TOPIC: scratching our heads

we are new go this whole concept of looking for ginseng. Now we look for this little plant where before we would be out hunting deer or turkey. While we love it, ginseng just doesn't snort or gobble at you to let you know it's in the vicinity. We have put in a lot of hours in the woods lately, but have only found a couple of spots of ginseng. If we find it in a holler, what are the odds of there being more there. I have a lot more questions like that, such as how much time do you spend on one hillside, do we pass through and if we don't find it in two lines move on to the next hillside?

I would suggest that you learn, burn and imprint what a young ginseng plant looks like. Be it a single leaflet or a tiny two prong because those will lead you to mother plants (most of the time) and also tell you if there are more plants around. Take today for example, I spent 8 hours in 1 single 1/4 mile hollar. I always start out at the very bottom and travel towards the head for about 100 yards and then if I have not found any sang I climb up the hill side 20 yards or so and I back track 100 yards looking down on the plants makes it easier for me and I spot a lot of small stuff like this. Then if I've still not found any I will climb up another 20 yards and go back 200 yards and then reverse the process. Today I found some small stuff and it lead me to some really nice plants and I walked right past 5, 24 inch tall plants until a small 2 prong caught my eye. So I started looking and within a 30 foot radius I dug 18 HUGE roots. The BIG plants were so big that I didn't even see them until I was standing straight over the top of them. I had my eyes programmed to find the small stuff at a glance so I had moved right past all that big stuff. I also climbed up the bank above a newly felled tree instead of climbing through the tangled mess but, I still kept looking and I saw 1 single leaf from a ginseng patch 20 yards down bank in amungst the limbs. When I got in to them I dug 9 big 3's and 2 big 4's. Had I not been looking I'd have missed all those plants. I also missed several NICE 3's growing in the middle of the dried up sandy creek bed simply because on the way up I was hunting for sang where it SHOULD be growing and on the way back down I was looking down and moving quickly and bang there's sang where it shouldn't be. One more from today and I'll shut up. I was stopped and getting a drink after I had just grid searched a section and when I tipped my head back I saw 3 single stemmed baby sangs under a HUGE Buckeye tree surrounded by big tall ferns(it was a beautiful spot)so after my drink I walked to the babies and low and behold in amungst those ferns and right against the trunk of that Buckeye tree was 3 nice 3's 1 nice 4. Just take your time, grid search an area and then move on. Burn the image of a young sang in your head and that \"special\" color green a ginseng has. Don't rely on red berries because today I only found 7 plants with berries at all, most are gone already and I also found 4 yellowed plants. It take TIME and searching in sangy places. Good luck and I hope I helped you some what.

I would suggest that you learn, burn and imprint what a young ginseng plant looks like. Be it a single leaflet or a tiny two prong because those will lead you to mother plants (most of the time) and also tell you if there are more plants around. Take today for example, I spent 8 hours in 1 single 1/4 mile hollar. I always start out at the very bottom and travel towards the head for about 100 yards and then if I have not found any sang I climb up the hill side 20 yards or so and I back track 100 yards looking down on the plants makes it easier for me and I spot a lot of small stuff like this. Then if I've still not found any I will climb up another 20 yards and go back 200 yards and then reverse the process. Today I found some small stuff and it lead me to some really nice plants and I walked right past 5, 24 inch tall plants until a small 2 prong caught my eye. So I started looking and within a 30 foot radius I dug 18 HUGE roots. The BIG plants were so big that I didn't even see them until I was standing straight over the top of them. I had my eyes programmed to find the small stuff at a glance so I had moved right past all that big stuff. I also climbed up the bank above a newly felled tree instead of climbing through the tangled mess but, I still kept looking and I saw 1 single leaf from a ginseng patch 20 yards down bank in amungst the limbs. When I got in to them I dug 9 big 3's and 2 big 4's. Had I not been looking I'd have missed all those plants. I also missed several NICE 3's growing in the middle of the dried up sandy creek bed simply because on the way up I was hunting for sang where it SHOULD be growing and on the way back down I was looking down and moving quickly and bang there's sang where it shouldn't be. One more from today and I'll shut up. I was stopped and getting a drink after I had just grid searched a section and when I tipped my head back I saw 3 single stemmed baby sangs under a HUGE Buckeye tree surrounded by big tall ferns(it was a beautiful spot)so after my drink I walked to the babies and low and behold in amungst those ferns and right against the trunk of that Buckeye tree was 3 nice 3's 1 nice 4. Just take your time, grid search an area and then move on. Burn the image of a young sang in your head and that \"special\" color green a ginseng has. Don't rely on red berries because today I only found 7 plants with berries at all, most are gone already and I also found 4 yellowed plants. It take TIME and searching in sangy places. Good luck and I hope I helped you some what.

Hunter has given you some very good pointers in the above post. One thing that I would add is once you spot ginseng or come to an area with lots of companion plants really slow down and look intently. Take a few steps and look 360 degrees, then a few more steps and look again. As you get more practice your eyes will pick them up quicker. Conversely when your in areas with no companion plants around then move at a quicker pace. You'll develop a feel for it over time. Good Luck

Thanks so much to both of you. I will definately take your advice. Can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I'll let you know in a couple of days how it went. But for now I've got to get back out there and start looking. It really gets under your skin,doesn'tit.