TOPIC: Easier Way??

Hugh, I couldn't agree more. 30 years ago my grandpa taught me how to dig sang and replant it. He always told me to conserve it and that it could be the answer to getting out of a bind someday. I'm pretty ashamed that for many years I didn't keep a close enough eye on it and now I only see a fraction of what was once there.Now I'm committed like you to try to get it back, if not for me, then my kids. So since we're talking disease and I talked about Grandpa it made me think of a picture that I took this year of a 4 prong me and Grandpa transplanted at least 20 years ago. Is this alterneria?

Redbeard,
That's awesome! Whether he is still with you or gone, what a momento to have alive of your Grandfather and those times together. There is some Alternaria where you can see the yellow, the other looks to be insect/snail damage.

Hillhopper

Hillhopper,
He's gone but not forgotten. I figured that yellow was alterneria. I've harvested berries off this one and some others and have a few babies that are looking good. I can guarantee this one will never be dug again, its life is for seed only.
So I was wandering are there early signs in three leafers that disease is an issue? I also planted several spots pretty thick with the rake and scatter method and would like to identify issues as early as possible.
Thanks guys
Redbeard

There is nothing that will warn you of what is to come until it's already there. Sometimes mother nature works for you and sometimes against you. You either use preventative measures or hope you catch it at the first sign. Various diseases aren't selective and some are. Those that aren't may or may not be there and those that are can eventually find there way to it and then build over time. If you were to experience an outbreak the best thing to do is clean the area of old tops and plant material before the tree leaves fall and use a fungicide to that area to reduce any chances of reoccurrence the next season. If you don't and the conditions for disease are there again, so will it. The diseases specific to Ginseng are more disastrous later on but the first year, if you see anything, it will most likely be something like pythium or rhizoctonia. After the plants are older they can withstand those fairly well. A planting will experience it all eventually, you can either try and control it or roll the dice. You can spread them far from each other and reduce your chances of disease spread but then, it's hard to truly manage an area that is planted all over the place. Dependent on how you want to grow,It's a double edge sword.

I've never been very lucky so I don't want any dice rolling! I want lush,woodland ginseng fields, I want to set down in one spot and dig roots and then scoot up and dig roots and scoot over(you get the idea). I want to be profitable but it's not all about the money. I set the wheel in motion several years ago and I want it to be it's best. Nothing better than looking across something you accomplished with a sense of pride and satisfaction. So, I plant moderately thick,I know certain diseases happen in certain times and I try to prepare. If I were to experience a bad outbreak then I feel I wasn't on top of my game. It's not that Ginseng is disease prone but it does happen and if they are close, it will happen in multiples.

If a person wants a good hobby with a little exercise involved and an excuse to head to the woods sometimes, I would plant thin. Not that my way is the best, we all have different goals, but mine has turned into a part time job that I pump a lot of hours and money into every year and truly, it's all in faith of what's to come. Success or failure, It will have been a unique and enjoyable venture. I mean really, how many can actually say they grew Ginseng by the woodland acre?

You can bet the farm that nature is going to thin them dudes down to where she wants them if your not there(and some even if you are). If you won't be there, don't waste your money by planting thick.

The man that said \"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure\" had to have grown Ginseng.

Hillhopper

Well said, Hillhopper.

As another grower that is doing the \"by the acre\" approach, I am anticipating some problems,,Thickness of plantings, lots of heavy heavy rains [like we had here in NC last summer], soils management... all are things I heavily consider. Who knows what the future will bring?

'Course the more land I get planted the higher the cost of soil management, and labor to keep the beds \"manicured\" I am trusting in my approach to keep the micro-nutrients in balance, the mycorrhizal communities growing, and the above ground blights to a low incidence.

I do think the \"easier way\" to do things would be to have smaller patches, much in the way TNHunter and Latt are doing. The larger scale is labor intensive. However, using a tool like some others have built seems like a good thing for these smaller patches.

TNhunter wrote:

Ittiz,

After I open up a hole and drop the seed in... when you remove the blade dirt falls back into the hole and I simply step on it with my size 11 boot heal to compress dirt/leaves on top the seeds as I move to my next planting spot.

Once you get the hang of it you can plant a couple seeds every 10 seconds or so...

Much slower than rake and scatter... but I like it especially for areas where I am just planting here and there (not in big patches).

I found out this summer (rainey summer) that disease will sure wipe out those large rake and scatter patches quick. I expect that all of the raking back of leaves and disturbing the area like that does, stirs up the fungus issues too.

The nice thing about using a planter like this is you don't really disturb the location, not near as much as rake and scatter.

A lot of my rake and scatter plantings got wiped out this summer, but the areas where I planted like this did not. They did well and stayed healthy.

I will be planting much thinner from here on out and disturbing the soil and leaves a lot less too. You have to adapt to what problems your area throws at you.

If I do any more rake and scatter... I will not be doing 4-5 seeds per sq ft as Scott suggest... but more like 1 or at most 2 per sq ft.

TNhunter

One of the old timers I've spoken to said the magic number was 18 inches in between plants, all around.

I do have pictures of his roots, and even with the amount of fiber, I get many comments about the pictures.

KYginseng,

I like the wide spacing also.Even a plant every square yard is not bad. That gives plenty of room to plant the berries later on. The last few years on wild simulated I've planted a good step apart (checker board) style. This takes a lot of ground but it's healthier that way.

rootman

Everyone,
I know that I need to be more thoughtful when choosing a name for a new thread. Because regardless of the method to plant its still really not easy. This has been a good thread.
Heres what I learned
1. Be adaptive for site specific needs/conditions
2. Be proactive (plan that if it can happen it will)
3. Any method to grow ginseng from mass planting all the way down to single seeds is good with the proper care and management.
4. Watch the weather
5. Every single one of you guys show a level of committment to ginseng that Is an example to all.
6. I want to make double fistfulls of Ben Franklins for my efforts sometime down the road too.

Thanks guys
Redbeard

Even if it doesn't make a penny I'll never stop. It may just be a pound a year if I see it isn't profitable but I'll always plant a little, just not put so much of myself into it. Then I would have a very thin approach to planting.Like I said, for a woodsman or outdoorsman, it's a great hobby to have at the least and that's not to mention how much you benefit the wild...I guess at that point,I would then be in the seed business since I would have plenty of woodland seed to hopefully draw from.

Hillhopper