TOPIC: New grower

Lots of depends in that one. What will the market prices be when you are ready to start harvesting? Will it go up or not? Will it go down? What will the laws and regulations be like? What will the market preferences be at that time? How long will it take before you have honestly harvestable roots? My estimate is about 40% of a 10 year old stand will be close to marketable size. What will weather conditions be like? Too hot? Too wet? Will the area grow too shady? Will the dominant trees fall causing your roots to overgrow and loose quality?

Not to discourage you at all. But ginseng isn't a get rich quick scheme as some of the TV shows would have you believe.

silverwolf,

If it was easy, there would be several millionairs on this forum. Anything and everything can go wrong with trying to grow ginseng. Even wild simulated, planted too thickly can have severe draw backs with disease and dying off.
If wild seng was easy to grow it wouldn't be worth anything. Forget everything you think you know about ginseng because I still haven't figured it out after 20 years of growing.

I didn't realize that cultivated seeds were that much less hardy. Do you guys think I should still plant additional seeds where my 3 leafers turned yellow early. Or should I concentrate on areas where they are still looking great. What are some reasons for early yellowing, or is it mostly poor site? I love watching this plant grow so money is secondary, I want there to be more sustainable ginseng in the future on my property, so should I be buying seeds from a special seller?

forestrygrad wrote:

I didn't realize that cultivated seeds were that much less hardy. Do you guys think I should still plant additional seeds where my 3 leafers turned yellow early. Or should I concentrate on areas where they are still looking great. What are some reasons for early yellowing, or is it mostly poor site? I love watching this plant grow so money is secondary, I want there to be more sustainable ginseng in the future on my property, so should I be buying seeds from a special seller?

Couple of questions, how early? how much sun? Has it been a dry year?
Most of the time cultivated seed will be your only option to start, but if you have wild-ginseng currently growing on the land, you would be better served to become a good steward to those plants and do your best to expand your ginseng using that method as opposed to introducing a cultivated strain into your forest.
It will take years to accomplish this so it is a good thing that money is secondary. I think that cultivated seed have their place, woods-grown comes to mind, but for wild-simulated a more native variety would be best, in my opinion.

Thanks for the reply. It has been super dry this summer, but some are still green while other have been gone for about 2 weeks already. They all have about the same amount of shade. There is a little bit of sang that my dad grew or transplanted about 15-20 years ago. Our soil is poor but his are doing pretty well. He has mostly 3 prongers but a few nice 4's. We dug a 4 this year and it had a decent root. We've been planting his seeds but its usually only a 100 or so due to the critters taking them. I have plenty of places to plant seeds but I have a places right beside my house that I planted about 1500 seeds last year that died off early. I would like to go 20 yards from my yard and watch them grow but don't want to waste seeds when I could plant elsewhere.

forestrygrad wrote:

I didn't realize that cultivated seeds were that much less hardy.

That is not an undisputed fact by any means. I can take you to a 12 year old wild sim patch that has been reproducing seedlings naturally since about 6 years after I planted it ....with cultivated seed.


The plants in the picture below are almost all large 4s now. They might have been 7 or 8 years old in this picture.



Here's another pic of that patch

Brad I'm coming to your place this weekend looks good

I'm gonna plant every nook n cranny I can..yes I think big...and I know it's not a get rich quick scheme...takes yrs ..I'm a humble newbie...but I have faith in myself...I have faith in my knowledge of the woods I'm planting...I have some advantages disadvantages...if it takes me the next forty years...ill do it...

sysbee wrote:

Brad I'm coming to your place this weekend looks good

Sure...I'll introduce you to a couple friends...Smith and Wesson

My first year planting is done,12,000 seeds in three weeks...wish me luck...hope to post pics next june