Ginseng, Woodland Nuggets of Gold : The Story of American Ginseng Cultivation [Hardcover]

Val Hardacre (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Val Hardacre was born in Ohio in 1887. He graduated from highschool in Chardon, Ohio - at which time he had already begun his career as a ginseng grower. He wrote:

"I began to grow ginseng at the age of 14years in 1901 in the village of Chardon, Ohio. The ginseng boom was on the upswing, and there was a mad scramble to get into the new business. In a few years Chardon had become one of the largest ginseng centers in the country."

In addition to his lifelong work as an Ohio ginseng cultivator, the author has contributed many articles on the subject to "Fur-Fish-Game" and the former "Special Crops" magazines. He also worked as a painter and decorator, and for the Goodrich Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. Among his other interests were hunting, fishing, big-league baseball, and collecting Indian relics.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 331 pages
• Publisher: Holland House; 2 edition (June 1, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0913042072
• ISBN-13: 978-0913042076
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,246,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem of a biography about a lifetime hunting, harvesting and growing ginseng, July 13, 2005

By 

D. F. Curran "dfcurran" (Missoula, MT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ginseng, Woodland Nuggets of Gold : The Story of American Ginseng Cultivation (Hardcover)

This wonderful book by Val Hardacre inspired me in the 1980's to start the Ginseng Farmer Newsletter that served the ginseng growing industry for many years. It also, indirectly, led to my book, the Complete Ginseng Grower's Manual which is still in print and available on Amazon.com.
This isn't a how to. Collected here are wonderful recollections of a lifetime of hunting wild ginseng in the forests as a boy in Ohio, attempting to grow it as an adult, mixed in with real life.
I never got to know Val Hardacre but became friends with his wife Rose. She had a dispute with the publishing house and was not receiving commissions. I helped her sell the many copies she had on hand through our newsletter.
I used to tell our readers (all ginseng growers) that the book was about "The most fun you'll ever have growing ginseng". I think we sold everyone of Rose's copies she was willing to let go. Hardacre was a terrific writer and you won't be sorry you purchased this book.