more root info on drying roots

Roots won't dry well if at all in the sixties. I have lots of trouble drying roots in the fall because of cool conditions. I actually dehydrate a lot of my roots in a unit I built. I use an old up right freezer with compartment doors on it and one main door. I built drying racks in it so I could use a 75 to 100 watt light bulb to put warm air in the unit. I put my bulb in the very bottom of the freezer and clsoe all the compartment doors and close the main freezer door to where it has about an inch crack in the door. This lets humidity out of the unit.
Now if I have larger amts. of roots to dry , say 30 -40 lbs of roots , I either put them on screens in a wooden outbuilding that is a 10x16 and close the doors and turn on a fan. Or I put them on tarps outside and let them be in kind of a little shade and a little sun. If you do it that away, be sure to never let it rain on your roots and be sure and bring your roots in at the end of the day. Dew will make your roots look bad.
Never dry your roots in a microwave nor a conventional oven on your stove. To have success you pretty much have got to follow my steps fairly close, unless your lucky.
Always something to worry with , is that not right? Just like fur, ifin you don't know how to do the process, you can sure mess up a bunch of money.
You can also use wood heat in a building and put air on your roots. Have the roots on racks with the air circulating through the building. I like the temps to be no less than 80 and no hotter than 100 and even at 100 it is a little warm. Actually I think best conditions are from about 85 to 95.
Roots won't dry well in a damp basement or a cool basement.

Can they be dried in a regular food dehydrator, don?

yes, certain roots can be...like bloodroot, cranesbill and ginseng.......but other roots i'd say no...like joe pye, poke root etc.........simply because the size prohibits it due to the roots being much larger..

Poke root must be sliced into smaller pieces to dry.

thanks don,i pmed ya for specifics as i have lots of poke.dont know how big the roots are but they grow every year in the same place.and this time of yr they are 8-10 ft tall and stalks bigger than a hoe handle.i know nothing about roots but want to learn.THANKS FOR YOUR TIME

Got a picture of the poke plant? What do you do with the roots? Is there a market for them?

In the fall of the year when temps start dropping I wonder if the dry attic of my house would work? I have an automatic thermostat to control the temperature from becoming too high. It's very dry and ventilated, the temperature normally stays in the 80's in my attic through November. Now you've got me thinking...Anyone ever tried an attic for drying roots or dehydrating?
Thanks Don!

I have some fellas that sell to me that dry roots in attics. Like anything else, if you do start them in the attic, just do a lb. or so first to see how well they dry. Roots should not lay around for several days and show no sighn of drying whatsoever. If you have the correct conditions, most roots in good warm drying conditions should be mostly dry or well on their way in a week if you don't pile them up to much. Root drying is an art that you must learn and learn it well. It is not to hard to do if you pay attention.

Thank you Don, I'm going to try it and I will either let you know how it goes or post pictures of the process and have you take a look and offer your advice. I'm here to learn so please don't hold back with constructive comments.

Poke is utilized in the Herbal Medicine Industry as a lymphatic cleanser and Cancer Therapy. It is toxic so a qualified practitioner is recommended before using. There isnt a huge demand in herbal manufacturing and it grows abundantly so the price it fetches isnt exceptional, but there are buyers.

I'm new to the site and have a few question about ginseng root.... some root are long and slender , where as others have the "human" form. when looking to sell should they be seperated? due to form,age color, ect. or does it matter really? I know they say the closer the rings and the older they are make them more potent, hence more money. this is my first year looking on my own besides taking my son with me, and im trying to learn all i can so i can pass on true info to my son. I use to hunt with my ma,but havent in years ...so its all new to me again. any help would be great

Sell your ginseng all mixed together. If you dig nice root and handle your roots nice, you will get top dollar. Do not over wash your ginseng and never scrub it with a brush. It should have a little dirt left in the rings on it. seng should dry a nice golden color. You never want it real white.

Is there a guideline for the size of batch when your selling...What I mean is, for example. If I dont have a Ib or more, should I hold it till next season ? or sell so its fresh dried seng?

I don't know how the law is in your state, but in our state, the digger must sell what he digs, the year he digs it. Unless the digger can get a hold over permit. In Indiana, that would be all but impossible for the digger, if I don't miss my guess.

if what I read is right, you can hold but have to have certified weigh slip from ODNR. but i think i'll sell to avoid all the paperwork and to be on the safe side as i'm new to this part of digging process. are there other roots worth digging ? have seen lots of white baneberry and blue cohosh are they used for anything?

thanks so much for all your info

I would sell this year if I was you. At this time I am paying 700 on Indiana Ginseng. With that kind of price,I would never hold until next year. Your root will probably bring more than Indiana root. Goldenseal, bloodroot and even mayapple have been fair money makers. I could use good quantities of all three.
Blue cohosh and baneberry will not make you any money. They are both real cheap roots.

are there harvest times for those or can they be dug anytime of year. ive never dug anything but seng, is it the same principle in digging,drying,ect? i've seen lots of those plants on my hikes so it maybe worth it to learn other roots . any info would be greatly appericated or sites that give accurate info.

Pretty much the same as seng.

does ginseng grow in nd the new applicahin outlaws is a super cool show but its a money driven enterprise

Wild Ginseng does not grow in ND.

I live in northern Wisconsin and was going to look for ginseng this year does anybody know if it grows good in north west Wisconsin?

i'm not familiar with that part of the state...contact your dnr

anybody have any idea what black cohosh is going for? I also need a buyer BTW. most buyers i can locate (1 in w.va. that i can find) these days don't want to pay a fair price.(1 of those you do all the work we make all the money deals.) at 1 time it was 3.15 lb dry .65 cents green i know it can fluctuate but at the "standard" price here of 1$ a lb, it's not worth it. i would be willing to go out of state for a buyer if they buy large quantity. don't think it's regulated like sang going over state lines but not certain. info on that to may be helpful. anyway thanks in advance

I understand that Black Cohosh has been over produced this year. If the market is loaded with it, Dealers will have to hold onto it until later this year or early next year to sell. This may be why the price has cheapened. The price you quote sounds pretty cheap.
It has no regulated season as far as I know and if there is a season in your state, there still is no law about selling across state lines.

Does anyone have a picture of the Poke plant? Does it grow in Canada?

Here is a pic. I will check with a frienk in Arkansas, but I think poke is a southern plant.

Thanks!

I'm about to dig a bumper crop of poke out of my back yard. That stuff is taking over. I have just broken it of for the last few years. It's time to dig the root and get rid of it.

Don

My echinacea angustifolia drys within a week on a box screen 3-4 days in the hot summer. I put the screeens on cinderblocks to alllow air to flow through. I stir the roots around a couple of times a day. at night i place the screens over fans. If you leave in a bag or don't allow air you spend much longer drying thus have a greater chance of having moldy root. Once it is dry do not allow it to get we again or it may mold easily. always a wash is needed do so when it is the first day out of the ground.

Does seng have to be sold in the state it is harvested in?

Seng must be sold in the state of harvest unless the digger can get it certified or the digger becomes a buyer and buys a license to become a Ginseng dealer. If you do that, you must do all the paperwork and get certification papers that tells what state it has been harvested in.
It is a pain in the rear to jump through the hoops to certify your seng.
I just certified 102 pounds to sell this evening and it required about 15 pieces of paperwork. all but 3 papers was log papers.

I have a question for you Don. Or anyone that knows. Is it possible to overdry roots? If im not positive they’re 100% dry will it hurt to let them dry another week?

Sorry Don, but wild ginseng definitely does grow in North Dakota. I don't know about digging regs but I have a friend there that has sent me pics.

Another thing! Drying roots in the attic is not a good idea. Mold will become an issue,
This is not directed at Don. He is a friend of mine and very knowledgeable about roots. I happen to know a little about roots too! Just trying to help.

Terry I do know that some person had grown some commercial seng in North Dakota, and I don't think I have ever heard of that state having a season on Ginseng.They sent a sample to me and it was the darn mess. I would have to see the seng with my own eyes to know that it grows wild there.