TOPIC: Got no one to talk ginseng with

Today a buddy and i took 22ozs of gnarly long old roots I bet about 20 of them im fairly new to this. is that good? if from what ive seen in pictures it is i think i planted probably 80-90 berries it was so cool. i forgot to mention this was right behind my house in the middle of a city of like 33,000. thats got to be unheard of. its crazy too cause thers more up there. anyone ever here of any thing like this??

u may have shade but if the drit is not right it wont do well..as for what the right drit is i hae no clue most i find in rich soil...

iowa has the richest top soil in america and my county is like 3rd in the country in gypsym mining lots of limestone here...

Iowa,

If no one buys from you, you should probably dunk some of it into a liter of whisky and let it sit for a week or two and enjoy the goodness with your buddy

IOWA,

If you are finding big healthy ginseng plants in that area then even if in the midst of a populated area you might want to consider buying some stratified seed and/or rootlets and plant that area back good.

If it is alredy growing there and doing well then there is no questioning the growing conditions, soil, light, etc has to be good enough.

It is not unusual for City Slickers to have absolutely no idea what Ginseng Looks like so you probably have a reduced chance of poaching there too.

PS - those berries you planted will not come up for about 18 months.

A ginseng berry planted in the fall goes thru a winter, spring, summer, fall, winter, then comes up that next spring (about 18 months later).

If you buy stratified seed and plant them in teh fall/winter they will come up the first spring.

Good Luck with your new found Ginseng Spot !

TNhunter

Look out for those dam hunters alot of em know what it and will dig it...

Iowa,
My best spot ever was in 1979 when I was 17 years old. We lived in a housing development with 1 acre wooded lots in a rolling hills type landscape. I got permission to ginseng hunt from the old man that put the development together. Most of the vacant lots were wooded with large mixed hardwoods in deep ravines and rich soil. I hunted this one 2 acre lot and it was full of sang. I would come home and fill up my ping pong table with roots spread out to dry. Sometimes I would be on the ground digging and would crawl from 4 prong to 4 prong. The soil was black and loamy. At times I could dig some of the big old roots out with my hands and the soil was loamy and loose.It was an eastern facing lot with a 15 to 20% grade. I know I dug about 5 pounds a year out of this spot for 3 years straight. I think I got about $150 to $200 per pound dry if I remember right. The guy I sold the roots too told me it was some of the best shaped and larger roots he had ever received in all his years. I have never found a spot like that again. It would have been great to keep digging on it as I had always left the small 3 prongs and anything smaller. I know I replanted thousands of wild seed in there too. Sad thing is in 1984 a guy bought the land in the winter and built a house right in the middle of my spot. I couldn't even go in and save them. Plus he wouldn't let me come in and save any left in the wooded areas that he didn't destroy the next spring. Then the numnut went and landscaped the entire lot and graded it and planted grass seed. Talk about making you sick to your stomach. Anyway Yes you can find some great sang in areas where people wouldn't think to look. I am sure they are far and few between but I know they are out there. I have found other spots like that which were great but none like that spot. I hope to again someday but it might have been a once in a life time thing for me.
Thanks,
Latt