I am just getting into the rooting and wild foraging. And I saw a few post on poke root and thought "that sounds easy enough I know what that is" I went out took my 8 yr old daughter and we dug a truck load. Get back to the barn and figure out the digging was the easy part. That stuff is tough as nails!! I was wondering if anyone had a recommended cutting technique. And I have seen Don post that he buys this stuff. Well mr don how do I get in touch with you to send you some? Theres not many people around here that buy roots etc that I can find. If anyone knows a person close that buys it please tell. In fact I get extremely weird looks when people ask what I'm doing I'm sure you all are very accustom to this. I get the same looks when trapping though thanks in advance for any help.
T

Sorry I did not answer sooner, but I stay quite busy at this time of the year. Contact me at 1 812-425-6995 You can take any good sharp object and cut it into pieces or strips that might be an inch by 4-5 inches long or anything similar to that.

otter.........i just take a hatchett and chop mine up into 1/4 inch pieces.

Didn't think of the hatchet. I guess my knifes aren't up to snuff. My pops had an old bandsaw he used for making furniture. I blew the dust off kicked it on and made poke root fish sticks ( so my daughters tell me) I hope that will work. I have read that it should dry a while. How do you know it's fully dry? Does anyone have some plans for a root drying box? I am thinking about building one any ideas or inputs would help.

you'll def know when it's dry...stuff gets pretty hard.

i've never built any kind of box for drying roots in.....but i think don used an old fridge to make one.


i just place mine on screens and let the sun and wind do the rest for me.

at night i place tarps over the roots to keep the dew off......if i know rain is coming i move the roots indoors.

What about a wood chipper? Would that damage them to much?

you'd probably have a mess otter

whats the average price on poke?

75 ish cents per lb? I believe I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

How fine can it be? Can I shred it?

don't need to shred it...i sometimes slice it..but chunking it in fifty cent size pieces seems to work just fine

Is it possible to freeze dry roots? How about freezing them before chopping later ?

Never try to freeze roots. They will go bad. A bandsaw would make short work of cutting up roots, but the exspence of running the saw would eat a lot of your profit up.
You will never make any amt. of money digging poke root. It drys as light weight as any root you will dig. Lots of work for miniscule pay.

just chop with a hatchet.

don. i've done pretty good digging poke, course i'm digging those 10-15 lb monsters out of cinders...lol.

Are you talking about poke salad root?
If so, what is it used for?

yh57

New research has revealed that a possible CURE for Childhood Leukemia called (B43-PAP) is found in the common Pokeweed. Anti-B43-pokeweed antiviral protein, B43-PAP, PAP is a pokeweed toxin. The B43 carries the weapon--the PAP--to the leukemia cells. It has been touted as a smart weapon. In one study 15 out of 18 children who had participated had attained remission. The following is part of a repot from Parker Hughes Institute: The two parts of this drug are the B43 antibody (or anti-CD19) and the pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) immunotoxin, a natural product in the pokeweed plant. B43 is designed to recognize specific B-cell leukemia cells just as natural antibodies attack and recognize germs. When the antibody finds a leukemia cell, it attaches and B43 delivers the other part of the drug, PAP. Inside the cell, PAP is released by the antibody and inactivates the ribosomes that make the proteins the cell needs to survive. With the cell unable to produce proteins, the specific leukemia cell is killed. More than 100 patients have been treated with B43-PAP and shown only minimal side effects.