TOPIC: Wild or Wild Simulated?

Ok guys, I found this old post that someone was asking, if they planted stratified seeds in their own woods and left it alone for 5-7 years would this be considered Wild Ginseng. I found the answers by hillbilly and billy to be the same as what I think. That it would be considered Wild.

Anyway here is the original post:

www.wildgrown.com/index.php/Ginseng-Foru...st-central-ohio.html

I know a lot of seng hunters plant the berries(seeds) when you harvest the root. I?ve also read some of you are also buying stratified seeds and planting them when you are out seng hunting. Now my thought is like what hillbilly and billy said in that old post. That those roots harvested from those hand planted berries or stratified seeds are true wild roots. This is the same as the seeds that I have planted, except my seeds are planted in beds which have not been tilled and are marked off with a stick at the corners. So the question is: All the stratified seeds that I have planted over the last 6 years in my woods, that I have not sprayed anything on them or done anything else to them is what I call ?wild simulated Ginseng?. But in reality these plants are no different than the plants that come from the seeds of what a seng hunter has planted in the wild. So are my Roots ?Wild? or ?Wild Simulated??

Give me your thoughts.

classicfur

I think \"true\" wild would be ginseng that had absolutely no human intervention at all involved in the reproduction process but then again who knows if any of that actually still exist.

Human beings have been planting ginseng berries for hundreds of years, not sure how long it took someone to figure out how to stratify seng seed and that may have been happening for a long time to.

Heck - I have been planting ginseng berries since 1976 and hunting some of the same hollows every few years since then. I may not have dug a single true wild seng plant all year this year ? Who knows.

When it comes to calling it Wild or Wild-Simulated - probably just dancin on the head of a pin there

TNhunter

Not that it matters, but IMO, if we get technical about it, I would consider any seed planted off a harvested wild plant to be wild. Wild seng in our area has a little hairy kind of head(flower) in the early Spring when it comes up. Then, the pod develops later.

All the seng I have planted from stratified seed has come from Wisconsin and has an already develped flower head on it wen it comes up. I'm sure most of you know the two different characteristics I'm talking about. Southern seng (litte hairy head) Northern seng (already developed in mini). So it's easy early on to tell if the seng has been planted from stratified seed or native wild. (Unless it was plnted from Southern commercial beds ). I would consider the plant panted from stratified seed ws, but the seed coming from that (2nd generation) wild. I haven't sold any seng in a few years, so I have to ask, do they ask whether it is ws or wild for reporting purposes? If they don't ask, I will let them grade it themselves. If they ask, I guess I'd answer honestly according to my reckoning. But, everyone should answer according to what their opinion is, and I think that it's all just opinion any more because there are so many different possibilities.

Seeds need to come from wild plants in order to be wild?

From what I've heard on this post, several people have said they are planting stratified seeds(that obviously dont come from wild plants) in the wild while they are harvesting roots. If this is true, then years down the road you are going to have roots in the wild that are not really wild? And eventually you won't be able to tell the diffrence from true wild and ones planted from statified seeds in the wild.

I guess it hard to figure out whats what.

classicfur

Classic,

Just my opinion. Probably not worth much.

Technically it's not wild if it came from seed that has been raised under Lath and polyeurethane for generations. But as I said, they will have to grade it themselves.

Those who have a concern for such things are the ones who are against seng coming from up north supplanting the seng growing native in the South. I'm not, that's why I used the word technically. As long as seng is growing there, I really don't care.

I have a theory-maybe someone with more experience can confirm or debunk..but I would think that whatever caused southern seng to develop a seed pod differently will, in a few generations cause northern seng introdued there to do the sam thing.

There is probably very little seng growing that has not had human intervention somewhere along the path of its genetic line. If a particular plant wasn't planted by someone then it's parent or grandparent or great grandparent probably was. To me it doesn't really matter what an individual calls it.
From what I understand about the chineese grading system for roots (which by the way is very little) They probably don't care what it is called either as the roots are graded on physical characteristics.

The thing is ..... Different planting sites will yield different looking roots. I have been in areas that had been timbered a while back and generally find longer roots in these areas. I believe that because of more intense sunlight that they grow longer to seek out more moisture. If a person plants in an area like this thay may wind up with longer more slender roots that just aren't as desireable to the dealers or the final consumers. - Just my thoughts guys.

This is my Opinion.

Make sure that you plant wild simulated ginseng seed not cultivated myself I do not want any seed that has had any chemicals fertilisers etc on them period.

That or either create you a wild seed bed from your own dug wild roots as Tnhunter did this season and replant from this bed every year,keep making more seed beds untill your happy with your seed supply.That is what I have always done.I have decided to try wild simulated seed but only as a trial and error as of now and not in my areas taht dont need it,just areas where it does,untill a few years study.

Make sure that the area you plant is a good area to plant your seed.You may need to do a little homework with that if your new to this.Any seasoned digger can find that spot,with no tests needed.According to your abilty judge it.

Do not remove rocks,roots,etc from your seed planting area leave them,let the ginseng make its own way period.

Make a one inch hole.Some areas you can plant with your finger,others you need a tool like your digger a screwdriver can work realy well in certian grounds,but the depth of the whole that has always worked for me thus far is one inch.GET THE WHOLE 1 inch deep..the seed works at 1/2 inch 3/4 inch I have had great sucses with one inch..

Drop the seed in the whole

Cover the whole over with the same soil you made the whole from nothing more added just the soil.

Then just leave it alone,,thats rite dont bother it no more,whether it lives,dies,leave it alone.So what if only 25 percent makes it,that 25 percent will be wild leave it alone.Its been making it for thousands of years.Its not potatos,tomatos,beans,it is ginseng,it does not need a baby sitter or a health care provider,if you want it to be wild just LeAvE It AlOnE O.K.

Wait untill its mature,TuRn oN ThE SeNg FaCtOr,harvest it,let the dealer judge it or even better,,,,

Just bring it to me

Billy

Technically, there is know difference in the genetics of wild vs cultivated. All attempts to create the disease resistant plant have failed and attempts to improve root size by genetics have failed also. In the last few years they have been using clones of plants that produced larger roots and have know disease. This has not created any genetical benefits to agriculture yet. Only husbandry shows benefit.

That was from the MNR and UNIVERSITY of Guelph

\"I think a wild turkey will taste like a factory
produced turkey if raised in the factory.\"

A Canadian is know different genetically than a American.

Guy

Billy,

I expect the ideal planting depth may vary by location/soil type.

I got some seed in this week and they included some instructions and suggested 1/2 inch deep was advised, but they suggested that you try 1/4 and 3/4 as well to see what works best in your soil type.

I suppose in heavier clay soils 1 inch deep may be too deep and 1/4 or 1/2 inch may work beter as far as the seed being able to sprout and break thru to the surface.

I am sure the deeper you can plant the seed and it actually sprout and reach the surface, the better chance the plant has of surviving those first few critical years.

I also expect that breaking the soil to a depth of 2\" and planting the seed at 1\" or 3/4\" would also increase the odds of the young seedling making it thru those first few critical years and would probably make very little difference in the wild root characteristics needed in the end.

That would simply let that young root grow a bit longer/deeper/bigger that first season, then after that it would have to find it's own way.

Again whether you need to do that or not probably varies by location and soil type.

TNhunter

In all the material I've read on planting. They suggest planting depth of 1/4\"-3/4\" deep. I've heard that if you plant them too deep the won't emerge.

I suppose the method I use, the seeds end up somewhere between 1/4\"-1/2\" deep.

TNhunter
I believe that if you dig the soil down to two inches and then plant the seed at 1\" or less will not cause the plant to survive anymore than if you just dig down 3/4\" and planted it.

As far as that not affecting the the Characteristics of the root, I would disagree. When I rough up the surface of the soil when I plant seeds, it only softens the top 1/2\" of soil. Almost every year at the end of the season, I have dug up several roots from each age group I have growing. The thing I have noticed with the one yr old roots is that it takes work to get that little root out of the compact soil. And those roots are all ready starting to twist and turn in that tight soil and are beginning to look Wild, infact some of the 1 yr olds are Bulby Looking. I don't believe they would look as Wild if you had softened the soil deeper below them.



I believe a root builds character to fight it's way in the soil. From my observations.

Edit/Added: If you think about it, A wild seed has to fight it's way into the soil to begin it's life.


classicfur