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fasenuff
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# Posted: 21 Dec 2010 08:15am
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Ok, I like many of you am not rich. Food cost are rising. Gasoline for the generator seems to suck down any reserves of cash that may try to build up. Unexpected repairs or breakdowns can cause me to wonder where the money will come from. The generator, while it is running good now will someday need replacing and the solar panels that would help negate it's need cost more than I have spent building the cabin. And then there is the occasional meal or night out that would help relieve boredom and cabin feaver.
Living on the limited income I have I have taken odd jobs in the past and the influx of money from those has helped greatly. But my ever diminishing health has made me realize I will not be doing the odd jobs as much or making as much when I do. This has had me looking at ways to make money at home with as little labor input as possible.
One idiot friend suggested growing pot and selling it. While there is money to be made doing it and you can get free all expense paid vacations that last for years, the thought of losing my place in the process just does not sit well nor do I want to be some axe murders wife while on "vacation". Nope! Not going there!
But, a cash crop grown here on the 5 acres I have is the way I am leaning. Here in Missouri ginseng grows quite well in the wild. Just this last September was able to bring in a little over $1,000 by walking the woods and digging a few 5 gallon buckets worth of the root. I did not have to do anything besides dig it up and plant the seeds from the tops back in the hole I made. Not bad for a couple days work of walking around on my property.
This spring I will be putting in a few plots by using 5' wire fencing and T posts to keep out the critters that love to eat the tops. A 100' roll of fencIng will give me a small easily managed plot. I hope to put in 5 of these plots each year for 3 or 4 years. Putting in the plots will be the majority of the work needed for growing the ginseng. Each plot will need atleast 3 years growing time to be considered worth the time. During that time only minimal work will be needed to upkeep the plot and that will not be much.
It is not unrealistic to see over a $1,000 from each plot every 3 or 4 years. With ginseng the longer it grows and the larger the root is, the more valuable it is. With that in mind I plan to harvest 3 or 4 plots at the end of the first 3 year cycle and let 1 or 2 grow on for another year or two.
The first 3 years I will have to put out a couple hundred dollars a year for seed, fencing, T posts and a few incidentals but after that I will have a few thousand return every year. I figure it will take a couple days to put the fencing up for a plot and a day to plant the seeds in it. So maybe two weeks to put in 5 plots a year. With only occasional mainainence of the plants and repair of the fence I may have another weeks worth of work each year for each plot.
I hope in the end to have around 20 plots that I will be able to harvest 5 of every year on 4 year cycles. My goal is to make around $6 to $7,000 a year fro this. I also plan to grow a few medicinal herbs as well which will be yearly crops that will bring in some continous cash flow of maybe a $1,000 a year.
That's my plan anyway. I know I have made a lot over the years by digging it wild and I know of some who grow it as I plan to and they do ok.
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toddheyn
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# Posted: 21 Dec 2010 06:14pm
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Awesome idea. I am going to do some research to see what conditions are necessary for the growth of Ginseng. This sounds like a great use of relatively idle land.
I am looking forward to see what others have to say on this post.
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fasenuff
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# Posted: 21 Dec 2010 06:36pm
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It grows best in forests populated with hard wood and on the south east hill side. A mostly shaded area is best. It does not require planting deep. What I like about it is the fact the existing trees are left in place. It does not require a lot of water but a little in the hottest part of summer would help. Its value is highest when you do the least for it. Wild grown can bring hundreds of dollars per pound while field grown is worth only a tenth of that. One single root with enough age and size can bring over a grand. Granted that is not the norm but in the past I have dug well over a thousand dollars in a single day.
The more naturally it is grown the more valuable it is. Which is to say, the less you do to it as it grows the more you make. It is the ideal crop for a semi lazy person like me.
If you decide to give it a try be sure and get your seeds ordered way early because many of the dealers sell out before the spring planting season. Here in Missouri besides the few woodland creatures that may like it poaching is the biggest cause of crop loss. Over a few days or weeks some animals can devistate a crop but poachers have cleaned out many crops in an afternoon. I know of one grower who was just a couple days from digging up his yearly crop only to find that poachers had cleaned out several years worth in a day. This caused him to lose several thousand dollars and put him a couple years behind in growing.
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toddheyn
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# Posted: 22 Dec 2010 06:38am
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After doing some research last night I have begun to question the idea of the fencing.
I read that there are not many natural predators of ginseng other than man. I would think that the fencing in the middle of the woods would definately alert anyone that there is something that is of value there.
Just an observation for when I start my patch.
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mlhall
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# Posted: 29 Dec 2010 04:54am
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Fasenuff,
That's an awsome idea. The only thing I would add is to possibly add other crops and services. My wife have been considering doing this as well. Check out this book: Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it by John Seymour Some very good ideas on how to divide up small lots from 1 acre to 5 acres for farming and self sufficiency.
The wife and I are planning to try this. I have a few years to go for retirement and kids to finish raising yet. But I can't wait to move away from the ratrace of city life.
Sincerely,
Matt H.
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fasenuff
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# Posted: 29 Dec 2010 08:37am
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The thing I like about growing gensing is the fact you have to do so little for it. I have thought about growing other things that would bring in maximum dollar with minimum work output. The soil I have here is almost non-existant while the rocks are abundant and seem to pop out of the ground dailly. Growing many things would be fairly hard without building some type of boxes and filling those with a usuable soil. A bit more work than I want to do for anything more than a personal garden. Gensing does quite well with the rocky soil like I have here and does so with a very minimal amount of work.
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larryh
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# Posted: 29 Dec 2010 09:03am
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I find that attending a few summer auctions and rooting around at yard and garage sales can produce a bit of income from ebay. Once a person figures out what things are selling and which to avoid its really fun to do. Right now though things are down in price, but I still can turn up things even at antique malls that are worth more than the seller realizes. I have found a few items for 10.00 that sold in a week for 110.00 from malls. But its not an every day occurrence. I found a brand of kerosene heater I knew people liked in good shape, they wanted 32.00 for it at the mall, I got 270 in week on ebay. Again it doesn't happen every day but it can add up as a bit of supplemental income.
My neighbor here is a harvester of Gensing. Its growing in the woods around here but I wouldn't know it if i saw it. He harvest it every year and was commenting that this year it was bring some really high prices.
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fasenuff
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# Posted: 29 Dec 2010 09:12am
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The one thing about harvesting gensing is after it's third year of growth it has a small flower easily seen. But it does take a keen eye and attention to find it in the wild. I am fortunate in I am color blind and the flower happens to be of a color I see well so it tends to stick out for me.
I do do the Ebay thing and do pick up a fair amount of extra income with it but since I do not drive and my road would not allow for UPS or FedEx pickup it kinda makes it more difficult.
I save a lot of money on things I need by hitting the yard sales when I can and frequent the flea markets and thrift stores.
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lawnjoky
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# Posted: 7 Jan 2011 12:28am
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There is always personal ads. I saw a catchy one today: "Ex Con seeks soulmate"
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teakboat
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2011 11:51pm
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Fasenuff,
Would you mind telling me where you buy the seeds? I have seen a wide array of prices and maybe quality when I looked before.
Our land in Arkansas would probably be a good place for it in the trees and leaf litter with shady sunshine.
Thanks
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fasenuff
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2011 06:52am
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OZARK MOUNTAIN GINSENG ROUTE 1 Box 1223 Thayer, Missouri 65791 Email address: lindy@tek-web.com Phone (417) 264-2448
Order real early because they can sell out months in advance.
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teakboat
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2011 10:53pm
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Thanks! will call them this week.
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Fconcept
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# Posted: 18 Jan 2011 02:16pm
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would like to speak to a few people in regards to this type of living on a full time basis . please
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Fconcept
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# Posted: 18 Jan 2011 02:16pm
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have phone if easier
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Fconcept
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# Posted: 18 Jan 2011 02:17pm
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my land and cabin is in upstate new york
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teakboat
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# Posted: 18 Jan 2011 04:50pm
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Here is a really, really crazy idea to make some money, I am sure there are 20 reasons why it would not work:
On my land there are 3 flowing springs. Would anyone want to buy spring drinking water from the Ozarks mountains? I know it is a crazy idea, but they sell bottled water for .60 a liter at the grocery store...
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pmichelsen
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# Posted: 10 Feb 2011 11:03am
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Quoting: fasenuff One idiot friend suggested growing pot and selling it.
I have often thought about doing this on my property, here in CA I could legally do it, I'm just not sure whether it is the type of business I want to get into. I have also thought about growing Salvia as this too is legal and seems to be growing in popularity.
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bobrok
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# Posted: 10 Feb 2011 01:16pm
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Quoting: teakboat Would anyone want to buy spring drinking water from the Ozarks mountains? I know it is a crazy idea, but they sell bottled water for .60 a liter at the grocery store...
I avoid boying bottled water unless I have no choice. Last time I bought a bottle I read the label which said that the source of the water was the Erie County, NY municipal water system (that's Buffalo, NY for you who don't know)
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Gary O
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# Posted: 10 Feb 2011 10:24pm
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Quoting: bobrok Last time I bought a bottle I read the label
Ever spell Evian backwords?
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bobrok
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# Posted: 11 Feb 2011 07:45am
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Tucked away in the foothills of the Adk Mtns is a huge spring water bottling plant that I pass by frequently. I have to laugh every time I drive by. The name of the place: Nirvana.
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toddheyn
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# Posted: 11 Feb 2011 05:55pm
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Quoting: bobrok Tucked away in the foothills of the Adk Mtns is a huge spring water bottling plant that I pass by frequently. I have to laugh every time I drive by. The name of the place: Nirvana.
I recall seeing this company in my travels. Where is it located?
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bobrok
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# Posted: 11 Feb 2011 07:30pm
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It is on NY12 just south of Boonville, one of the snowmobiling meccas of the area.
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Rob_O
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# Posted: 11 Feb 2011 08:58pm
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Quoting: pmichelsen I have also thought about growing Salvia as this too is legal and seems to be growing in popularity.
Here in KY, Salvia is illegal as well as "spice". I expect other states will follow suit if the feds don't step in first. Pretty silly, when any high school kid with a good fake can buy alcohol which is much more dangerous to society
I'm sticking to ornamental trees and maybe some ginseng. Not as profitable but much less potential for problems
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nimrod
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# Posted: 7 Oct 2014 09:21pm
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Fconcept
Fconcept
I live in upstate ny too
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Don_P
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# Posted: 8 Oct 2014 10:12pm
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For us some non timber forest products would include 'sang, witch hazel, cherry bark, the various berries and value added jams and preserves, I've been snacking on roasted chinese chestnuts, cohosh, mayapple, mushrooms, ramps, we have several new cideries in the past several years, hazelnuts,elderberries... and the list goes on and on. Many diversified plants might be a good idea in case one "crop" failed.
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tombiosis
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2014 09:22am
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There is a show on TV now about Ginseng harvesting...I'm going to see if it grows in my area. Just don't know who to sell it to?
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keljohnso
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2014 09:05am - Edited by: keljohnso
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I found this site full of ginseng info!
http://www.wildgrown.com
I bought 1/8 of a lb of seeds and 98 1 yr. rootlets off ebay. They should be here today. I'm going to plant this weekend!
Thanks fasenuff for the idea!
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fasenuff
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2014 10:45am
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You are welcome! It takes at least 3 years to get a return and 5 or 6 preferably for optimum return but with minimal time and effort put in it is like money in the bank with a high interest payout....
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keljohnso
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2014 11:29am
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That's not a problem. We bought the property with the intent on holding it for 15 years or so. Other than ferns, I'm not sure if we have the companion plants or not, but it is all hardwood and 70-80% shade.
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moregon
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2014 03:50pm
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Quoting: lawnjoky There is always personal ads. I saw a catchy one today: "Ex Con seeks soulmate"
Awesome, just what a single gal is looking for......FUNNY!
~Monique
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