Just watched an episode of Appalachian Outlaws. Yeah I know, it's just a TV show and CSB. But the dudes are hunting ginseng root in Hiawassee and claiming to be selling the stuff for up to $1000 a pound.

Any truth to this? I've been a state resident all my life and been in the mountains many times and have never heard of this before. If true it'd be worth a weekend this fall to hunt the stuff and hike around.

There is a law I know in North Carolina limiting how much you can harvest . As a kid I used to go harvest it with my grandfather .

Yeah I haven't pulled the state regs for it just yet, but is it really that much of a demand for a wild herb that it's $1k a freaking pound?

I'm curious as hell because just a weekend hiking trip I could gather enough to pay for the trip, maybe more.

I just sell antler sheds to those with pecker problems.

It a bit less than that right now.  When I was a kid there were basically no regs on it in PA., now thankfully there are.  Some guys would pick it all summer, now you can only pick it at the end of summer when its seeds are ripe, and you must save the "nubs" on the top of the root which indicate age of growth.  When I sold what I had save up, 20 years ago, I bought my model 94 winchester.  You pick it, then dry the root to sell.   Now ginseng supplements are in everything from energy drinks to stuff that makes your manhood stand up.  I don't know, I picked it, I didn't use it.  Guys who pick it, always kept their spots secret.  Its to your benefit to save the seeds and replant it.  It tends to grow on the eastern side of mountains, with well drained soil.  Look a bit higher than you will find black cohosh and you may find ginseng.   Also, it also grows in areas where you may find copperheads and rattlesnakes.  Also, with the show now out, I think you may see more people concerned about who is "hiking" on their property and more likely to try to take action.

So it grows everywhere?

When I first moved to Ga 25 years ago, I was dying to go hunting in the mountains of North Ga.  It should grow there, but not everything I've grown in PA, grows here, like horseradish and rhubarb, at least I've had no luck anyway.  Hunting ginseng is a great way to spend the day.  Sadly, I've never been able to take my kids.

Grow your own.  Less BS regulations to deal with.

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