TOPIC: my latest Scout n a unusual berry pod

Hobler,
Next year I am coming to NY for seng season. You can blindfold me spin me around until I am dizzy, then drive me blindfolded to your secret spot so I can dig all day. Then I will gladly give you all of the root I dig. I just need to see seng like you are finding one more time before I leave this earth. lol
Latt

Latt
I would love to have u come up for an adventure:laugh: if you r willing it would b my pleasure but I'd have ta search u for a hidden GPS lol. But on the serious note anytime latt it would b my pleasure.

Latt wrote:

Hobler,
Next year I am coming to NY for seng season. You can blindfold me spin me around until I am dizzy, then drive me blindfolded to your secret spot so I can dig all day. Then I will gladly give you all of the root I dig. I just need to see seng like you are finding one more time before I leave this earth. lol
Latt

LOL!! You and me both! Back in the old days when I was 15 and 16 years old, we used to sneak into the National Park and dig seng. (Yeah, I know and knew then, that it was illegal but we were kids and I don't have to worry since the Statute of Limitations on this one, ran out some 37 years ago, whew am I really that old!!?? LOL!!) We hiked some 10 miles back into the mountains and made camp just after dark in the middle of a wide and flat hollow right after finding a teeth busting Artesian Spring. We only had a couple of blankets and a tarp and put the tarp down to protect us from what we thought was Poison Ivy (we only had a cigarette lighter and no flashlight). We did not sleep much as the whole hollow was sort of a wet weather spring that was at the time, dry but somewhat rocky and we spent half the night keeping first a Black Panther then a Black Bear away with the small fire we had built. The next morning shortly after daylight, we found that we were not sleeping on Poison Ivy but were actually sleeping in a big Ginseng patch. After washing up in the Artesian Spring, we went back to our' camp, removed the tarp and dug all of the Ginseng that was smashed down by the tarp. There was also Ginseng growing up both ridges from the holler as far as the eye could see. We dug Ginseng there until way into the afternoon, then quickly hiked back out of the mountains, getting back to the road right at dark. I couldn't really tell you how much Ginseng we actually dug in that one location but it filled our' front pants pockets and three of the large old paper Grocery bags with the tops folded over twice to keep the roots from spilling out. I would love to see such a sight again even if I could not dig it!

Note: That was the last time that we ever dug Ginseng in the National Park because we felt that the Black Panther and the Black Bear were a sign, plus we knew that it was wrong and made a choice not to do so again!


Frank

That's a good one Frank
Lol thought that big ball of berries was a rock didnt u. man I bet u guys laughed ur bums of I know how u feel. Well i'm glad the panther n bear didnt get u I wouldn't have got my digger.

Thanks Hobler.
Latt

Frank,
I had a spot one time that I have posted about on this site. I dug only the big stuff back in the late 70's in this woods that was only about 5 acres big where the seng grew. Plants were so big the rich black loamy soil would not support the plant top and the big 4 and 5 prongs would lay down on their stem sideways along the ground. The roots were big and bulby. Sometimes the root would have a 40 + year old neck with another 20 plus year neck growing off of the first bulb. I was new at it and didn't know that it was uncommon to find such root. I would get on my hands and knees to dig and would crawl to the next plant and dig and so on. I mean I could spend a couple hours with out standing up the seng was so thick. The property owner bought the land in the 40's and developed it in the late 60's. Our house was build in 72. Funny thing is there were houses built on 1 to 2 acre lots. All of the vacant lots were owned by the old man that developed the community and I had permission to hunt the empty wooded lots. The 5 acre lot had 90 % of the seng and there was a 2 acre lot with less seng in it but that seng was over 50 years old too. Some of the seng was up to my knees when I would stand them up. Not sure if someone planted it in the late 1800's or early 1900's but I remember it well and there was no pattern to it. It just grew everywhere. Many limestone and granite boulders around too with deep ravines. The seng would often be on the side of a deep ravine or lodged between the boulders as well as just growing on the forest slopes
Never found a spot like that one before or after.
Guess I am luck to have experienced it tho. Your stories and many of the others finding big ole seng and plenty of it remind me of those days.
Latt

Hey Guys I started from the 1st of this post and I am loving right down to the last post by our friend It is always good to remember special spots, places it gives us a drive sometimes...

Whoooooooooooo Hooooooooooooooo

Seng time brothers glory

I have got some stuff to show you all

Billy.

Latt wrote:

Frank,
I had a spot one time that I have posted about on this site. I dug only the big stuff back in the late 70's in this woods that was only about 5 acres big where the seng grew. Plants were so big the rich black loamy soil would not support the plant top and the big 4 and 5 prongs would lay down on their stem sideways along the ground. The roots were big and bulby. Sometimes the root would have a 40 + year old neck with another 20 plus year neck growing off of the first bulb. I was new at it and didn't know that it was uncommon to find such root. I would get on my hands and knees to dig and would crawl to the next plant and dig and so on. I mean I could spend a couple hours with out standing up the seng was so thick. The property owner bought the land in the 40's and developed it in the late 60's. Our house was build in 72. Funny thing is there were houses built on 1 to 2 acre lots. All of the vacant lots were owned by the old man that developed the community and I had permission to hunt the empty wooded lots. The 5 acre lot had 90 % of the seng and there was a 2 acre lot with less seng in it but that seng was over 50 years old too. Some of the seng was up to my knees when I would stand them up. Not sure if someone planted it in the late 1800's or early 1900's but I remember it well and there was no pattern to it. It just grew everywhere. Many limestone and granite boulders around too with deep ravines. The seng would often be on the side of a deep ravine or lodged between the boulders as well as just growing on the forest slopes
Never found a spot like that one before or after.
Guess I am luck to have experienced it tho. Your stories and many of the others finding big ole seng and plenty of it remind me of those days.
Latt

Latt,

That is a good story and is how it was and still is in some areas! Many folks would not believe that there is a lot of big old seng in wooded subdivisions as most of the folks that live in these subdivisions, have no idea as to what Ginseng looks like nor do most even care. It is great to reminisce about old times as it brings back some good memories.


Frank

Billy wrote:

Hey Guys I started from the 1st of this post and I am loving right down to the last post by our friend It is always good to remember special spots, places it gives us a drive sometimes...

Whoooooooooooo Hooooooooooooooo

Seng time brothers glory

I have got some stuff to show you all

Billy.

It's great to hear from you Billy and I can't wait to to see what you have to show us!


Frank

Hobler, you sure have dug some nice seng, Those NY hills grow some nice ones for sure. congrats