TOPIC: Goals

It seems that every year I set out with a different goal. It used to be how many pounds I could dig each year. Some goals are there every year yet seldom reached (finding another 5-prong). I always love to find really old, mature plants. A couple of years ago I decided to see if I could successfully transplant a few wild roots (they were all fairly young ginseng plants). Last year I only hunted seng in areas that were new to me. This year I am wanting to find dig and transplant 40 4-prong plants into a specific area. This will be a seed bed of sorts, but not all planted in one bed like TNhunter has nicely done, but up and down a slope off this side hollow in a woods that I believe and hope to be fairly safe from any poachers out there. I'm not planning on fertilizing or adding anything to the soil as it already has nice healthy seng growing on it. It seems that in I'm now wanting to see how much I can get growing. I'd also love to see another 5-prong plant in my life (I figure that out of forty 4-prongs I have a pretty good chance of seeing one of them morph into a 5-prong if left to grow and if nobody poaches them). Hopefully I'll never be in the financial situation that I'll feel the need to dig them:)

What goals have some of you guys set for yourselves This year? Have any of you transplanted older plants and then dug them up several years later? I was wondering if there would be noticible changes to the root.

5prong.
I have transplanted ginseng roots successfully for the last 34 years. However, 3 years ago I transplanted 35 wild old roots varying from 30 to 45 years old into what I considered to be a great spot in my shade garden. I worked the soil well, added some clean course
sand and peat moss and the soil looked great. Well its year three and I only have 1 plant left. They just didn't come up. I dug and dug and cannot find them even thou I know exactly where I planted them. I believe they rotted or got ate by mice. Even when they cam up the following year they looked sickly.

However, transplanting into a new or different woods has worked great for me and yes the roots grow great. However, I will never transplant into my shade garden again. I wasted 35 great roots that I should have transplanted into a different woods.
I have permission to hunt ginseng in many woods. But instead of digging it and selling it I like to transplant it into a woods closer to my home. I am not opposed to digging and selling ginseng at all. I just enjoy being able to check out my plants close by.

But I think I may dig and sell some this year to help pay for the seed I am buying for planting.
Latt

Nice post...

This will be my first year transplanting roots from my old grounds 2 hrs away. I'm Trying to get some seed beds made also.I just got to get some seng back in this area.I hear of people complaning they got to travel to find it but I never heard anyone ever putting it back.I forgot just how much I did enjoy those little plants.Being in Northern Maine awhile I guess seng just got put on the back burner..

Frank

guys i have transplanted roots (or wildcrafting as they call it) since i was a little boy and also watched my father and grandfather do it also. That is how i have the patch's today i got and also collecting the seeds from which they have produced over the years.

And it seems like everytime i do it. the next year almost all of them come up stunted or not at all. Jus like last year dug a really big 4 prong and put him in the patch and this year he came up as a really huge 5 leafer, but in a couple of years they end up coming up nice and from their on out they do. I believe it just stuns them.

Also i have had voles and moles to move into my transplanted patches before and nearly destroy them and once again have to move them.

But on the goals i would have to say every year its the same dig as many ol boys as i can and make as much money as i can. And last year i dug three five prongs so i may take that off the goal list this year. I also tried last digging season to do something i had never done before and that was to take some of my seed that i had left over from planting in my garden and take them to some of my favorite digging places to make sure i would have some to always go back to. I just wish everyone that dug had that mentality that i myself have and everyone else on here has. Their would be seng everywhere to dig and for future generations as well.

Anyways good topic to start. I would love to hear some more goals and stories from others.

5prong,

I like your idea of transplanting several old roots to a hillside like that to establish a more natural seed bed in the wild.

I have my seed bed where I have all of those big plants together (and quite secure with a fence around them), and then I have another spot just a short distance away where I have a few planted wild like, just here and there. I transplanted 2 prongs in there and now some are decent 3's and have berries now.

I like to seem em planted more natural like that and think you will be very happy with what you are planning to do there.

One goal I have for this year is to collect a few more nice roots and plant them in that area wild-like.

I also have a goal this year of getting my 9 year old son more interested in ginseng. Hope to get him to go on a few hunts this year and also get him involved with planting some stratified seed this fall.

I also have a goal of getting well. I have a hip problem going on right now that is really bothering me. Think it is just \"auther\" showing up but have a burning ach in my right hip and it's been bothering me for a couple weeks know. Gotta go and get that checked out. Going to be tough walking them hillsides with this going on.

Other goals for this year...

I would like to plant another 3-4 pounds of stratifid seed.

Also would love to join the \"5 prong\" club - could happen, you never now what's just around the hillside

TNhunter

G/L my friend I hope you find a double top with 5 on the bottom and 5 on the top and th biggest seed pod that you have ever saw


TNhunter wrote:

5prong,

I like your idea of transplanting several old roots to a hillside like that to establish a more natural seed bed in the wild.

I have my seed bed where I have all of those big plants together (and quite secure with a fence around them), and then I have another spot just a short distance away where I have a few planted wild like, just here and there. I transplanted 2 prongs in there and now some are decent 3's and have berries now.

I like to seem em planted more natural like that and think you will be very happy with what you are planning to do there.

One goal I have for this year is to collect a few more nice roots and plant them in that area wild-like.

I also have a goal this year of getting my 9 year old son more interested in ginseng. Hope to get him to go on a few hunts this year and also get him involved with planting some stratified seed this fall.

I also have a goal of getting well. I have a hip problem going on right now that is really bothering me. Think it is just \"auther\" showing up but have a burning ach in my right hip and it's been bothering me for a couple weeks know. Gotta go and get that checked out. Going to be tough walking them hillsides with this going on.

Other goals for this year...

I would like to plant another 3-4 pounds of stratifid seed.

Also would love to join the \"5 prong\" club - could happen, you never now what's just around the hillside

TNhunter

This fall I want to transplant alot of the seed that I planted last season from the stratified seed as I planted them to close I just didnt exspect so many to come up,I mean,I had a high percentage to come up and I sure need to space them better I am hoping that id does not hurt them because they are realy healthy looking right now,but they are also very young

Classicfur,Tnhunter,Lenno,Latt all you guys that have exsperience with the stratified seed tell me what do you all think should I wait till next fall or go ahead and do it this fall ?

Like I said before I know alot about wild ginseng and how to keep my hollers producing quality ginseng for me and my sons in years to come,but I had nver planted stratified seed untill last fall.I have planted alot of seed thousands and thousands (all wild) and I have never had a problim,but I have never transplanted the little ginseng plants that are wild I just leave them where they are,but

This is different to me.I tell you what they sure are nice looking babys and I think that they are going to do very well in our Mountian Soil,I planted around 10,000 seeds well me and the boys planted that togther and I am not going to count them but I think at least 70 percent came up maybe better I was sure suprised.

I planted these thinking 30 0/0 may come up maybe 40.

I did not do anything at all to the soil I planted them exactly like I plant wild seed,just cut the surface put the seeds in,covered them and left them,I am not going to do anything else to them either whether they live or die.

Guys you no how that you have been to areas ginsenging and you didnt find anything,or didnt find much there.You scratched your head and said Man there art to be ginseng growing here,I dont no whats wrong theres the companions etc,but the seng just isent here ????? I know alot of you have........

Well that is where I planted these seeds in areas where there is no exscuse it would seem for ginseng not to be there growing,,of course I know that alot of the reason would be overharvesting and pochers,but some places that I have been I could see no signs of people,no cans,potted meat cans,etc,nothing else dug and around here they dig and sell about everything,,it is easy to spot a hard walked spot etc....

Sometimes I think that the good Lord just didnt cast seed in some areas,and the deer and turkey have not helped out,,,so that is why I am planting these areas in seed.

So this is my goal the Lords will this season and every season after that I stay able to walk as I love to.I want to plant at least 3 to 5 pounds of seed in barren areas untill I cover every area that I remember and that I find scouting with seed,to me it is a try at giving back to something that I love so much and giving to others after I am gone....

I also realise that some will die,some will be poached,and some over dug by people that find them,but they better have on there walking shoes to find them cause Billy always goes deep or high or both I would like for one spot to go 50 years and not be found untill then,and then just see the face of the one that walked into it

Billy.

Tn

It's great getting the kids involved.Before you know it,they will be to busy for dad.Hope you make the 5 pronger club!!!!!

Frank.....

Billy,

I have a couple beds where I planted them too thick too and I plan to carefully dig some of those little roots out this fall and transplant them to new areas.

I think you could do that the first fall or second fall, but I would lean towards doing it the first fall (especially if they are very thick).

I know that Mike over at Hardwood Ginseng plants beds very thick just for the purpose of selling rootlets. He digs some of those up and sells them as 1 year old rootlets and others he harvest at 2nd fall and sells as 2 year old rootlets.

Now he may be spraying them to help control disease, so that is something to consider.

Sounds like you are like me and don't intend to spray or do anything un-natural to see to it that they grow well. You just want them to grow like wild and make it on their own.

At most I plan to spray a Organic Fungicide (Actinovate) or the (Plant Helper) that Classicfur mentions, and will only do that at a bare minimum as needed.

I have not sprayed anything yet this year, and so far my plants are still looking good with just a few yellow spots here and there.

If your 3 leafer beds (where you planted too thick) do have the little yellow spots, you might consider (late fall) removing the tops from the beds. Then on the ones that you are transplanting to other areas, you could carefully dig up the root, remove that top and take it way like the others, then take those rootlets and treat them in a weak clorox solution (2-3%) and then transplant them in new area.

I know that Mike at HWG does that, he treats the rootlets the sells the same as he treats the seed. That would probably give them a better chance of coming up nice and healthy in the new location.

Also on transplanting those small roots. A few years ago late fall I was hunting a place that just had an abundance of small 2 prongs. I collected 10 of those and brought them home and planted them. The next spring 9 of them came up and I think the other one came up this spring.

Those small roots should transplant just fine as long as you take care in digging them and don't damage the bud spur, then plant them back carefully and give them a bit of water and mulch them good.

Best of luck on that !

TNhunter

Billy, I would think it would be fine to move those crowded roots either this fall or next.

I have been planting stratified seed in places like you are talking about too. Hopefully nobody will find them, but I know some will be found.

If every one that digs ginseng would plant a pound or two of stratified seeds in their digging spots each year, we wouldnt have to worry about it being all dug out someday. I hope my kids can enjoy ginsenging as I do.

Lenno