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Spring Harvest is underway!

Spring Harvest is underway!

The harvest has started and the farmers are delivering their Rhodiola rosea to the ARRGO Processing Facility in Thorsby, Alberta.  Six years or more of hard work culminates in many trips to Thorsby with the flatbed trailer.  Thanks, Brett and Micha.  Your roots look amazing! 

Each net bag holds 600-800 lbs of roots, tops and dirt.  Most of the plants are dug with a potato digger and then manually picked up one at a time and cleaned before placing in the bag.  Depending on the size of the plant, there will be 300-500 plants in a bag.  Brett and Micha are hoping to bring in 60,000 plants this spring.  That’s 120 bags or more of bending, picking and cleaning!

A closer look at the plants shows lots of spring growth.  The plants have bolted and are blooming.  To make processing easier, the farmers are asked to mow their fields before the plants are dug.  Rhodiola makes a crown or dome above ground, so a real close shave with the mower deck is not recommended.  The rest of the shoots will have to be removed by the processing crew.

Brett and Micha’s roots were tested before harvest, and their results were excellent.  Rosavins and salidroside are all in the highest range.  There are markets waiting for their harvest.  A spring harvest to be proud of.  Thanks to all the ARRGO growers for the all the work! 

Rhodiola rosea - spring harvest fresh from the field

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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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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!