TOPIC: Fernery

You boys think ginseng would grow in the middle of a fern forest like this? Yay or nay? (I do spy one lonely jack-in-the-pulpit).

Yes. I'd still do a soil test tho.

I would say yes. It has been stated do a soil test. I would say by the looks of this you are low on calcium. I bet you run 1500 to 2000. Please check first. Go ahead and use some roundup or other glyphosate generics. Wait 5 weeks and spray it again. Wait 3 weeks make beads and plant your seed/mulch. Spray round up once more in the fall and you may just have a clean patch next year. You could also cut those down but you will have problems next year as your 3 leafers will get covered up in those ferns.
When soil tests come back order some gypsum or calcium carbonate depending on your ph levels and apply as needed. Keep them turkeys out.

Ferns are good, but very dense growth can deter ginseng. I would suggest just planting a test plot and see how it does if the soil test is good. I would not spray roundup either, ever. By eliminating all the other companion plants, you might as well just be planting deer food. Other plants offer browse protection. Not to mention the fact that someone who is hoping to consume a high quality ginseng product is going to end up with a chemically contaminated product.

I remembered TN posted this below that I cut and pasted from his post pertaining to Ferns.

Re:Growth after a year 3 Months, 2 Weeks ago
My guess is that only some ferns are negative allelopathic.

See articles below that show some that are.

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www.treeskier.com/forestry/guidelines_allelopathy.html

www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1546754?u...p;sid=21103393121011

http://_link_.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02381726#page-1

deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/54322

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PS... most of those articles appear to be talking about their negative impact on trees (red oaks, sugar maples, big tooth aspen, etc) and they mention specific fern species.

TNhunter

OK, in that case, I'll do a soil test. I'll probable plant a few spots with seed next fall just to see what happens. All of this is on a north-easterly facing slope, and it is very impressive how just a few yards away from this fern forest is that area covered in club moss that I previously posted, and then just a few yards from that is an area where ginseng (that I planted) is growing well.

I guess the idea of making sure to find the ideal 'micro' climate for your plants is important. I'm trying to keep this thing as low effort as possible (I'm trying to keep it wild and avoid any spraying, tilling, soil amendments, etc (but I don't mind shooting a turkey or deer or two). So I'm just trying to find where it grows the best naturally, and then just plant primarily in those locations.

Some of the best beds I've had was in a spot like that. I tilled beds so the ginseng didn't have to compete with the ferns though.

I agree it is best to give the first year plants the best opportunity they can get. I hate to seed good seed go to waste as losses are much higher when you have such thick ground cover like that. I would not worry about the deer one will have a harder time with a single turkey if they start eating the small roots. Tilling sure is a big help even if only one inch deep.

I need to work on uploads as I am not sure how to convert these jpg images to their requirements .

This is second yr plants planted in a previously dense environment tilled and made into raised beds. I have about 10% 3 prongs and 50% two prongs and the remainder 3 leafers and 5 leafers.