Ginseng. Can u grow it and make $

My whole life I have seen advertisements for Ginseng seed or small plants for sale . Can it really be grown cosmetically ? Meaning buying seed or even plants and planting it yourself and selling it ? I have heard wild Ginseng is $650.00 a pound but commercially raised is less. Questions….
1…We’re do you plant Ginseng seeds ? In a dirt bed of some sort , in your own woods under tree canopy?
2…How long or seasons does it need to grow before roots are big enough to sale ?
I think if it was easy every one would be doing it.
Any insight on this topic? Thanks. Marty

I plant my seeds whenever I pick wild Seng. I usually plant it in the woods behind the Barn. It usually takes about 5 to 7 years to get a decent root and yes the buyers can tell the difference between cultivated Ginseng and wild grown.

Hsu in wisconsin does it all the time.

He will consult with you of you contact him on how.

We attended his conference at the FH convention in wisconsin.it was very informative but he needed a microphone.

If I was buying seed would likely look for a small place maybe local. Not sure if just coincidence but I’ve planted it since late 70s and seemed that I frequently got disease issues with seed from large commercial places

In Wisconsin you can plant it but the dnr wants to know about it.

1…We’re do you plant Ginseng seeds ? In a dirt bed of some sort , in your own woods under tree canopy?

You can plant in your own woods if conditions are right or it can be grown under man made shade on either a small scale or large, there are larger operations in Wisconsin that grown it under shade

2…How long or seasons does it need to grow before roots are big enough to sale ?
I think if it was easy every one would be doing it.
Any insight on this topic? Thanks. Marty

Just like any kind of farming it takes a combination of knowledge and skill and if you have never even grown a garden then your results are probably not going to be good, or if you have no or little idea of what kind of conditions it likes and flourish’s in but personally it’s not that hard it’s not like growing something like exotic orchids but it does take some knowledge of how to and that can be gains from books or trial and error or experience either your own or from someone else

I have been planting it since the late 70s mine is grown on family land but I have also planted it on state land where conditions are right, yes someone else could come along and harvest it but that’s ok I just like having a wild population out there it’s getting scarce in the wild with so many looking to make some big easy money and not caring how and where they get it or what the laws say about when where and how they harvest it, my cousins in Wisconsin have a neighbor that had some people sneak onto their land on night and help themselves to what must have been several hundred pounds from his commercial operation

A ton of work like everything else ; the old guy that showed me what it was had a small bed in town with artificial shade he’d pull a bread sack full of dry root a year . Before I get beat up probably a few beds and always planted wild seed and I’m thinking back 50 years lol

I started a couple years ago planting a few seeds in my 5-acre woodlot. Last year I planted several small plots and had really good germination this spring with a few hundred little one prong plants. I plant where I have plenty of maple trees and good shade throughout the day. Moist but well drained soil where water doesn't stand. I plan on planting a couple pounds of seed this year also and over the next four years until I retire with the goal being to be able to gather my own seed at that point for planting. I am not really in it for profit as I would just like to see it come back in the wild in my area and birds are known to spread the seed.

In WV you're supposed to plant the seeds right where you dug the plant.

Same in Wisconsin

Plant a few where dug but some can always find a accidental home in your pocket, catch phrase is supposed to

Well,the phrase in regs don't say supposed to,it says you must plant at site of harvest.

MY Property makes it MY Ginseng. It gets planted where I SAY!!!

Biggest thing is not telling anyone you have seng on your property.

Thanks for the info. Very interest topic. Marty

We've caught more people trespassing in Sept looking for ginseng than we ever having during hunting seasons. If we've caught some I'm sure there's many more we haven't caught. I've babysat patches of it and then they've disappeared thanks to lowlife's.

The best wild ginseng here grows along wooded drains on the North facing hillside. Berries roll down hill. If I was going to try to cultivate it in the woods or at least encourage it to grow, I'd recommend planting it along the top 1/3rd of the hillside and over time it will self seed downhill.

Awesome

I have be thinking planting some in the woods at the farm. We don't get many trespassers but have has a few hunting mushrooms. What rh a bs story they gave the boys whom found them. I'm sure we have more. I have never hunted I picked it and would not know I I were standing right on top of it. To say I knew w not a thing about it and what it needs to grow well. If I find good resources and sees or root source it's something I would like to try would it be good to start seed like starting other garden seeds then planting them once up. Is it something that will need protection from deer.

Deer will eat it,,, and turkey will eat the berries,,,, you could probably fence it off,,,,, but for the most part,,,, booth critters won’t necessarily wipe out your patch.

Does it need hardwood overstory or will it grow with softwood overstory?

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

Got out in the woods today and checked on my patches they are doing good. Picked out areas where I will add some more this fall. Probably have 2500-3000 little one and two prongs.

I find where ever horse shoe fern grows if a good place for seng. Not that seng will be there with the fern, but both plants like the same conditions. Also, find it a lot in sting weed (nettle) patches.

Planted a full pound of seed last fall and my first two plantings will be 2 and three years old this spring. A few weeks and I will see how many of my seeds will sprout this year.

This maybe a dumb question but does the cultivated variety ever get to look like wild types over years, or has industry crossed it so it never will?

https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/F-57

Planting Wild-Simulated Ginseng
The process of growing wild-simulated ginseng begins by planting seed in the autumn around the time the trees begin to shed their leaves, but before the ground freezes (in Ohio this is usually done between October and November). Ginseng seed must go through a period of cold dormancy (also known as stratification) before it can germinate the following spring (Figure 2). To ensure success we recommend that the novice ginseng grower acquire stratified seed from a reputable commercial seed source. Cost of good quality, stratified ginseng seed is around $85 to $150 per pound.

It is a good idea to spread your plantings out over many years for a variety of reasons. Planting over a number of years will eventually allow you to harvest mixed aged roots on a yearly basis rather than having one entire crop come into maturity all at once. Planting over a number of years can also help ensure that you won't have a complete loss of your crop due to weather, rodents, or other environmental factors that can wipe out a young planting in one season.

Ultimately you want no less than one and no more than two mature ginseng plants per square foot upon maturity. This density helps to ensure minimal disease problems and maximum growth. Normally planting four to five seeds per square foot ensures proper density at maturity, since germination will not be 100%, and mortality in the first two years is often high. The first year plants will emerge the following spring and do not resemble a mature ginseng plant at this stage


Begin the planting process by raking back the leaf litter along the bottom of the slope you are going to plant. You will want to rake the leaf litter off of an area about 5 feet wide and 40 feet long if possible. This is best done with a large heavy-duty leaf rake. This 5 X 40 foot area is equal to 200 square feet and will require approximately two ounces of seed. One pound of ginseng seed contains approximately 6,400 to 8,000 seeds (400 to 500 seeds to an ounce). Therefore, each ounce of seed should cover approximately 100 square feet at the optimal seeding rate. Once this area is clear of leaves, go back and scratch the soil surface with your rake to loosen the soil up to about ¼-inch deep. This helps the seed to make better soil contact and increases your seed germination rate. The site is now ready to be seeded. Try to spread the seeds evenly over the plot by walking along the top of the plot and sprinkling the seeds by hand. Although it may take some getting used to, this should become a comfortable technique to use for seeding your ginseng. Remember you want to seed at a rate of four to five seeds per square foot. The next step is to move upslope and begin the process over again. This time you will use the leaf litter that you are raking downhill off of the next area to be seeded to cover the previously seeded plot. Make sure to cover the seeded plot entirely with leaf litter, but do not exceed more than 3 inches of leaf litter over the seeded plot. Once you've raked the leaf litter down onto the seeded plot, your next plot should be ready to seed. Repeat the process and continue until you have seeded your whole area.





On sites where raking and other site preparation would be difficult, ginseng can also be planted by hand one seed at a time. Although this method will substantially increase the time spent planting, it will dramatically increase germination rates and will also allow you to plant areas that may be more difficult to plant with the technique described above. Many growers like to use a variety of techniques to seed their wild-simulated ginseng. You should experiment and determine what works best for you on your sites.


Go to this link for the Full article

https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/F-57

That is interesting k9 thank you for the information.

Went out to the woods today and checked on my Ginseng plots. Have a few thousand young plants from 1-3 years old with a lot of little 2 and 3 prongs from my first-year patch. Picked out a sot for a few more plots this year.

I'm pretty sure that in Wisconsin you can't sell ginseng that you planted... You can only keep it for yourself or something