Root Medicine: An Herbalist’s Guide to Digging Roots

Hands lifting freshly dug dandelion roots from dark soil
Dandelion, straight from the ground — Vermont, early October
Herbalist's Field Notes  ·  Autumn Harvest

Fall is harvest time, not only for winter storage crops like beets and carrots, but for all those beautiful medicinal plants we have been watching flower and grow for many months now. The herb harvest gives us a sense of the changing seasons and a chance to prepare our home apothecary for the year to come. It's a special experience to watch the full growing cycle of a plant, then harvest it and use it for your own wellbeing.

Autumn is the time of year when plants' energies are focused back into the roots.

Why we dig in October

They are no longer producing leaves and flowers. Thus, it is this time of year — late September and early October — when the roots' medicinal qualities are most potent. For roots like dandelion and burdock, the inulin is highest right now. Try to harvest before the first hard frost: once the ground gets hard it becomes difficult to dig, and the inulin depolymerizes with the cold.

Six rules for digging roots

  1. Know exactly what you're digging

    Be 100% confident the plant you're about to harvest is what you think it is. If you have any question at all, find a local herbalist or botanist who can confirm it for you.

  2. Take only what you'll use

    Reflect on how much you need — is this just for you, for family, or are you producing at a small scale? One year's worth is usually a good place to start, and harvesting yearly means you get to spend time with the plants every fall.

  3. Consider the age of the plant

    Most roots should be harvested within their second year. Older roots get fibrous and woody, which makes their strong qualities harder to extract. Younger roots are traditionally more potent and easier to work with.

  4. Choose your ground carefully

    Do you have permission to dig here? And just as importantly, is it far enough from roadsides and trails? Give yourself enough space that no toxic chemicals, dog urine or human waste could have reached the plants.

  5. Loosen the soil — don't pull

    Use a specialized digger (a Hori Hori or dandelion digger) or a garden fork. Start about 8 inches out from the base, since some roots grow outward as well, and work the soil loose with your hands deep in the earth. Harvested correctly, most roots pop right up. Pulling from the top breaks the taproot.

  6. Clean and dry right away

    Process as soon as you get home: tincture the roots fresh, or chop them small and dry them completely in a dehydrator or low oven — start at 120°F, then drop to 100°F after a few hours. Roots that aren't dried carefully will mold in storage and become unusable.

Five roots we dig every fall

Some of the species we seek out this time of year are also key ingredients in our products. All of these thrive beautifully in Vermont and are ever abundant in our fields, woodland paths, and backyards.

Freshly dug dandelion plant with root and greens intact

Dandelion

Taraxacum officinale

This common weed is found throughout the northern hemisphere, and almost everyone knows it. This is the queen of rebel weeds — dandelion grows in any cracked pavement or sidewalk it can find, and its seeds spread easily. Unfortunately it gets a bad rap from people chasing a perfect lawn, and so many dandelions are sprayed and killed.

  • ALWAYS harvest plants that are clean and unsprayed. Dandelion is one of the most sprayed weeds out there.
  • First and second-year roots are the best.
  • Leaves, root, and flower can all be used.
Burdock in flower, purple blooms on bristly green seed heads

Burdock

Arctium lappa
  • First-year roots are preferable — a first-year burdock will not have a seed stalk.
  • This plant's taproot can easily be a foot or two long. Work the soil all around it before pulling.
  • Wait until after the first frost and the root often turns sweeter — the exception to everything we said earlier.
  • These roots can also be dug in early spring, when they're a delicious edible just as they are.
Yellow dock going to seed, green seed stalk against a summer field

Yellow Dock

Rumex crispus
  • Younger, tender roots are better for harvesting — one to two years.
  • These roots are often about a foot long, a similar size to dandelion roots.
  • Underneath the brown earthy outer bark is a strikingly bright yellow root — hence the name.
Echinacea purpurea in full bloom, pink petals around a bronze cone

Echinacea

Echinacea purpurea
  • Harvest older plants, three to four years, as the constituents are stronger.
  • These roots are thin and come in more of a root ball, so give yourself plenty of space to dig and get the whole thing.
  • Flowers, leaves, unopened buds and root can all be harvested and used.
Elecampane flower, a shaggy yellow bloom with a bud alongside it

Elecampane

Inula helenium
  • Harvest at the end of the second year to keep the roots from getting woody and thick.
  • This plant has a large taproot that can be a foot long — use those tools.
  • Easy to grow, potent medicine, and the bees love the flowers in late summer and early fall.

Herbal allies, already bottled

Not digging this year? These roots are already working in our formulas — harvested, extracted, and ready to go.

Want to go deeper on making your own? Our DIY Bitters book walks through extracting what you've harvested, and the Digestive Bitters collection shows you where these roots end up.

Originally published October 2018. Updated September 2026.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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