TOPIC: a few question

hello im fairley new to hunting even though most of my family has done it for years. they finaly got me to go and i loved it. i just have a few question if u guys could help me out. i would like to know if ginseng turned yellow before ne thing else? and when it died out for the year ....thanks in advance ne tips or secets would be great to thanks again and god bless

I can only tell you that seng does not turn before anything else there are alot of other plant that change before and at the same time as seng.
Around this part of the country most of the seng died out by the time season came in which was the first sat. of september:but we had a severe drought in the mid west it really all depends on weather as to when it dies out.
As far as tips as to were to look hills faceing north or east are always the best to look at first: but depending on the amount of shade and drainage it will grow pretty well anywhere

I have found in my hunting days that ginseng is a rather funny plant. Yes north and east facing hills do fit the characteristics of seng and the majority of it can be found there but in my experiences I have found seng growing and even thriving in places that you wouldnt expect to find it. I've heard that \"it doesnt grow in flat woods\" yet I found ALOT of seng growing in a flat woods with poor drainage. I have found seng growing right in the middle of a hard clay 4-wheeler trail runing through pine forest yet it typically needs loose, moist, rich soil that isnt in pines. To sum all this up I have found that ginseng will and can grow wherever it wants under conditions that it really shouldnt. Bottom line:Ginseng is a mystyrios plant and Mother Nature will do what she wants! With that said you should still look on north to north-eastern facing slopes in rich old-growth forest cause thats where you will find the most ginseng

Ya always have to keep on the look out but invest your time in the best productive environment. I dug a small three this Aug that was on a southern hillside,in full sun at 3pm and wasn't gonna get any shade for 1 1/2 hours or so. This root had hardly any soil around it, just gravel mainly. When it was finally dug i seen the actual root was about the size of the last joint on your thumb and it had 29 neck scars protruding 4 1/2 inches from it's top. It had a hard way to go but was a tough lil booger. I brought it home to replant thinkin it has to pass on some good genetics for future seed. You never know where they might show up.. jus keep your eyes peeled

89,

I think the more south you are the more important it is that you look more on north/north-east facing hillsides.

Here in Middle TN as soon as a hillside starts turning back to the south or west direction, everything changes on the hillside (plant growth wise). Companion plants and seng both just dissapear.

Now occasionally in a deep hollow, or hollow with steep sides or with big timber we may find some seng growing on the other hillsides but that is sort of the exception to that.

I expect in Alabama or more south of us it may be even more focused in those limited north/north-east hillside areas.

Up north it may not matter near as much.

Our hillsides that face the south and west down here just get extremely hot during the day - especially in the evenings. Just too hot for ginseng.

On growing on flat ground. I have noticed that in some hollows around here it does and some it does not. Where we do find it growing and doing well in hollow bottoms (and sometimes it does really well there) it is almost always a case where the soil in the hollow bottom is rocky/sandy.

TNhunter

Here in Indiana, the North and North/East sloping hills are still the first place you want to look, but you can sometimes find it just about anywhere givent the correct conditions. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is oak trees. Ginseng as a rule, doesn't like to grow around oak trees. The leaves are too tough for it to come through in the Spring. Don't get me wrong, I have found ginseng with oak trees in the vicinity, but to actually be in an area where oak is the dominant tree, probably best to move on to more promising areas.

As for the plant yellowing, there are other types of vegitation that turns the same time as ginseng. The thing about ginseng, at least here, is that plants of a similar size normally don't get yellow right along side them. That's why when they're good and yellow, man they stick out like a sore thumb.

In Indiana, the season ended early this year. We were done maybe the third week of September. You could have found a little after that, but it what you would have found wouldn't have been worth the effort. In a normal year, I usually hang up my digger the second or third week in October.

TNhunter- I had never thought about it but I agree and it makes perfect sense that the farther south the more it would apply bout north NE faceing slopes. The farther south you are the more dirrect the sunlight is. Very good thought!!

Jaque-- Yes I had forgot about the oak tree rule of thumb. Although Yes I have found them growing dirrectly under Oaks but at the same time Oak wasnt dominent in the area. I also live in S. Indiana along the Wabash R. yet I was finding the all the way up to the 2nd week in Oct. Now I have to mention that it wasnt the case everywhere some woods they had alredy droped but the in others I couldnt move 30yrds in 3 hours cause I was digging seng. I really started wondering why so I got on google maps and started to notice a possible reason why. I noticed that where I was finding them in there seemed to be or actually were natural springs where whice to water flowed downhill through the woods. This also backed up my finding because the plants i was finding all seemed to be low in the hollers. If anyone else has noticed this please let me know thanks.