I know buyers want ginseng that looks like it was wild grown. Is there actually any chemical difference between wild and domestically grown ginseng?

If you were using the ginseng for yourself, would it matter how it was grown?

Keith

Domestic roots have a smooth exterior compared to wild roots being rough . I believe it’s caused more by the cultivated soil at home compared to the compacted soil of the timber .

Wild root has more concentrated goodies vs domestic. And the chinese like the variety of shapes you get with wild. Cultivated roots are basically carrots.

I wonder how many seedling pawpaws have been dug up by neophyte ginseng diggers.

Was going to plant some on the steep sides of the ridges of my place, have west and northern exposure under hardwoods with a rocky acid soil, figured seeds planted in that environment would grow as if wild . Never got around to it.

All I can remember is they like a more acid soil, but decent amount of calcium, but not to use lime, instead side dress with gypsum as it won't raise the Ph.....YMMV....

Pawpaws don’t even look like ginseng but who knows

They kinda do when you dont know what ginseng looks like lol. Kinda what happens when sitting in a deer stand all day and not seeing deer, that twig/bush starts looking a lot like a deer the longer you stare at it. After that ginseng show, Appalachian Outlaws, a few years ago, there was a splurge of neophyte ginseng treasure hunters roaming the woods.

Yes sir you are correct but like I told the wife when she finds a 5 leaf plant thinks it’s ginseng then I show her the details of how symmetrical ginseng is . The stem goes up the prongs come off the stem. The 5 leaves come off the top of the prong with the seed cluster shooting straight up between the prongs and stem . Have you ever noticed how flat the leaves lay compared to the ground or that’s how I describe that aspect of ginseng also

Right. Cultivated roots look like mini carrots. Wild or woodsgrown roots are all gnarled and twisted and worth a lot more than cultivated.

And the three leaves are larger with two smaller ones behind them.

Planted several more small patches last fall looking forward to seeing some little one prongs in a few weeks. Also the second year for my first patches and wanting to see their growth this year. Will probably transplant some of the 2 yr olds this fall in areas where they came up thick.

Got out in the woods today. Most of my two-year-old plants now have 5 leaves but I counted a couple hundred little two prongs. The new patches that I planted last year have several hundred little 3 leave plants in them. Will be planting a few more patches this year

My ex wife’s family has dealt in traditional medicine for generations in China, one of the things that makes wild root more valuable is that it take longer for it to reach harvest size though I have seen some pretty small roots brought into the buyers, essentially the older the root the more valuable it is due to it Storing more strength

While ginseng has some medical value by itself it’s greatest value is that it amplifies the strengths of other medications taken with it, there is a famous story about the emperor of Korea who suffered from chronic arthritis so every day took medicine to numb the pain, then one day he woke up paralyzed, it was finely traced to the doctors using Chinese ginseng which was wild instead of Korean which was farmed so less strong

What other wild plants grow in areas that ginseng prefers?

Finding the soil/light/exposure conditions ginseng likes might be easier if you could look for plants already growing that like the same conditions.

Solomons seal blood root yellow root, cohosh, ginger wild yam indian turnip will be growing in the area. It grows good around hard maple and basswood. Hard maple leaves put calcium into the soil.

Pine trees provide great amounts of shade which it needs. Problem is ginseng can't survive in pine trees. Too much acid in the soil is my guess. I've had best luck in hardwoods. Woods grown is worth far more than cultivated.

I've found it around pines, there is a decent patch close to me growing on a south facing pine stand.

Plenty of information on the web about growing it and harvesting seeds. The biggest dilemma is waiting years to harvest. It’s a 20 year deal if done right and disease doesn’t kill it.

We sold some cultivated green, the internet was pretty new then. We made tea from the leaves, be careful as too much will get your heart a'beatin. We also put big roots in a mason jar, fill it with 100 proof or higher vodka or everclear, it will keep a long time mine still looks like it did 20 some years ago!. Will try to get a picture up!? We planted it wherever we dug some and around the house with other plants, was a great way to raise kids. I never got to keep the money from the roots or fur, money is a great motivator!

Nice one