesters in the
Columbia Basin area of eastern Washington that can be purchased
for less than a $1,000 (see Figure 4). The chains can be
set closer together than for potatoes. The smaller size on these
machines will facilitate their use on beds that are not quite
5’ wide. With their weight growers will only need a tractor
with 40 HP to pull them (see Figure 5).
Prepare for
harvest
Before harvesting all posts, cables and anchors need to be removed.
Much of this material can be used for another garden. Next, it
helps to clear off any remaining top growth as well as any weeds.
A brush hog mounted behind the tractor works well for this task.
Next, it helps if the mulch is racked off of the top of the beds.
It’s generally best to wait for early fall rains to soften the ground prior to harvest. There will be fewer large clods of dirt passing over the harvester chains, and thus fewer roots that will potentially be broken. Delaying the harvest into late October can be risky however, as too much rain will make field work impossible.
Amount of
root dug
Generally a good harvest of cultivated ginseng is considered to
be 3,000 pounds of dried root per acre. This corresponds to approximately
10,000 lbs. fresh /acre. In western Washington fresh root yields
have ranged from 9,300 to 14,600 pounds of fresh root per acre.
While growers naturally strive for the highest yield possible,
it helps to know the average amount of fresh root to expect during
post-harvest handling. Estimating the amount of fresh root is
important in the size of the dryer space that will need to built,
or leased. If the interest is in staggered sales of fresh root
sales during the winter, it helps to have a rough handle of the
amount of product available.
Delay washing
Once fresh root has been dug up it needs to wilt for a period
of time before it is furthered handled. By doing so the root will
darken naturally on it’
s own.
In Figure 6 the sample of the roots on the right shows the honey
color that buyers refer. These root were allowed to wilt on their
own prior to washing. The roots on the left were washed too soon
after harvest and have become too white. Asian buyers of whole
root have come to expect a straw-colored artificially grown root,
and a fairy dark woods cultivated root. Remember that much of
the quality of root depends upon eye appeal. The roots can dry
for 2-3 days and not be harmed. Any dirt that resides on the surface
of the roots will also help develop the right color. The worst
practice a grower can do is to wash the roots clean right after
digging them up.
The art of washing
root
If you ask 10 different experienced growers how they wash their
roots you will get back 10 different answers. Some growers like
to dunk their root in a large basin of water, others have used
a cement mixer or home washing machines, and finally others simply
spray them with a garden hose (see Figure 7). None-the-less,
the most important consideration is to not rinse all of the dirt
off the roots. Bright, clean roots simply don’t bring the
highest return in the traditional whole root market. If the roots
do become too clean, it is not uncommon to find gr
owers
putting them back into a slurry of mud and water to darken them
up again! It should be noted that this discussion on root washing
pertains primarily to the whole root export business. In a value-added
enterprise root cleanliness will be imperative. Root washing techniques
thus far have not been found to influence internal root quality.
After the roots have been washed, all surface moisture should be allowed to evaporate.
Cold storage
prior to drying
Research has been conducted in British Columbia exploring the
practice of keeping freshly dug roots in cold storage prior to
drying them or selling them fresh. Briefly, when kept in a cooler
set to run near freezing, with a high relatively humidity, the
fresh, un-washed roots could be kept for up to four weeks before
their quality was impacted. Having access to refrigerated cold
storage is useful when fall rains preclude leaving harvested root
outside to wilt before being loaded into the dryer. A further
discussion of this practice will be covered in Chapter
17: Postharvest Handling: Fresh Root.
Fresh root harvesting
One of the advantages of the mild Northwest climate west of the
Cascades is the fact that the soils don't typically freeze. Consequently,
ginseng ro
ot can be dug from the time it
goes dormant until it starts to grow again the following spring.
Over the mid-October through late March time dormant root can
be dug, sorted and then sold fresh. The Korean community favors
fresh root over dried. Traditional Chinese markets have been for
dried root only.
A review of Chapter
18: Ginseng Enterprise Budget, reveals that the opportunity
to sell fresh root over the winter and spring offers a considerable
economic advantage over traditional dried root sales.
The following table outlines the economic advantages of fresh
root over dried. For these calculation we will use $25/lb for
quality 4-year dried rot. The calculations are as follows:
|
|
|
|
1 pound fresh = .3 lb dry If scrap and fiber is equal to
8%, then only 92% of .3 lb is usable. 92% of .3 is equal to .276
lbs. |
Assuming fresh root brings $12-15
per pound, $12/6.90 = 74% increase over dried, at $15/lb. (15/6.9) = 117% increase over dried |
Dig root
all winter
For the majority of North American growers located in more northern
growing regions, digging root in the middle of winter is impossible
with the frozen ground they contend with. Early snow and cold
weather puts a real damper on fall farming activities in Ontario,
Wisconsin, and eastern British Columbia. Winter root harvesting
is possible in the Northwest if workers can tolerate the rainy
weather!
While the use of tractors and diggers are obviously impossible, there is usually no problem digging root by hand with a spading fork. Besides, quality is of the utmost concern here so that mechanical diggers are simply not feasible. Once dug, fresh root can be washed and shipped soon after.