TOPIC: Dug One Of My Seedlings To Inspect

Yesterday I was out looking at my seedlings and rootlets (for last of the berries to plant)and actually stumbled upon another wild 4 prong right in a place with my seedlings all around it. Oops. Anyway after planting her berries I decided to dig a seedling to see how they are doing this year. Didn't have my phone so no pic, but I can tell you the one I dug sure looked healthy. Nice firm white root about 3.5\" long, just short of the thickness of a pencil, and had next years bud looking real good and healthy. Last year I bought some one-year rootlets and they came up very healthy and my seedling looked just as healthy with even a brighter white color. I am happy with that being my first planting and seven pounds of seed planted. The tops all look kick-butt! Very few lost throught the summer, if any. This one area of a half acre is a real sea of green. Wildgrown seeds too. Rootlets on other hand... I did get some descent seed producers but most were stunted or didn't come up.

What is your soil balance.

willyb wrote:

What is your soil balance.

In that locale:
ph = 6.3
Phosphate = 96
Potash = 406
Magnesium = 664
Calcium = 4710

I divided my four wooded acres into six different sections/plots, as the soil is all different in texture, color, and dampness, and had all sections of soil tested. This is from a section higher up in my woods and it seems a bit dryer than the rest of my woods. It actually was the best soil according to the soil tests but didn't look the best in color to me. pH is a bit high and I was concerned but decided to let nature play out and see how the different areas fare. Especially since I am planting wild simulated. Really, I think the plants are still too young to really take anything as a guarantee. Heck, I might lose a bunch in this area this winter and not in other areas. So far I have seen no losses in any areas. Time will tell, and I will keep folks informed on this site of how things come along through the plants' life cycles. When they are big girls one should really be able to see differences, if there are any.

Welcome to the forum, WillyB!

Jimsinger66... I agree that your pH seems a bit high on the piece of land. I like your Ca, tho, that should work to your advantage....

Dug a couple of my seedlings to get a picture today as I had my camera. Only intended on digging one but one had already lost it's top and was right beside the one I was digging. Even the one that lost it's top has next year's bud developed. The smaller one on the card is the one that lost it's top early. Used the NRA card as a reference of size since I had no cash or change.

Oops. Here's the pic.

The size on those look really good for first year 3 leafers.

Looks like they are happy where they are growing. Nice buds too.

Would be nice to see some forking starting to happen but that is only two samples and they may have been in a nice soft spot.

TNhunter

TNhunter wrote:

The size on those look really good for first year 3 leafers.

Looks like they are happy where they are growing. Nice buds too.

Would be nice to see some forking starting to happen but that is only two samples and they may have been in a nice soft spot.

TNhunter

TN: Thank you. I agree on the lack of character of the roots. This area was actually my hardest soil. I hope they pick up some forking and bulbousness. I read your response and pondered it a few days only to come up with the theory that since we had so much rain up til mid July that maybe they just grew carrotlike from the soil being soft from being very damp for so much of their young life, and maybe they will gain characteristics of real wild seng with a few dryer springs and summers. This whole area where they are growing is above the water table too. They do look pretty darn happy though and have very healthy looking buds. Maybe all that rain I complained about all spring and half of summer was a blessing in disquise. I hope for a bunch of two prongers next year. I have always looked forward to spring but this seng growing really makes it more so.

Was out today moving some wild seng and some of my seedlings as I had the \"professionals\" come in and take soil samples for my septic system as I want the house in the woods and the best location for the leech field had some seng planted and growing wild. Figures. There was this little wild patch of nine and not a one was a three prong or larger. The largest was a fat-stemmed two prong and that thing had a nice big \"old\" branched root. She had 15+- growth rings and a nice big root. The smaller two prongers had smaller roots but bulby, and the ones looked like two to three year olds. Anyway, in this place my seedlings had much smaller roots than I posted pics of and were more bulby and even stained off white already. I think they will look plenty wild. Sorry no pics as I forgot my phone. About 15' away there was a nice big three prong that had a three pronged root as well. Looked like it would only take 25 or so that size to make a wet pound. I replanted them all though. Definitely major differences in soil just a few hundred feet apart.

Nice looking roots. Lots of potential there for the dividing and more character development... As young as they are.

Differences in soil are hard to predict. Is have soil on my mountainside that is mostly uniform, however there are places in the patches that do vary a lot.