WVwhitewolf..
Welcome to the forum !
What state are you from ? northern half, middle or southern ?
Reason I ask is that way down here where I live (southern middle TN) once a hillside turns back to the west a little - the seng just will not grow.
North facing, North East Facing, and in cases of very steep hillsides or around the bottom of bluffs - direct east facing are OK... but as soon as it starts turning back to the west a bit - no go.
I think this far south the evening sun is just too much for seng.
But now I know several folks that post here from more northern locations that report finding & growing seng on southern and western facing slopes.
My guess would be that you are from a more northern state and that the WV in your callname may be for West Virginia. If that is true WV is quite a bit north of my location, and you may be in or near the mountains - which could make a difference in whether seng will grow on a NW slope.
Your mix of trees, slope, soil condition and the companion plants you mentioned (especially the MHF)... sure sounds like an ideal location.
But you did not mention finding any wild seng growing in there now - which is definately a negative, or a caution at least.
Below is your list of questions and my response to them..
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My questions would this be a good area to plant and where would you begin to start?
It sounds promising, but I would start slow, plant some test plots and see how they do for a couple years at least before going all out.
Buy yourself a pound or half pound of seed, and plant small plots (say 4' x 8') and space them out well covering the property in various areas.
I would definately plant in the areas where you find MHF.
I may decide to do some woods cultivated in the future if finances work out for equipment. Would this be wise?
Myself I would stick to wild simulated and not put out the extra expense and risk of buying equipment and going the woods cultivated route. But hey that is just me. I am definately a nut about the true wild, and when growing it I want it to be as close to that as possible. I definately would not consider any large expense until I had seen several small test plots do really well for 2-3 years. If by the 3rd year you have lots of nice healty 3 prongs (for example) you might consider getting a lot more serious about the project.
Should I stay away from the areas with little leaf matter even though the soil is showing a good calcium number?
Again - you may just have to try a few test plots in the questionable areas and see how they do. You can mulch with straw, or could bring in some leaf mulch from other areas. I would use leaves if possible over wheat straw to reduce weeds, and wheet sprouting from the seed remaining in the straw itself.
Would it be wise to try and cut some large timber on some spots to open up the canopy?
In areas where you have really deep shade, this may help. If you remove trees due east of where you are wanting to plant, that will let morning sun into your seng plantings, which is ideal.
What other recommendations do you suggest?
Don't get in a big hurry, or put out a lot of expense, until you see it work well in some small test plot areas.
If you have not already.. buy the book below and study it well. It is loaded with good information on growing ginseng.
www.amazon.com/Growing-Marketing-Goldens...cott+persons+ginseng
Best of luck !
TNhunter
