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Wild Ginseng

Posted: September 5th, 2020, 8:27 pm
by DevilDawg81
This afternoon I was at my parents helping do some lawn work as my dad had his hip replaced in June. He’s doing pretty well but some things he’s still having issues with.

One of his hobbies in the fall is hunting wild ginseng. He took me down into the woods this afternoon and showed me a few plants. After a few minutes I was spotting some on my own. In all we found around 30. We didn’t dig any, just browsed around.

I have to admit at first it all looked the same but after you noticed the characteristics it stood out a bit.


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Re: Wild Ginseng

Posted: September 5th, 2020, 11:41 pm
by bpgreen
I knew a guy who "hunted" ginseng about 40 years ago. He said it was important to leave the plants at the top of hills because they'd repopulate that way.

Re: Wild Ginseng

Posted: September 6th, 2020, 3:29 am
by MorpheusPA
That. Is. Cool.

(I was helping my mom yesterday, who had surgery. I ended up moving a dead squirrel with a shovel. That's my only story).

Re: Wild Ginseng

Posted: September 6th, 2020, 8:29 am
by DevilDawg81
The only things my dad has ever Hunter is morel mushrooms in the spring, and ginseng in the fall. He loves being ‘in nature’ as he refers to it.

Some of the ginseng he sells, and some he actually chews on it or puts it in tea. He swears it keeps his blood pressure low. I’ve tried chewing it, it’s a real tough root and takes several hours to get through its layers. It’s an interesting plant.

Yesterday he was showing me which plants were too young and how he would not dig those, but leave them be and continue to age.

Re: Wild Ginseng

Posted: September 6th, 2020, 8:48 am
by MorpheusPA
Ginseng may raise or lower blood pressure, the jury's still out on that one and the Mayo Clinic suggests that anybody with blood pressure issues is to avoid exposure to it, particularly given potential interactions with other medications. :-) But blood sugar indications are initially pretty good.

Keep in mind that the plant is threatened or endangered in many states, I'm not sure about Ohio. (research...research....) If it's your own land, it's OK. "Harvest of ginseng is prohibited on all state-owned lands in Ohio." There are tons of rules for what can be offered for sale, and so on.

So yeah, it's smart to leave younger plants to do their thing and reproduce. Huh, the state with the largest output is Wisconsin. I did not know this. And it's not uncommon in Pennsylvania, although I've never seen it local to me.

Re: Wild Ginseng

Posted: September 6th, 2020, 8:49 am
by DevilDawg81
MorpheusPA wrote:
September 6th, 2020, 3:29 am
That. Is. Cool.

(I was helping my mom yesterday, who had surgery. I ended up moving a dead squirrel with a shovel. That's my only story).
:rotfl: :rotfl:

Re: Wild Ginseng

Posted: September 6th, 2020, 9:47 am
by DevilDawg81
MorpheusPA wrote:
September 6th, 2020, 8:48 am
Ginseng may raise or lower blood pressure, the jury's still out on that one and the Mayo Clinic suggests that anybody with blood pressure issues is to avoid exposure to it, particularly given potential interactions with other medications. :-) But blood sugar indications are initially pretty good.

Keep in mind that the plant is threatened or endangered in many states, I'm not sure about Ohio. (research...research....) If it's your own land, it's OK. "Harvest of ginseng is prohibited on all state-owned lands in Ohio." There are tons of rules for what can be offered for sale, and so on.

So yeah, it's smart to leave younger plants to do their thing and reproduce. Huh, the state with the largest output is Wisconsin. I did not know this. And it's not uncommon in Pennsylvania, although I've never seen it local to me.

Yep, in Ohio they actually have a season for it. I believe you have to have a license. My parents own quite a bit of acreage, and then my dad will go get written permission to hunt on other property. He also digs bloodroot and yellow root. Pretty spry for 75-years-old