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Planting Rhodiola – how is it done?

How do you . . .

Plant Rhodiola rosea? 

The seedlings are ready.  They’ve grown in their cells for a year or more.  Their roots are well established, crowns are developing, and they are filling up all the room they have in the nursery.

Is it time to plant them out into the field?  While the seedlings grow, the farmer must prepare the land to receive the seedlings.  In Alberta (Canada), the weed pressure is high to extreme, and Rhodiola rosea will not compete well with weeds.  Yield loss due to weeds can be as high as 95%.  That means lots of tilling and/or herbicides.  The crop bed must be weed-free to give the Rhodiola seedlings a head start.

Now are we ready to plant?  Maybe.  Check the weather.  Is there a rain in the forecast?  Yes!  Let’s go!

Time to lay the plastic and make raised beds.  Then pop the seedlings out of their trays in the nursery and hook up the transplanter.  Now fill up the water tanks and start planting.  The transplanter pokes a hole in the plastic and fills the hole with water.  Stop and go as all holes receive a healthy plant.  The end result – rows of Rhodiola and many promises to keep the field well tended and the weeds at bay. 

There are many ways to plant from highly specialized GPS-driven automatic planters to shovels and forks.  Either time and lots of money, or vice versa.  Each farmers’ story is different and each farmer makes many decisions for his Rhodiola.  And that’s just the start.  Next step – weed and weed some more – for five years.

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Planning for the Harvest

It’s the first day of spring, the vernal equinox, and ARRGO is planning for our Spring Harvest 2021.  Facility repairs and maintenance speed along, supplies are ordered, and schedules are set up.  The operations crew strategize on efficiencies for receiving and handling the freshly harvested roots.  Customer orders have been received and there is anticipation for the best harvest yet.

In the field the Rhodiola still hibernates, solidly frozen in the ground.  Snows are melting, though, and the water sinks into the earth – a good sign that winter’s hold is breaking and the soil is warming. 

The colors of winter linger and the eye searches for hints of green.  In colder latitudes the strengthening sun of early spring can often cause water runoff from early snowmelts.  Instead of sinking into partially thawed soil, the water pools into low areas or draws, creating temporary ponds and swelling streams and rivers.

This winter seemed less snowy than normal.  The cover of snow is now peeled back to reveal the soil, compressed vegetation, and all the projects that were left undone last fall.

The Rhodiola buds remain tightly closed, but the warmth of early spring will soon swell the buds.  Shoots and leaves will quickly follow, and the Rhodiola harvest will be in full dig.

Each year the ARRGO farmers uncover a few more of Rhodiola’s secrets.  And some of them are not what we want to hear.  We’ve known since the beginning that the roots weigh less in spring, and now we can quantify it.  As the buds and shoots develop, the roots give up some of their mass.  Farmers will lose between 6 and 13% by weight in spring compared to their fall harvest.  Although the root volume does not change from fall to spring, the roots are actually less dense while the shoots are actively growing.  If only we could harvest before they start the transition to bolt.  But that would mean dynamite and chunks of flying frozen dirt.

So while we plan for the harvest, we also question how to do it better.  When is the best time to harvest?  What influences growth and yield?  What creates the highest levels of beneficial compounds?  Time to plan to get some answers!

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What do you do with all the dirt?

ARRGO is celebrating the close of another successful harvest and processing season for our Rhodiola rosea.  Now it’s time to clean up and get ready for the next season.

When the freshly dug Rhodiola is delivered to the ARRGO Processing Facility, some of the ‘field’ comes with it.  The dirt, weeds and rocks still cling to neighboring roots.  The crew at the Processing Facility are the experts at separating the good root from all the clingers that wrap around and sometimes pierce through the thick fleshy Rhodiola.

At the end of each day, the crew has a bin full of dirt and bits of rhodiola and weeds that must be disposed of.  It used to be that the dirt and weeds were hauled off to the nearest facility that handles toxic waste.  Yes, that’s right – agricultural soil is considered toxic waste.  But now there’s a much better solution.

ARRGO is fortunate to own the land adjacent to our Processing Facility.  Now all the bins of dirt are spread out on the land.  The dirt is tilled and worked in, and the weeds are killed after a few times of being turned under.

Last year ARRGO grew a test plot of Rhodiola rosea on top of the dirt.  We plan to do that again this year, too.  After that our plan is to turn the area into a Community Garden for the town.  Expensive problem solved and many people will benefit!

Bins of dirt stacked at the ARRGO facility will soon be added to the ARRGO test plot
From agricultural waste to community garden
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Rhodiola rosea seedlings: Tiny seeds make tiny seedlings

It’s early March, and spring is still about 6 weeks away for farmers here in Alberta Canada.  We need to hit the ground running when the growing season starts.  While the snow covers all the jobs that had to be left when fall turned to winter, it’s a great time to plan for the months to come. 

Meanwhile as the farmers plan, the Rhodiola has been seeded into trays and waits for the snows to melt.  By mid-April the trays start to show green specks, but which ones are the Rhodiola rosea?  Small and bluish-green, two cotyledons appear (primary leaves before the first true leaves).  They are round and smooth and plump with a linear crevice in between. The white balls in the picture are perlite, which is found in many types of potting mixtures.

Experience says that the Rhodiola germinates early, but the plant is small and vulnerable.  If conditions are right, the tiny seedling will continue to grow, putting out one or two green shoots.  Simultaneously the seedling starts developing a small ball where the shoot meets the soil.  This is the crown where new buds will develop and energy is stored before winter comes.

The farmer tends his seedlings 6 months to 2 years before they are ready to transplant to the field.  The bigger the seedling at transplant time, the better the chance of survival. 

Will greenhouse practices or hydroponics improve the chances of survival?  Will these practices produce a larger more robust seedling in a shorter amount of time?  Research is underway in Alaska and in Canada and in time we will know and probably have even more questions!

Rhodiola rosea seedlings – April
First year and second year Rhodiola seedlings – August
Volunteer seedlings in the field – early May