TOPIC: Planting Large Amounts of Seed

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I like how you guys are talking for the most part.

I do plan to \"diversify\" my future retirement income with hopefully a bit of ginseng profits to take during retirement.

I would not depend on ginseng alone though - always best to diversify.

Kduce - do hand off some of your wealth to the stock market - notice I said SOME.

Buy stocks and bonds via low cost investments, index funds - I would suggest you check out vanguard.com for personal investing. Their cost are very low and they have excellent funds, a mix of index funds and low cost managed funds - basically something for everyone and any risk level you want to assume.

I think land, timber land, growing ginseng is also a very good investment.

REIT's are a type of stock that many stock/bond investors invest in to get exposure to real estate type investments but I prefer to own land dead out, timber land, and all the better if you can grow ginseng on it too.

Stocks, Bonds, Cash, Land / Real Estate, Precious Metals (Gold/Silver, etc), Commodities - spread your wealth over lots of different areas to diversify and mitigate risk.

Running your own business, owning land, growing timber and ginseng would be just another way to diversify.

Don't put all of your EGGS in one Ginseng Basket though.

A lot of people make the mistake of lumping all of their investments in what they like, what feels good to them, what they are comfortable with, and then disaster strikes that specific area, perhaps like it never has before.

Solomon said it well:

Divide your portion to seven or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the Earth. Ecclesiastes 11:2.

Good Luck Guys !

TNhunter

TN,
Diversification is the way to go for sure. That is why I am adding growing ginseng to my portfolio. But honestly I just like to grow it. Therefore it makes sense to me in two ways. If I end up making a little or a lot of money someday it will be a bonus.

I do like the return on investment opportunity too. I can buy 50 lbs of seed right now for $2,500. If I plant it and all of it dies, I am only out $2,500 bucks. $2,500 is not an amount that I want to throw away. But if I do lose it, it's not going to be a life changer. But on the other hand it can turn into some decent money down the road even at a 10% survival rate over the ten years.
So planting a large amount of seed is a good risk reward scenario in my opinion. And it is a great hobby to many that just love to be involved in anything to do with ginseng.
Latt

Diverse income sources are the way to go... I also asked myself: \"what do I really really like to do?\"

Once retired, [hopefully only a few short years from now] I want to do what I want to do. I've spent my career serving the greater good, now I'm thinking that it's time to serve myself for awhile.

I truely enjoy being outdoors, hiking, gardening, hunting, camping, and photography. That's why I've chosen approaches that will allow me into the outdoors more, and make some money as well, to add to my main retirement income source.

Growing 'sang, snd some other outdoor plants seems to be the way to go for me. I get to scout new deer hunting areas along the way, and breathe good air while doing so. The outdoor life has a wholly different set of stressors [meaning much lower level than my present day job] which is a bonus. gotta learn more about growing the stuff, tho!

I have seen to many people lose following the same dream of quick ritches.

guy

There's just no \"quick\" here, eh? Just careful.

If the present area that I am working with proves untenable, I will choose another area closer to my home.

K_duce wrote:

Hillhopper wrote:

When I figure a hopefull future estimation its always at 300 roots per lb and $500 per lb, anything better than either is a bonus and estimates always show promise. Im pretty sure wild ginseng deals in New Zealand are non existent just like wild American ginseng is. Let them woods cultivate all they want, we have the real stuff and the Chinese know it.

Hillhopper

Hillhopper you are spot on in your assessments.
I will not grow cultivated, woodsgrown, organic, lyka-wild or any other type except wild-simulated from seed. As you have explained in your response above. There are many pit-falls with ginseng, in my opinion putting my money into my enterprise is alot more secure than handing it off to the stock market or hoping that someone else is going to take care of me later in life. I have been at the game a long time and latt's math is fairly close to my reality, It has to be approached as a hobby due to such a long time before any return on your investment can be realized. But with all that said I can definately see a bright future with my hobby. For those that get out of it \"i understand\" and for those that stick around a while look below for an unexpected bonus, That is what i call a 2nd generation wild simulated plant from some of my earlier patches.

K_duce

I agree with you completely. It's best to aproach ginseng growing as a Hobby. I love to grow plants and I love the challenge of growing seng. It is a difficult plant to grow and it takes a long time to reach a harvestable age. But I have had nothing but pleasure from watching my plants grow over the years. And if I only make a small profit from them it's a far better deal then to locking my money up in the stock market. And after the time invested, I am now seeing that I could make some serious cash, doing what I love to do.

I'll stick around awhile!

classicfur

Wonder how something like this might work - ATV leaf rake.



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www.amazon.com/dp/B0002Y3P9M/ref=asc_df_...ativeASIN=B0002Y3P9M

You could tilt the tines so that it would pitch the leaves out to the sides to clear large beds, then cast your seed, then tilt the tines to bring the leaves back over the bed.

Most of my hillsides are too steep for automating the planting process, but now I can get around on them fairly well with a 4 wheel drive ATV.

If I ever do automate the process and plant on a bigger scale, something that could be pulled behind a 4 wheel drive ATV (like this) might just help.

TNhunter

Found something similar to that being used to rake grass in a youtube vid.



Moving the leaves off and back on is the best part of the work involved. If you could automate that would sure speed things up.

TNhunter

Problem with the ATV rake, is that you would have to drive onto your bed, compacting the soil. And according to the description: it puts the leaves in a windrow, right down the center for easy pick-up. I don't think it would save time in leaf removal.

I think it would be more trouble then it's worth.

Some things are better the old fashion way.

classicfur