TOPIC: One season ends and another begins

35 pounds? What an investment!

Wish I lived closer to you and Latt... it would be interesting to meet and work w/ ya.

Sure enough alot of seed good luck and i ope every one turns into a beautiful 4 fork down the road.

Billy.

Thanks for the encouraging words fellas. Iv always said ever since I joined this forum that I would go big, and in the end, make it big or be really sick that I made such a mistake. I feel iv put a bit of experience under my belt the past few years so I'm gonna go ahead and take the training wheels off this little operation of mine.
Whitjr,
I know what you mean, us seng growers are few and far between. I guess that's what keeps us comin back to the forum.

Hugh,
The method I use is to fashion a sturdy rake into having three of its teeth bent to a point on each side and in the middle and break out the ones in between.This makes three good furrows about six inches apart. I rake sideways along the hill, measure the area, weigh the seed to a 50-60 lb per acre density, cast the seed \"which catch very well in the furrows along the steep hillside\", flip the rake over and cover them over, check the area and push in any exposed seed and finally straw the planted area. I also use a rodenticide to protect the seed beginning a week before and up until emergence. And last but not least, I monitor my plantings through the growing season and treat with whatever measures necessary to ward of diseases.

Hillhopper

Hill,
It sounds like you have made a really heavy investment of time, money, and accumulated wisdom on growing this beautiful little plant. I hope you will try to capture all this on camera or video so we can share with you as time moves on. I look forward to seeing how this plays out and you have my best wishes for a huge success in your endeavors.
Hugh

Hill,
I was just curious to see how much of your seed you have planted and how late into the fall will you plant.
I hope to have all mine planted by Thanksgiving but I am only 7 pounds into my bag of seed same method just without the straw. My bag is just a couple less than yours but I do work full time and time is hard to come by these days. I work till its dark every day at either seeding or my job. I hope as soon as I hit 35 I will have acres of ginseng. I sure do look forward to planting every evening its not raining. Its more fun for me at this time than work.
Best of luck

Fellows,
It is going to be really interesting to see how each one continues on to reach their objective this Fall. My first instincts were to plant seeds and now I have a few acres in the ground and some sections that did not germinate well. Those failed sections are what I am focusing on at the present with rootlets to keep things in a size range that is the same. I have planted several hundred new rootlets and I hope to focus on older age groups as the Fall turns into Winter. I now have a good seed bed of Wild Tennessee Ginseng with hopes to expand it from seed that will be coming on soon. I hope to have all the bare spots filled in as well by Spring. Guys, it will really be interesting to see what different approaches each of you take to move toward your own personal goals.
Hugh

WVww,
I actually haven't planted any of my seed yet. I packed my seed back in sand and reburied them. I'll pull them out and start around the last of Nov. I'm not too keen on planting very earlier due to possible dry conditions in late summer and early fall. I'm sure further north its ok but here in TN it can be pretty dry this time of year. It's nature's way to restrict growth to plants through lessening water availability before cold weather, it happens every year here it seems. I also slow down the watering to my greenhouses for that very reason. One year I didn't, extra growth pushed out in Oct on most plants and they received a heavy frost damage, afterwards disease invaded the injured tissue creating some aggravating problems later on. Anyhow, aside from my horticultural ramblings, ill wait until the November rains set in before I plant. It seems to work best for me to wait then, due to my landscape company's operations slow down that time of year and I can dedicate a couple solid weeks to getting it done. As of now, the area is cleared, rat poison is baited out,the straw and seed are close at hand and on standby.

Hillhopper

Hillhopper,
Sounds like a good plan. Man you are going to have so much good ginseng coming up next spring. I can't wait to see the pics of all those 2013 ginseng babies.
Latt

Latt,
Maybe emergence will be high and it will be a great sight to see. This will make a full dense acre that's been planted. You will have to plan a trip to come down and check it out next year,just maybe it will be a day when I need help weeding or spraying.

Hillhopper

Hillhopper,
You are right we have been receiving some rain and the soil has been damp to wet for a good while now. First frosts were several weeks ago here in the 3000 feet mountains of WV but has been warn for a bit again. I now have little under 9 pounds planted. I have seeds split up in storage from a storing in a cold spring house to a mini frig set on a cool setting say 50 degrees. Every week I mix the seeds and check for any mold. I did find one that looked funny so I tossed out anything close to it. I hope my storage methods work out well.
I am starting to worry that I may not get it all in before the soil is frozen down deep and lots of snow come. I may need to keep some until springtime but we will see. Keep us updated