TOPIC: Age Question

Plant

Soil Conditions

Before washing.

Lightly washed.

Thanks, no soil amendments were added. The third picture with the root and nickel was taken with on a black concrete block.

If the plants that you have are good seed producers then you may be able to sell them to someone wanting to start a seed bed. Would probably make just as much or more money as drying them and selling them, the color of the roots would be a non issue if you went that route. Just go out and throw a spoonful of fertiliser on the entire patch the day you dig and viola, you now have cultivated ginseng.

Your ginseng looks like cultivated ginseng. The red clay does not seem to be an issue as to color from what I can see. The large root probably lost its neck due to damage from mice etc. Some of the smaller roots with short bud scars are probably from seed from some of your older plants self seeding and are only 4-5 years old.

Loose soil and ample sunlight will cause rapid growth which causes a large number of root hairs, also when the root dries it will have the shrunken appearance and few if any desired rings around the root.

In order to sell at close to the wild price replant the roots into an area with little to no direct sunlight and do not till soil, dig hole only big enough to replant. In 2-4 years roots should take on a more wild appearance, loosing the bulk of the hair roots, ring up, and have a lighter feel to them.

Thanks for all the great comments/advice.

KYsang wrote:

The large root probably lost its neck due to damage from mice etc.

That might explain why it had two stems.