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Tuckasegee ginseng farmer to give program at City Lights
By Lynn Hotaling
A transplanted educational psychologist will share his knowledge of growing and marketing ginseng in Sylva this week.
Tuckasegee ginseng farmer Scott Persons, who has teamed with N.C. State extension specialist Jeanine Davis of Asheville to write “Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal, and Other Woodland Medicinals” will present a program at City Lights Bookstore at 7 p.m. program Friday, Feb. 24, for those who would like to learn more about growing ginseng for market.
Full-time grower Persons, who got his start in ginseng production in 1979, is also the author of a 1985 book titled “American Ginseng: Green Gold.”
Full-time ginseng farmer Scott Persons of Tuckasegee has collaborated with N.C. State Extension Specialist Jeanine Davis on a new book, “Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal and Other Wild Medicinals.” Persons will give a 7 p.m. program based on information from the book this Friday, Feb. 24, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.
“That book filled an absolute void,” he said.
Though “American Ginseng” was still in demand, Persons, who had revised it several times, said he realized last year that the book needed a major update.
“Revising it again didn’t seem right,” he said last week. “Too much had changed.”
Instead of simply reworking the earlier volume, Persons decided to take advantage of the growing interest in other medicinal herbs in the new book. He asked herbalist Davis to be his co-author in order to expand his ginseng focus and include goldenseal and other woodland plants.
“I realized it would take a lot of effort to add information about other plants, and I wasn’t qualified,” Persons said. “But I knew Jeanine and knew she was a good writer. Our interests dovetailed.”
Scott Persons of Tuckasegee, a full-time ginseng grower, has co-authored a new book, “Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal and Other Woodland Medicinals,” which is a practical guide to growing such plants for a profit. He will discuss the new book during a 7 p.m. program Friday, Feb. 24, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.
He and Davis often attended the same meetings and programs, Persons said. Knowing of Davis’ interest in goldenseal, the two often discussed their shared interest in woodland plants.
It was Davis’ predecessor at the Mountain Horticultural Research Extension Center, Tom Consler, who helped Persons get started in ginseng cultivation. Persons, who had moved to Tuckasegee after getting married, thought he might grow evergreens such as hemlock on his mountain farm. When then-Jackson County Extension Agent Ken Perry came to Tuckasegee to talk about tree growing, Persons mentioned the possibility of a ginseng farm. Perry then told him about Consler, who was developing a program to encourage Western North Carolina farmers to grow the plant.
According to Persons, the new book, which came out last August, concentrates on how to grow and make a profit on ginseng and other wild plants.
“It’s written for people who want a supplemental income,” he said. “Other books serve the purpose of the hobbyist; we’re interested in telling people how to grow the plants in the most efficient way.”
Illustrated with more than 200 photographs and numerous tables, the book is aimed at those looking to turn a profit as well as for people simply interested in a horticultural challenge, he said.
Persons’ and Davis’ book covers recommended methods for growing and marketing ginseng, goldenseal, black cohosh, bloodroot, ramps, wild ginger, and other native woodland medicinals.
“We also tell people about the problems they’ll face – the diseases,” he said. “And we also spend a good bit of time talking about marketing.”
According to Persons, demand for medicinals other than ginseng is limited right now, but interested growers can produce them as nursery stock and sell them as pretty flowers.
“If you learn how to grow the plants efficiently, you’ll be in a position to take advantage of markets that develop,” Persons said.
Ginseng, on the other hand, has been in demand for centuries. Certain Asian cultures have traditionally believed it could extend life, Persons said.
“The original herb that Asians regard as prolonging life has a certain look, and wild American ginseng mimics that look,” he said.
Asian ginseng is a different species than American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), but the roots of both plants look very similar, Persons said. The leaves also share common characteristics but there is a subtle difference, he said.
Asian ginseng was hunted to virtual extinction and much of its habitat was lost due to deforestation as populations expanded, Persons said.
Collection and export of the herb in North America began during the 18th century and was brought about by Jesuit priests. Ginseng was first collected in Canada after one priest, Father Lafitau, heard of the “wonder plant” from a colleague who had been in Manchuria and described the plant and the Chinese cultural reverence for it. Lafitau reasoned that Canada and Manchuria were of a similar latitude and began asking local Indians about it. Ginseng was discovered near Montreal in 1716.
It wasn’t long before French fur traders were dealing in ginseng as well, Persons said. When they heard of ginseng’s profits, American colonists became interested, too, and the Hudson Bay traders in what is now New York soon began exporting the roots.
“Ginseng has almost always been a valuable commodity,” Persons said.
According to Persons, there is documentation of traders paying Indians 25 cents per pound – in the 1700s – and then reselling the roots in London for $5 per pound.
Because of the plant’s high-dollar value, there has always bee pressure on the wild population, Persons said. Despite the constant digging, ginseng has survived because a conservation ethic has arisen – mostly through self interest – among those who gather the roots to sell.
Ginseng has to be dried before it is sold, which reduces its weight by two-thirds, Persons said. Through the years, diggers come to realize it’s not worth their time to collect very small roots, leading to a tradition of leaving young plants in the woods to continue to grow. Also, most of those who learn to dig ginseng from their parents or grandparents learn to plant the berries where they dig plants, thus increasing the likelihood the seeds will sprout.
Persons grows “wild-simulated” ginseng, which means he plants the seeds under the forest canopy. Such roots are worth almost as much as wild ginseng, he said.
Persons’ City Lights program will feature a slideshow and discussion of topics covered in the book. A question-and-answer session will also be included, and Persons will autograph copies of his book.
For more information about the book or Persons’ program at City Lights, call the bookstore at 586-9499.
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