TOPIC: Almost Over

Hey fellas I sure hate to see the season comeing to an end.I went today for only a hour i still found 15 but most was yellow and fallen over.there was a few still green.I had a older fellow tell me that I should hunt till at least the end of OCTober.He calls it the hunt for OLD YELLER.LOL.he says some of his bigest plant have been found in OCT.What do you all think. When do you give it up?

Where u from J.A.S. ? Here in southeast Ohio it is pretty much done. I'm switching my focus to deer hunting now.. If I had an old spot that I wanted to check out I could possibly find some, but it would be tough to find any in new areas. Those old thick stalks do tend to hang on a little longer though. Good luck to you if you do decide to get back out. No reason to quit if your still finding them. It's yards for me to give it up too. if it weren't for deer season I don't think I'd know what to do.

During normal years when the Ginseng has not been severely affected by a drought, I will keep an eye out until the stalks and stems have been knocked down by a snowfall. Stalks and stems not affected by a drought are normally still standing here well into November and in some areas into December. However, when I lived in the Northern Mountains of West Virginia, it may only still be standing up until mid to late October due to early snows.


Frank

well some think its almost over but boys n gals its still out there this last few days we.ve hit home runs everyday still finding alot big genseng n some still grenn but also yellow n just stems just have to kp your eyes open under the leaves lol.

Well Ginseng digging folks, it is just about over for all of us this year! With many areas of the Blue Ridge and the Appalachians west to beyond the Cumberlands and north to the Canadian border having received a succession of 3 mornings with frost, most of the remaining Ginseng plants will be gone in a week or so. Ginseng that has heavier foilage cover or near large rivers and lakes, may hold out for a little longer but not much longer. Some areas of the Cumberlands, the Appalachians and the Blue Ridge south of a line from south of Franklin, TN to near Greeneville-Spartanburg may enjoy a few more weeks of digging bliss but with each succession of Cold Fronts bringing in colder and colder air, the digging season will soon end in these areas as well. While the drought seriously affected the season for most of us, now the cold and frosts come to complete the damage! Oh well, there is always Deer, Wild Boar and Bear hunting to get us poor folks through until Spring Gobbler Season then a new Ginseng Season is not that far away!


Frank

yes the season is about over-which saddens me,i went yesterday for a bit and found 5 very large 4s all yellow. strangley i found a 3 prong vibrant green with 2 large berries still. but im done for the season. time to deer n turkey hunt and crappie fish.sure will miss the serenity and excitement of seng hunting though

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from my experience it usually last until the third week of October weather permitting. And it is really the time for the bigger roots to show up.

I wish we could still legally dig. Get caught now and go to jail. unless you are on private land. Went yesterday on private and we found some big stuff. Hope we can get in one more. It stinks being out on the mountain bike, seeing these big yellow tops, and not being able to grab them.

Dumpy,
Do you have a link showing the Cherokee National Forest digging season. Is it over at the end of 30 days from the opener or is there a second season stretching it farther into the year?
Hugh

Hugh,

I can answer your question! No, the season is not over at the end of thirty (30) days! A Permit is only good for thirty days and one pound of Ginseng and is no longer valid when either are met. However, you can purchase as many permits as you want if the permittable sections are available. You can also purchase additional permit(s) for the same section(s) that you currently hold permits for, if you dig a pound in less than thirty days and there is still Ginseng in this/these section(s) that you want to dig. As I understand it, permits can be purchased up until the end of the year. Ginseng Harvesting Season in the Cherokee National Forests is Sep. 1st to Dec. 31st but this is not the case for National Forests in every State with Ginseng! The Ginseng Harvesting Season for the National Forests in West Virginia is Sep. 1st to Nov. 30th and there are probably several Northern States that have seasons that are similar in opening and closing.


Frank