TOPIC: Goldenseal seed planting

Shroomy,
Hey it's Latt my ginseng / mushroom hunting buddy. I was happy to see you on this Ginseng Forum. (Shroomy and I chat now and then on a mushroom hunting forum)
I love this forum and there are a great deal of people on here who know a lot about Ginseng and care about Ginseng.
I am going out today to plant about a half a pound of Goldenseal Seed if possible. I have planted all of my ginseng seed. I plant Goldenseal seed exactly like Ginseng seed in the same type soil and in the same kind of woods on an Eastern or Northern slope if possible. Goldenseal seed is about a third of the size as a ginseng seed. A little bit of Goldenseal seed will go a long way too. Goldenseal's roots will spread underground and it is important not to plant the seeds too close together. A half pound is a lot of seeds.
I have cut a pasted this below from the PA forestry site and have noted it below in \" \" as to show I am not misleading anyone or trying to pass it on as my own woods. Its good information pertaining to Goldenseal seed and planting.
\"If one chooses to establish goldenseal from seed, then a different set of cost assumptions apply. Plantings from seed will require at least 5 years of growth to yield a marketable root. If one chooses to start from seed, two seeds per square foot might be planted for a requirement of 800 seeds per bed (2 seeds by 400 square feet). This assumes an average germination rate of 45 percent (0 to 90 percent has been observed) so that approximately one out of every two seeds might be expected to germinate and become established. Eight-hundred seeds per bed multiplied by nine beds suggest a total requirement of 7,200 seeds for a 1/10-acre plot. One-hundred grams of seed (1 pound = 454 grams) of goldenseal seed contains an average of 5,000 seeds and costs approximately $340. One-hundred fifty grams (~ 7,500 seeds) at a cost of $510 would be needed to adequately plant all nine beds at a rate of two seeds per square foot.\"

If you have Scott Persons book on Ginseng, Goldenseal & Other Woodland Medicinals, it has a large section on growing Goldenseal. About 50 pages are dedicated to just Goldenseal. I have about 3,000 Mature Very Old Goldenseal plants growing in WI. among my 5-6 yr old ginseng plants. I think I will dig a bunch up next year and plant them in Maine in the area of my ginseng beds to keep from having a Monoculture and help protect from disease.

They say the easiest way to propogate goldenseal is to use Rhizome pieces, or root cuttings. They only need to be cut into 1/2\" pieces. Which on large root could be cut into about 10 or mor pieces. So if I dig up about 200-300 roots that would result to about 2,000-3,000 individual plants.

Just another thing to look forward to planting!

classicfur

I have goldenseal that i dug in the woods and planted in planter pots. they sprouted and some are still green. I figure that in the spring they will produce seed and i can take root cuttings and plant even more. Hope that you do well with your plantings and they keep producing for you.

I'm Looking at planting enough Goldenseal to break up the monoculture of my ginseng beds and protect them from disease. And plant just a single row of yellow root every 9' or so as Scott Persons recommends in his book, which would only be 1-2 thousand cuttings. I'm not looking to create a whole patch of goldenseal, but to create a better habitat for my existing seng.

classicfur

Classicfur,
Have you ever mixed in some ginseng seed along with goldenseal seed and sow them in the same planting bed? I am thinking about planting one bed like that with it completely mixed in together just to see what happens.
My wife is going to kill me when I buy 20 pounds of seed. But I really can't help myself. I am hooked and I am glad I can still do something ginseng related even thou I can't hunt it in the winter. I am thinking about buying 20 pounds of Ginseng seed to plant in the next month.
I have a soil sample from my buddies woods. It is an Eastern slope 100 foot high with a 15% grade. It has dark loamy soil with plenty of organic matter and some sand from a glacier deposit mixed in. It looks like potting soil. If I am going to invest this much money I am going to get my first soil sample before I invest the money. I just hope the soil has a 5.5 PH level or close to it and a minimum of 2,000 lbs of calcium per acre. 4,000 lbs of calcium per acre or more would be awesome.
Our deal is this. I buy the seed and he helps me plant it in his woods. We are going to slit the proceeds 50/50 after we let it grow 10 to 15 years.
Not a bad deal since I did not have to invest in the land.

No, I have not planted Goldenseal seeds mixed in with my ginseng seeds.

I will transplant Goldenseal roots from Wis. for planting just enough root cutting so it creates a better habitat for ginseng. My #1 objective is growing seng.

Plant just a single row of yellow root every 9' or so as Scott Persons recommends in his book, which would only be 1-2 thousand cuttings. I'm not looking to create a whole patch of goldenseal, but to create a better habitat for my existing seng.



Check out this on goldenseal used as a natural fungicide for Ginseng:

www.ncgoldenseal.com/info/fungicides.html

classicfur