Lisa wrote:My husband and I just bought a home, the previous owners have planted wild ginseng all over the 7.5 acres!! The man had mentioned he had single handly planted over 2000 seeds! im not sure how long they have been there, the home has been vacant for awhile now...he did mention they could be worth something per pound but never said if he had harvested them before....he is an older man and sometimes hard to understand. The property is in Alabama...I read the ginseng law, but was hoping if anybody could help me find a buyer....and as im not much of a farmer, lol, im from NJ....any guidlines or suggestions would help!!
I am not familiar with growing in Alabama, as I am up in PA. Your best price will come if you have the roots dug and dried before a sale. There is some information on this site as to digging and drying. You want to dig slowly and carefully as to get the entire root as well as all the feeder roots. The more intact the root is the better your price will be. Have you actually been on the property and seen the plants? If anyone else has seen them before or if the old guy told others of them they may already be gone. 2,000 seeds is not really a lot, probably less than a pound (of seed) but, perhaps a good start. I would make sure your plants are there and learn how to dig ginseng before I let others know anything about them. Up here we can contact the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to get a list of buyers (dealers) that buy sang and sell seed. I am not familiar with Alabama as to what departments they may have that might be of help in this area.
If you have sang present, please replant the seeds from the plants back into the area you take the roots from so there will be some left there for the future. I hope this helps.
