TOPIC: Seed From Different Sources Results, Good and Not Good

Brad,
I don't think you're quite grasping what I'm having to say here. How much credibility do you think your long standing track record is going to have with all the people who read this post on the board. Your track record is going to be worthless in the eyes of growers who see that it's not turning out so well in the real world, even for you. I believe that you should give back the hard earned money to people who have lost their seed to bad germination. I'm sure you'll be hearing from them. That honest fellow from Michigan needs to make amends as well.
They believed in you and your track record. Finicky and complex germination does not replace a lost year or seeds.

Hugh

I do not sell ginseng seeds, but I have bought and planted seed from many sources including the ones spoken of in this thread... I have had mixed results ssometimes even with the same batch of seed planted on the same day, but in different locations... Ginseng is a finicky plant that at times seems to have a mind of its own... If it were easy to grow and be successful with everybody would be growing it. And that statement is particularly true wth wild simulated method of growing. After my first attempt at planting bought stratified seed it is simply amazing that I tried again... It was a disasterous showing. Absolutely nothing came up the first spring and then about 30 plants came up from 8 ounces of seed. Of those 30 there are about 20 remaining. One is a gigantic 4 prong plant now while the rest are either average or below average in size, and yes some of those below average sized plants are within 10 feet of that giant 4
The point is that there are no guarantees with this type of Endeavor.... NONE!
For those that do want to try it here is my standard advice. START SMALL. Try several test plots with a couple different seed scources. Find what works best for you and stick with it. I have had as many setbacks as anyone. I understand the disappointment and frustration.
However I also know from experience it really isn't anyone's fault. I have ginseng growing where by all practical purposes that it shouldn't. I also have planted in areas that are seemingly perfect that have absolutely nothing to show now.. This is definitely not an endeavor for those who are impatient or easily discouraged by setbacks. Sorry if this happens to offend anyone, but I'm just sharing my honest opinion. And for a little added opinion based solely on what has worked for me... Stick with planting seeds... Just way to many problems with rootles

I have been stratifying my own seeds for about 8 years now, and always have great germination....til this year. I had several bunches that I buried separately, most of them had good germination, but two of those bunches only had maybe 10 percent germination. Like always, I done the same method with all of these seeds, but still had mixed results.

I really don't think the sellers being discussed here are to blame. Sometimes these things happen. I have never bought seeds from Brad, but I have from Ozark Mountain and had close to 100 percent germination.

Good luck to all

Hugh Hartsell wrote:

Brad,
I don't think you're quite grasping what I'm having to say here. How much credibility do you think your long standing track record is going to have with all the people who read this post on the board. Your track record is going to be worthless in the eyes of growers who see that it's not turning out so well in the real world, even for you. I believe that you should give back the hard earned money to people who have lost their seed to bad germination. I'm sure you'll be hearing from them. That honest fellow from Michigan needs to make amends as well.
They believed in you and your track record. Finicky and complex germination does not replace a lost year or seeds.

Hugh

I'm sorry you feel that way Hugh...but I understand you just fine. The track record of the seed I sell is solid and is still solid with this year being a potential hickup on the way. In the real world, people understand that this is but one year out of many. Nothing is 100% as much as i wish I could make it that way -unfortunately, no one is immune.

Don't forget, the seed I've dug up are still viable seed and will likely come up next year.

Well, I have had seed from many different sources, and won't elaborate on all of them. For the purposes of this post, I will say that i must agree that Mike Lee's [Wildgrown] seed has always done well for me.

Equally so for Brad's seed I bought. The three pounds I go from him is in a patch with appalachian seed, it's the lower three beds in a patch with 20 or so beds. The seed came up as well, and continues to look as good as the Appalachian seed planted there.

I have found that Brad has represented his seed well over the past years. I think that if he posts that his suppliers have given him poor seed, he should be believed in that. Just IMHO.

At least if a dealer tells you that he has a problem, that is honest. This sort of problem is one he perhaps could not anticipate.

Should a dealer be held accountable of seed or rootlets that fail? Should that dealer be forever maligned for said failures? does a dealer's track record factor in? I think that \"yes\" is the answer to the first and last question, however not to the second question.

All these things should be thought thru before flaming some dealers. Again just IMHO.

Jimsenger66,
Sometime I think that cultivated seed should come with a warning,
Like: warning you're about to get screwed, maybe not this year but maybe 3 or 4 years down the road when this weak strain of ginseng finally can't take the harsh environment of growing wild. Trust me I have bought hundreds of pounds of that junk and it is a miracle if it lives past 5 or 6 years on its own. No doubt that if you put enough fungicide on it and amend your soil you can make it last longer but in the end all you will have is a bunch of ginseng that looks like well...cultivated ginseng.
The same can be said for rootlets, I mean who are they really kidding? Not me, I know that there is no way that you can prepare a raised bed and sell rootlets that will have to be planted back into the soil and expect them to look like nothing more than white carrots.
Don't be a carrot farmer. Don't be that guy.

I don't necessarily agree with Kduces assessment that it's nearly impossible to successfully grow wild sim from cultivated seed sources, but I completely agree that plants from wild stock are on the average much hardier.

And for the record, my wild sim plantings are textbook... No soil amendments, no fungicides, no tilled soil, and although I dont have any plants past 6 years old from cultivated seed sources I do have quite a few younger than that, that so fare appear very healthy. Perhaps a massive die out is just around the corner??? IDK for sure.
I don't have any allusions of getting rich from my plantings either, but am hoping to supplement my income a little one of these days

Brad,
I have tried to give you the benefit of the doubt for sometime, but the idea that I'm \"slinging accusations that are unfounded\" does not set well with me. \"Flaming someone\" does not set well with me either. You are the one who boast about germination track records. I did not even mention, at the time, that seed that I bought from you several years ago did not come up for two years. They came up very sparingly also. I gave you the benefit of the doubt. If you want credibility, them pay back all the people who bought seeds from you that did not emerge. I'm sure that any of the others who are giving you the benefit of the doubt will help you pay back those debts.

Hugh

K-duce,

My oldest wild sim patch from this seed is over 10 years old and is doing just fine with NO soil amendments or care what so ever. It has been naturally reproducing for five or six years now as well. As for the rootlets, I've planted them back and they look just as wild as any other. Perhaps you should consider the way you grow your plants or the condition in which you attempt to grow them.

What I find interesting is that you came crawling out to flame me when we haven't heard from you since you tried to say I was cheating people for not paying $2000/lb last fall for their small, underage, poorly handled wild ginseng.



Hugh,

I've never told anyone that calls me that ginseng is a get rich quick scheme. In fact, I tell them just the opposite. I tell them to start small and put in a number of test plots first. From the sounds of it, my seed isn't the only seed that is having some issues this year. If you are just looking for a scapegoat...look elsewhere.

I'll make my final statement to all of the young and potential ginseng growers about this subject. Read and reread this post. This is about integrity and responsibility. This post will tell you what you can expect from certain business people in this trade. You have been warned and if you make bad judgments about buying from this point on, don't blame anyone but yourself.

Hugh