Planning First
If you have reviewed the basic climate and field needs for growing Rhodiola rosea, and you think that you have the ideal situation and conditions, and you’re ready to try growing commercially, there are a few more things to consider.
Think about Your Entire Workflow
Growing seeds or seedlings of Rhodiola rosea is fantastic. When the seedlings come back after the long winter and start to grow in spring, there is a sense of success. The journey has just begun though, and here are some essential items to consider for the next phase:
- Field Preparation
- Field Layout
- Crop Management
- Weed Control
- Harvest
- Processing
Each item in the list is covered in more detail in the Knowledge Base. But before you put a lot of work into growing your Rhodiola, it is important to have an idea of how you will implement each of these items.
Field Preparation
Rhodiola rosea is typically grown in rows. The area for growing should be clean and free of weeds. Soil preparation can be accomplished in many ways, but you will need to allow from 2-3 weeks up to 2 years to have the field ready to receive your seedlings.
Field Layout
Plan your field layout to accommodate your topography, your equipment, and most importantly your planting rotation. You will need space for 5 or more years of Rhodiola rosea, plus one or more years of soil rejuvenation and other crops in rotation. At this point there is not much known about diseases or pests associated with Rhodiola rosea. It is just good practice to rotate crops. For organic growers, crop rotation is a necessary part of your application and inspection.
Crop Management
Crop Management consists of monitoring and reacting to crop conditions. The crop will need to be monitored for:
- Insects and animals that consume or destroy Rhodiola.
- Drought conditions
- Flooding
- Extreme heat
Crop management is ongoing for the full five years or more that the plants are in the field
Weed Control
Weeding is the task that goes on forever and no one appreciates. There are many ways to tackle this, and there may be considerable manual work involved. The most important thing to remember is that your yields can be diminished as much as 95% if the weeds are left unchecked.
Harvest
After five years of hard work, the work of digging and collecting your Rhodiola can be the hardest work of all. There are several ways to harvest and these are covered under the harvest category of the Knowledge Base. It is important to have your equipment in place and ready to go, and to have enough time to dig everything in the harvest window. Many growers are caught and are not able to complete their harvest. Fortunately, though, the Rhodiola that remains in the ground will come back the next year and should increase in size.
Processing
Once the Rhodiola plants are out of the ground, they are vulnerable to contamination, rot and mold. The root must be protected and will need to be processed as soon as possible. Processing will likely depend on the equipment that you have or the processing facility that you have arrangements with.
Rhodiola Growers of Canada processes Rhodiola rosea root at our facility outside of Olds, Alberta, Canada. Details on contracting with us are available in the Who Are We article of the Knowledge Base.
As we learn about other facilities, we will post details about them in the articles and categories on local growing around the world.
Rhodiola Growers of Canada wants to help you with your Rhodiola crop. Please look through the articles in the Knowledge Base and if you still have questions, please let us know.