Alternate crop in sugarbushes

[Mitch Hoyt]

I have not actually done this. It is just a though that I have had for the last 5 years. Never looked into doing it seriously yet just one of those ideas that sit in the back of the mind. When I read this threat I though I would just throw it out there for discussion. Weather wild grown or cultivated I would think you could make money on the crop. I do not think there is anything differnt regarding cultivated and wild ginseng except the fact that the stuff grown in the wild has a greater concentration of the "good stuff" becaue you are not growing 10 roots in a 12 inch area. I could be off on that but it gives someone something to think about. I do realize it would not be as easy as walking around your woods dropping seeds here and there. You have to take the time to plant each seed and all in all it would take some time. This is just my 2 cents.

Mitch Hoyt
Sales Man
MP&C

25 taps on bags in my back yard.
Would like to grow some but the
wife and kids need to be involved
since the wheelchair does not
get around in the snow very well.

Made 6 quarts of Gold on my stove in the house last year.
Gave the rest of my sap to my father in law.

[Michael Greer]

If you love working in the woods, do it...do it all. I have a tiny forest out back. The north edge is wet, and I have planted some super-sweet silvers there. Around them is a huge stand of Fiddlehead Fern that we harvest every year. The west edge has a very productive Blackberry patch,and most of them end up in the freezer. I'm looking into planting mushrooms in the deep shade in the middle, and there are a couple of very nice red oaks that will yield some good sawlogs in a few years. A sugarbush of any size might also provide some income from firewood over the years. The point is, every bit of this is more fun than going to work every day.