TOPIC: Wild Grown Value?

Hey all, been reading the threads. Me and my brother planted about 40,000 seeds last year in the woods on our farm and around his house and a high number of them sprouted which is good! One thing is it seemed to come up better in the less leafy areas and in heavy leaves did not come up as well at all. The native plants to the places we planted look somewhat different though. Native have a wider looking leaf and these are more slim. My main concern is, since the stratified seeds that I got from WildGrown look a little different in the leaf than the native plant here in Indiana will the value of my plants be gimp say 7-10 years down the road because of plant type? Also I recognize that they are not \"WILD\" but would they still hold a nice vaulue? Fankly this is a fun time I have had so far doing this but at hundreds of dollars a year investment and a lot of work I gotta say that at the end of it all I might be putting a gun to my head if it ends up being a big wash out. Not to mention my wife might have a huge laugh as well as my friends if it is a wasted venture. Your toughts please.

Hey, i live in indiana, too. Floyd County. where you at?
Anyway, i don't think you're wasting your time. if only half your plant plants survive you're going to get a 20,000 dollar return at the lowest estimate. you probably paid about $400 for that many seeds maybe a little more. that's a pretty good profit.
I grow and hunt ginseng. your plants won't be \"gimp\" the seeds you planted are good. i had the same problem in the begining, trying to over think everything, doubting if i was doing somethin worth while. i finally just decided to enjoy the process and see what happens. you're not going to lose anything. so why worry.
i think you should plant a new crop this year and every year, that way you'll always have a mature crop.
If you just let them grow and leave them alone they'll be comparable to wild. don't over do it. i would just sit back and enjoy.

Thanks for the reply! Heck ya I am nervous. I appreciate the vote of confidence. I live near Bloomington. Got a 100 acre farm and some good north facing hills so I am going to take your advice and keep planting the hell out of it. Should I get seeds from random places or you think stick with Wildgrown? Or rotate? what do you think? Also how long have you been doing this and do you have any Wild simulate growing tips? Anyone else thoughts?

I am in Southern Indiana also and hunt on family property.Your biggest upset will be when you find that all diggers don't respect property lines and steal your roots.That just drives me up a wall!Last year someone not only came in and dug some of my yellowroot they left trash behind.They will be sorry when they get some rock salt shot at their ass if I catch them in my woods.Good luck with your plants just keep an eye out on them cause some people don't care about trespassing!

I've been growing for about 10 years. I've been hunting for about 15.
I would say as far as tips for growing wild simulated you should get a copy of Growing @ Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal@ other Woodland Medicinals by W. Scott Persons ans Jeanine M. Davis.
You can get a copy of this book on Amazon.com.
There are so many things that I could never cover them here, unless you're specific. Like: How to keep deer out of my patch? Something like that. But I would say that your biggest problem would be poaching. People just don't care about walking on your land a digging your ginseng. you have to be watchful. have any specific questions I would be glad to answer, so just leave a post.

SirCharles,
If your seeds get good germination then you're ok to stick with wildgrown. I've never bought seeds from them, but i suppose they're good.
I have bought seeds from a place in MIchigan called Glacial Gold. They were excellent seeds and at a good price. Plus, the man who owns that company is named Michael Hunter and he is an expert and can offer you a lot of advice.
In a few years you should be able to use the seed off your own plants, you just have to learn how to stratify them.
Also, check out Hardings Ginseng farm in Maryland. I've heard good things about their seeds.
The ginseng is coming out good here in Southern Indiana. I've seen a lot growing on my land. Just have to wait till September 1st to start digging.
I plant about 20-30 pounds of seed a year and always have a good result. My plants are doing great. I'll have a crop of about 120,000 plants this year. But I still enjoy the wild digging more.

Huntndig, yeah that makes me nervous too about the poachers. The farm borders a lot of deer hunting land and I figure thats the thing i need to worry about. I have heard of three different people in the past that planted and in all three cases they got their plants poached. I am planting in many different places so that will reduce the chances of me getting screwed in that way.
Jchrisfos, thanks again for the response. Thats a lot of planting bro! how close you go together and do you have to spray all those? Yikes! I am going to get the book, btw. Does he mention anything in there about whether or not to get a organic seed? I got to wonder what would be the point because I can't imagine non-organic affecting the outcome that many years down the road Priced some from N.C. was about $220 lb

SirC, I don't know much about planting seng I just like hunting it and Yellowroot. If I did plant alot of seed I would do it close to the house to keep an eye on it.Good luck with your growing but remember it's alot of fun to hunt the old wild seng, just can't beat the thrill of walking upon a beautiful 4-pronger standing tall and proud deep in the woods.

Don't buy from Glacial Gold. I paid him to plant 100 lbs two years ago. I lost 50% of my plant from root rot disease. The disease comes from his seeds. If I were you, I never buy it from him.

Sorry to hear that you lost such a large percentage of the plants you bought from Glacial Gold to root rot. But to be fair, I have purchased from Glacial gold several times and have never had a problem. In fact, I have always had success with their seeds. Also, root rot can be caused from the soil not draining well. I don't know if I would say you can directly contribute that to bad seed. If you bought 100 pounds and 50 pounds went bad then 50 pounds were good. I can't imagine that you would get 50 pounds of bad seed with 50 pounds of good seed.
Like I said, though. I have always had good results. Just make sure you have well draining soil.