TOPIC: simply heart broken

I desided to visit a spot that I hadn't been to yet this year. I'd \"grommed\" this spot for several years and figured this year I should be able to pull an easy lb out of it. It's a ways from home and time hadn't worked out for me to get there earlier. When I got there I was devisated to see it was being clear cut. I walked around in the valley like someone does after a tornado comes threw and that's what it looked like. On one of the very best spots they had cut a skidder road in and either cut the sang out or covered it up. If I'd only knew. I'd have dug as much as I could, saved berries and any small roots and replanted them and then \"brought them back home\" once they could make it again. Will the sang not covered up die off or could it go dormant and not come back up until it gets some cover?

That is very sad news Hunter so sory man thats a hard thing.

There is one thing that may be ok though.
Living in Ky I am all to well knowledged about and with clearcutting going on.

So yes that seng will come back up after there gone if they didnt see it and dig it before they cleared the spot.Ginseng is very strong and will grow again after this I have seen sevral times that it did.You may loose some but the strongest that didnt get cut up will survive.

I hope that is at least a little bit of good news.

Billy.

That is a bummer man. My best advice is to get out very early in the season next year and dig every legal plant. The ones that are small could be transplanted to another spot. If its clearcut it not likey that many young plants will survive multiple years of direct sunlight, but if they aren't covered up by a 6 inches or more of soil they may sprout next year and hold on till the start of digging season. If there is no shade for them though they will yellow and wilt very early. This same thing happened to me 20 some years ago and this is what i did.

I don't remeber a skidder going through where the seng was though. On a side note I just went back to the spot that was clear cut this fall and found about a dozen diggable 3-prongs. Nothing with more than 17 scars on the neck. I dont know if a feww laid dormant for a while, or if some seed int he ground sprouted later or what. I'm not sure how old you are, but store this info in your memory banks if you think you'll still be able to dig in 20 years or pass it along to someone else then. Good luck hunter!

this reminds me of a sinking feeling i had when i came on one of my spots this year. I know of a holler that has a dense seng population, which i have been digging for 5 or so years intermittently. i went this spring to do some 'grooming' as you had done, and all looked to be good, save for a group of college students (to whom i gave little thought). this fall, when i went out to dig, i came upon a couple of kids with burlap sacks....heartsink..... they had destroyed the crop.... baby plants and all... so i hung my head, and proceeded to go to the truck to get seed to plant.... i then moved way on up to a spot that would not be so accessible and planted.... i could have nearly cried.

A ray of hope for you Elijah, clear cuts are one of my favorite spots. It may take 4-8 years but what will be there when you return could be some of the best digging you could have. A valley I hunted 8 years ago and did well in was clear cut the following year, as you I was heart broke. This year I returned and harvested 4.3 lbs and a dozen where near 4 ounces (hence the debate about sang going dormant and growing)pics to be posted. So keep your head up brother.

I too had a heartbreaking hunt this morning. I hiked 3 miles though the rain to get to some out of the way hollows. I had never been to this spot before, but it looked good on the topo maps. I waded through maiden hair ferns and 3-4 foot high cohash. All the while thinking that this was one of the best looking hollows i had ever been too.

This hollow that should have been loaded with seng was instead empty. This is a massive hollow with 5 diffrent coves coming together into one. Whoever has been there didnt leave a single plant, not even 1-2 prongs.

I live in the NW corner of Georgia, and im starting to get seriously concerned. Im thinking about not even digging it anymore. Hell, my parents had to run some guy off who was digging it in JULY on thier property. I love to go senging, but around here, its starting to become pretty scarce. I always replant and leave and break off the little ones.

Sucks because sengin has been in my family for a long time. Im the 3rd generation to go hunt it, and i look foward to teaching my kids. Anyways im rambling, maybe all i need is a good sang hunt to make me feel better about all this.