Harvesting My Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)

[Starward]

Two years ago I planted Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), and today was harvesting day.

After pulling the plants from their pots and shaking off the loose soil, it took several rounds of washing and rinsing to clear away the remaining rocks and dirt. I used garden shears to break down the smaller sections, but the larger core roots required a cleaver and wooden mallet. Two hours of work yielded 1.8 kg of fresh root.

Drying will reduce that by roughly 25%, leaving me with around 1.5 kg of dried material worth approximately AU$150. Once dry, I will grind it to a fine powder and pack it into gel caps — enough to last me at least a year.

Ashwagandha has become markedly trendy in the last couple of years, appearing in formulas targeting everything from stress relief through cortisol reduction (well supported by evidence), to muscle mass and bodybuilding supplementation (plausible, less proven), to erectile dysfunction and even penis enlargement (eyes rolling).

My interest is around Ashwagandha is around it use as a down regulator of cortisol and as an adaptation that helps with anxiety, and it might help improve my sleep. If I grow man parts that would be funny.

Ashwagandha translates as "Horse Smell," which is entirely apt. Processing it fills the air with a deep, earthy barnyard scent — one I find more grounding than unpleasant.
I also harvested a good amount of seeds to plant next years worth crops.

I have opted not to harvest the aerial parts of the plant. I have plenty of root, and traditionally only the roots have been used — even if commercial producers will utilise the leaves and branches to bulk up their products.

 

 

 

[wachumacallit]

Well done, want to sell/trade some? I've had zero luck growing this plant from seed. 

[withdrawl clinic]

starward, i got a few questions and btw, very good work congratulations!

 

climat 9b means cold winters, so your plants survived minus 4 deg C, or worse?

 

i believe autum harverest is the right time, or even winter, agree?

 

i used to waste the above ground parts, earlier but now i extract the whole plant with water.

the roots are the best part.

make sure the dried material will not catch a mold or any other similar.  use desicaters.

i would like to know of people who tried raw dried material, i guess it's not the most effective methode (because the material is very heat resistant).

how tall were your plants? i saw plants in europe 1.5metres tall and taller, but the one in oz are small... colder weather might elongate the nodes...

 

 

 

[Starward]

@withdrawl clinic

 

Yes they survived a few nights of -2ºc over winter they suffered but grew back.

 

However they did not grow as big or bushy they did before the winter.

 

I grew them in pots because I rent. I think this limited there growth, and possible the size of the roots.

 

I opted to grow the plants for two years because I wanted some mature roots.

 

I pulled them in autumn because they were looking shabby and honestly I did not think they would survive a second winter.

 

The height at best was half a meter, but very bushy.

 

I tried to chop them up in a food blender, but did have mixed results some turned into fine powder, some did not.

 

 

Edited April 14 by Starward