Ginsang

[Wes]

Has anyone successfully grown ginsang from seed ?

A frend of mine tried a fiew years ago and nothing grew.
I would like to try it, and would like to know if there is more to it than just planting the seeds in the woods.

Thanks, Wes

[Sawyerfortyish]

Wes ginseng needs very limited light also the ground conditions must be right. Limestone ground with hardwoods like maple elm oak and the right amount of light and if you handle the seed right should get some to grow but this stuff is funny sometimes. Send me a PM if you want to know more or give me a call.

[SwampDonkey]

Here is a group that has been testing ginseng in southern New Brunswick.

http://www.eiii.org/EIII/projects/ginseng/ginseng.htm

I don't know much about them. I know some land owners have bought some seed here locally but never had any success. The seed is very expensive too, so I suppose the suppliers made good even if the woodlot owner didn't. We have the right soil here, but I think folks are planting the seed on sites too dry. They'de do better (I think) in rich hardwood sites, dark soils, but not too wet either. And those sites are usually small up here. I would plant the seed in fall, I don't know what they recommend. I'm no expert on ginseng by a long shot.

[Ron Wenrich]

I saw where some guys were planting root stock.  Seems that you could shave a couple of years off of the growing schedule.  Root stock has to be planted in the fall.

Here's a list of suppliers that may be helpful.  Some even offer apprenticeships.  

http://altnature.com/ginseng/seedsetc.htm

[SwampDonkey]

Thanks Ron:

I've bookmarked it myself for future reference. Looks like a good site to start.  

[Wes]

Rootstock, maybe or I was thinking of starting seeds in a greenhouse then replanting it ?

thanks for the link swamp donkey

sawyer 40  I'll be contacting you soon.thanks  

[Wes]

I just checked the two links. lots of good info. theres even a ginsang forum.

Thanks again.

[9shooter]

Ginseng requires something like 77% shade to grow correctly. In other words very diffused woodland like light. My inlaws are leasing 80 acres to a ginseng company- I think the largest woodland simulated plot in North America, if not the world. You can see the lack of growth and the sunburnt plants where ever the canopy has a hole. You can but shade fabric from Farmtek (Sp?). Wisconson has large cultivated ginseng farms, but I don't remember where they are located. I think you put the seed in a bucket of water, and the seeds that float are not viable.

[SwampDonkey]

9shooter

Is the site your in-laws are leasing quite moist dark soiled hardwood ground? Up this way that is were alot of our uncommon species live. And the sites are few in number, that's why the plants are uncommon. Most the best sites are cleared and being farmed. I don't think ginseng is native in New Brunswick, but I think it occurs in Nova Scotia and southern Manitoba, Quebec, and Ontario ( Panax trifolium). Species quinquefolium is not in the maritimes, which is what your cultivating I beleive. According to audubon, they occur in cool moist woods, which is why I think the plantings here fail because most of our hardwood sites are not real moist in my region. They are quite dry. Our moist, rich HWD sites are more sheltered on mid to lower slope positions that captures run-off with slower water perculation through the soil. This causes mottling in the soil horizons (pink or grey colored pockets).

Our site classification in New Brunswick has very limited data for hardwoods. They only present data for softwoods. There has been no effort to do a more thourough and complete job of it from what I can find. It appears the work was put together in the mid 80's as most of the references were from 1980-1988. Its during this time that government was putting more effort into research. Since then, there have been major cutbacks. But, none-the-less it makes it easy to classify sites in such a way that one can understand what kind of site your dealing with compared to other sites. Most of the time the field guide will ID sites based on the ground vegetation without having to dig a pit.

[Ron Wenrich]

Here's a few more links for ginseng:  http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsaf/elibrary/archive/hort/vegetables/pihve94-04.htm

Says you need mature stands with fertile soil, preferably sandy loam and well drained.  They don't tolerate wet soils.  Also says you'll make more money in gingseng than in timber.  

Here's a listing of books on growing ginseng:  http://www.sedelmeier.com/growingginseng.htm

And here's one on growing ginseng from Virginia  http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/forestry/354-312/354-312.html

[Sawyerfortyish]

Ron let me tell you something about the Ginseng business sometimes you can do very very well  .  BUT it is an unpridictable market afected by many things. You might do well one year and the next you might give all you made and then some back. At least in the timber business if the bottom falls out of the market you can still burn it

[SwampDonkey]

Ron:

The site type I mentioned isn't wet, its moist and well drained. But the water doesn't move through rapidly like on dry ridges. These sites are rich and very fertile and host white ash, yellow birch, sugar maple, basswood, and butternut.  I have some of these sites in mind and I have never seen softwood in them. The soil is like going to your local compost dealer, the soil is firm and silt loam or sandy clay loam. And is richest on sites with calcareous lithology.

Just wanted to make the distinction.

If it were a wetter site it would be a mixedwood cedar-yellow birch site, but not swampy cedar. For some strange reason balsam fir and red spruce grow best on those very dry hardwood sites, got no idea why. All I know is that's where you find the largest diameter old growth softwood up here. I planted 1 yr old red spruce on 15 acres of that site type and you'de swear they were 3 year old seedlings at the start of the next growing season. They were averaging 20 inches, then the snoe-shoe hare desided to eat some leaders of course. :-/   Off topic

[steveo_1]

Hey guys, im no expert on ginseng but i do have a few tips.First never plant ginseng where there is a lot of oak trees it will come up and maybe even grow, but the acid in the oak leaves leaches into the ground and will kill most seedlings,only plant where there are few oaks.Second always plant on the north facing side of a hill with a 20 degree slope or more.I have also heard from our buyer in Louisville that nobody wants cultivated "sang" and he will not pay for it.We have tried planting some and have yet to check it this year but it was there last fall, but lot of it has died out.We have some oaks around it so i believe eventually it will all die less i can dig it before it does.Good luck,your gonna need it!!

[Stan]

The accepted method around here, is to scatter the seeds in the area where you find the sang. I'd imagine these mountain folks have tried about everything else.

[SwampDonkey]

Seems like one needs a delicate touch and lots of nerturing and most of all, patience. Seems the market is getting quite fussy on root shape, age, size and other things. This is only from reading of few of the sights you folks have posted. As I said in an earlier post, I'm no expert. Personally, I'm interested is growing new things, and experimenting, but in this case the investment in the seed is too prohibitive for me to experiment with it. And I know that I have very few microsites on my woodlot that I think it would survive in. If I were growing the ginseng for market I would have the buyers come pick it under supervision. Just picking it and hoping to sell the stuff might result in it sitting for months, dehydrating like a prune, or being attacked from some tuber infecting fungus like fusarium, common in potato crops.

[Ron Wenrich]

A number of years ago, I talked to a guy that sold ginseng to foreign buyers.  He said he had to travel to an International airport (Washington, DC in his case), and the transaction took place in the airport.

The buyer had a briefcase full of money, and a scale.  It looked like any other type of drug transaction, but this one was legal.  

Don't have a clue as to how accurate that tale was, but it probably has changed since 9-11.

[SwampDonkey]

Reminds me of a couple incidents years ago over bear galls and deer antlers. I know this has nothing to do with the ginseng market, but here's the story

There was this Korean that arrived on the steps of my grandfather's house and he was interested in buying bear galls. He said he was from New York state. Grandfather guided bear hunters for the spring hunt every year and I suppose this fellow found his name in the Guide Outfitters brochure the Province used to publish. Anyway, the guy was invited inside and he sat and talked awhile on the porch with grandfather. But, after awhile I could tell grandfather was getting irritated with the guy. Then finally, grand father let loose and told the guy to float. Its not legal to sell bear galls in Canada. Not many years went by and I seen a report from Alberta where they seized several trailors loaded with mule deer antlers thought to be destined for the Korean markets.

I know ginseng is totally legit in most areas, there may be restrictions on wild ones in some areas. I don't know.

cheers

[etat]

http://fusion.ag.ohio-state.edu/news/story.asp?storyid=471

another link

[SwampDonkey]

Good link , although they controdict others by suggesting acidic soils are suitable for growth. I also noticed the note on certification of the product for export. Thanks. Too bad spikenard wasn't of any use, its a huge root.

[Sawyerfortyish]

Here in the northeast there is a digging season in some states and the root must be a mature root they can tell by the size and growth rings. To deal in ginseng you must have a buyers licence and fill out reports for each state as well as taking the dryed roots to a state rep for certification. without this certification paper it can't be shipped out of the country and is not supposed to be trasfered across state lines.
 As for growing ginseng wild root can be worth several hundred dollers a pound for dryed roots. While woods grown is much less and cultivated is the lowest price at only a few dollers a pound dry. For someone in the root business it is not hard to pick out woods grown from wild if you know what to look for. What I mean by woods grown really should be called tranplanted. If you buy seeds and spread them out in the woods it will grow just like the wild.