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Rhodiola seed – Tiny Survivors

The seed of Rhodiola rosea has many unique characteristics, the first being its size.  1-2 mm is it for stature, shiny reddish-brown, and 1200 of them weigh out at a whole gram.  The tiny seed carries an immense amount of genetic diversity and robust viability. Also within the genetics is the sex of the future plant. 

The shell of the rhodiola seed has a protective coating which must be broken by freezing winter temperatures in order for germination to occur.  Growers and botanists call this breaking of the seed’s dormancy ‘winter stratification’.  Other ways to ready the seed for germination are to place the seed in air tight bags in the freezer or to apply a natural hormone called Gibberelic acid.  The latter method requires frost-free conditions as the seedling must build up its tolerance to colder temperatures.

ARRGO farmers normally obtain germination rates of 85 – 95% under the right circumstances.  Germination in the wild is noted to be low, in the range of 20-30%. 

Why the difference?  It’s part of Rhodiola’s survivor instincts.  The seed requires light before it will germinate.  Rhodiola farmers note that the tiny seeds germinate in early spring as soon as the snows melt away.  The plants grow slowly and may be only a few inches tall after a full growing season.  As the farmer weeds the seedlings, more Rhodiola seeds are exposed to sunlight and the farmer may find that a new set of seeds will germinate.

In addition, sufficient rainfall and cool summer weather are key to seedling survival – too hot and too dry = no Rhodiola.  The seed is viable for many years though, and if all conditions are met ? – yay!  

Rhodiola seed – tiny and delicate-looking, but in reality built to survive cold Canadian winters and thrive in our summers.

Rhodiola rosea seed
Rhodiola rosea seed
Rhodiola seedlings after first growing season
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Harvesting Rhodiola Part Two

In our first video we saw Craig Park’s organic Rhodiola rosea field in full bloom in early May 2019.  It’s time for harvest, and Craig uses his potato digger to bring up the entire plant.  Dirt, rocks, weeds and Rhodiola come off the back end of the potato digger and the combination of everything is left in large piles.  The piles are heavy and require either lots of muscle and/or mechanization to sieve out the Rhodiola.

Craig uses his backhoe to break up the piles.  Workers on the ground separate out the rhodiola and place it into piles.  Workers then use the backhoe bucket to gather the roots, all the time shaking dirt, plastic and weeds from the Rhodiola.

Next stop, the backhoe dumps the plants onto tables where workers shake and break out more weeds, dirt and rocks.  The Rhodiola then goes into new tote bags which can hold up to 1200 pounds.  Craig’s tote bags are a little lighter due to the spring top growth.

Forks are added to the backhoe and the full bags are lifted onto a flatbed trailer.  The bags are covered and strapped down for their 2-hour trip to the ARRGO Processing Facility in Thorsby, Alberta.

The Rhodiola rosea is handled many times in the process of harvesting.  Once the Rhodiola is out of the ground it is vulnerable to contamination.  All equipment and tools must be cleaned prior to entering the Rhodiola field.  Clothing, gloves and boots must be washed and free of contaminants.  Even though it is hard work, the farmers must take great care not to bruise or pierce the roots in order to avoid entry of foreign materials, oxidation and decay.

Getting the Rhodiola ready for delivery to the ARRGO Facility is exhausting work for the farmers.  They are so glad when the job is done.  Thank you ARRGO farmers!  You are truly hard workers!

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Springtime Rhodiola rosea Harvest – Part One

ARRGO Member Farmers are creative and inventive when it comes to growing and harvesting Rhodiola rosea.  They use forks and spades, or pull furrow blades behind a tractor.  They use potato diggers and sometimes even potato harvesters.  Whatever it takes to dig up the entire plant and keep it intact.

Any breaks in the root will cause oxidation.  More importantly, a break in the skin or husk of the root could be an avenue for contamination.

The Rhodiola needs to grow for at least five years in the cold Canadian Prairies before it is mature enough for harvest.  In five years’ time, the soil will settle and compact, and the weeds will grow a great network of roots to create major resistance to being turned over.  On top of that, many growers will plant their Rhodiola in plastic mulch to help with weed control.  So at harvest time, the dirt, the rocks, the plastic, the weeds, and the Rhodiola are lifted and shaken up, usually with major effort and some horsepower.

Enjoy our video of harvesting cultivated Rhodiola rosea in the springtime in Alberta.  Craig Park and his crew use a 60-inch potato digger to do the uprooting.  The blade at the front of the digger pushes into the soil, and plants, weeds, rocks and dirt are moved onto the rotating chain belt and table.  The digger is held at an angle to make the plants bounce and roll and shake off some of the soil and weeds.  Watch the video as the rhodiola in its springtime splendor makes it way up and over the top of the table to fall in jumbled piles.  The hard work comes next, but we’ll save that for a future video.

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The Importance of Testing

Fall harvested Rhodiola root ready for processing

ARRGO puts each grower lot of Rhodiola rosea through a series of analyses to ensure quality and purity.  Each lot comes with its own Certificate of Analysis (COA), and all testing is done at third party labs.

Our Rhodiola lots are tested for yeast, molds, E-coli and total microbials.  The raw root can be high in micro’s, comparatively.  Once dried and after a period of several months the micro count drops, but does not approach levels necessary for human consumption.

Micro testing is done when the root has just been processed – washed, chipped and dried.  Any visible mold is thrown out, and the chipped root goes through a final rinse of dilute hydrogen peroxide before entering the dryer.

The lots also go through a battery of heavy metals testing – lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium.  Alberta’s wide-open spaces, pure air and green fields yield Rhodiola root with low levels of heavy metals.

Some areas of Alberta were native prairie and rolling hills prior to the current generation of farmers breaking the land.  Organic farmers in certain locations can produce roots with no detectable signs of pesticides.

HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) is the testing method used for all analyses of the most important phenylpropanoids – rosin, rosarin, rosavin and salidroside.  The three rosavins are analyzed separately and the value listed on the COA is the summation, and is called Total Rosavins.  For customers who need the breakdown, the full set of compounds analyzed is available.  The full set also includes tyrosol and cinnamyl alcohol.

Currently there is no standard analytical method for Rhodiola rosea.  For ARRGO that means we must be consistent in our testing and method of analysis. Our customers frequently run their own analyses, and the comparison is within the ranges stated on our COA.

Our roots earn their COA through the hard work our ARRGO members, who ensure the highest standards are met for quality, traceability and purity.  Our rigorous testing proves they are doing it right.

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