TOPIC: Advice on soil results.

I have sent three samples of soils from my land for analysis. The results came out quite good but I'm not sure which one to pick to plant this coming Fall. Can anyone help me out? I also read a lot of talking about the pH. Is the pH at 6.6 good for growing ginseng? Below are the soil results:

Site: Parcel 4, Win, HT
method analysis: Mod. Morgan, Mehlich 3, Mehlich 3
Phosphorus (P) lbs/ac: 14, 74.3, 41.3
potassium (K) lbs/ac: 192, 478, 251
Calcium (Ca) lbs/ac: 3647, 12548, 3978
Magnesium (Mg) lbs/ac: 267, 500, 257
sulfur (S) lbs/ac: NA, 52, 20.2
Sodium (Na) lbs/ac: NA, 16.8, 10.8
pH (5.5 -6.0): 5.9, 6.6, 5.6
Buffer pH: 5.9, 6.3, 5.8
Organic matter (%)
(5% mininum) : 5.5, 21.9, 7.7

CEC (Meq/100 g): NA, 35.3, 14.4
Aluminum (Al)
(25-50 lbs.ac) ppm: 13.3, 84.9, 379
Zinc (Zn) ppm: 3.5, 24.1, 10.8
Manganese (Mn) ppm: 39.2, 102.5, 118
Iron (Fe) ppm: 3, 185.5, 151
Copper (Cu) ppm: NA, 2.1, 0.8
Boron ( ppm: NA, 3.3 0.5

meng888

My first choice would be to plant in the area where the Ph is 5.6 and the calcium is 3978. My last choice would be where the Ph was 6.6.

In studies, a high Ph over 6.5 tend to have more problems with disease. Calcium levels of 3000-5000 are preferable.

I would plant the two areas with the lowest Ph and plant a test plot in the highest Ph and see what happens.

Check out the below article under soil nutrients on page 14-15 in regards to ph and calcium.

www.wildgrown.com/growing_ginseng_instructions.pdf

Best of luck!

classicfur

Classicfur,

Thank for your advice. Will high amount of aluminum be toxic to ginseng? I got one sample showed 379 ppm.

Meng888

That is actually not a bad thing. High amounts of Aluminum will inhibit fungal growth which will be helpful down the road.

Hillhopper

meng888
I agree with what Classicfur and Hillhopper have said. However I will predict that your site with the calcium level of 12,548 PPA will do very well. The Magnesium, Phosphorus, and potassium are the highest in that plot too and all of these are extremely important. The second plot far exceeds the first and third plots in everything other than the PH. And 6.6 PH is still in the acceptable range.
I bet you the soil is darker and more loamy in the second plot and there is by far more organic matter in the second site. Often the PH level is a bit higher when Calcium levels and other desired minerals are higher. It will be interesting to see which of these 3 sites out preforms the others. I think I have a notion of which one will do best and you might be surprised as well.
Regardless is looks like you have some nice spots to plant.
Good luck!
Thanks,
Latt

This is a good article found at:

pubs.ext.vt.edu/354/354-312/354-312.html

Check out the part half way down talking about soil. It talks of a study done where ginseng hunters brought back 70 soil samples from areas where wild ginseng was growing very well. It talks about low PH levels typically having low Calcium Levels. However they speak of an exception and it appears the ginseng is doing well in the areas obviously where PH levels are in the acidic range that surprisingly have high calcium levels.

I know the soil sample I got from my one planting site had 6,910 lbs of calcium per acre but the soil PH was 6.8 which is common with high calcium level soil.
So anyone out there with forest soil that has a PH level of 5 to 5.5 and has a high level of calcium is very very fortunate.
Latt

Hi Latt,

Thanks for your advice. Did you mean plot #2 will do best? Yes, the soils in plot #2 are darker and more organic materials than the other two plots. The area have mostly sugar maple trees and facing eastern slope. Is the ginseng grew well at your planting site with 6910 lbs/acres and ph 6.8? If you don't mind me asking, how old are the plants now?

Thanks.

Meng888

Meng888
Yes, I am saying plot 2 will do very well in my opinion due the the high calcium level and the high levels of the other essential elements and the high organic content in plot 2. The PH of 6.6 is on the high side of the acceptable PH table but is still in the sub 7 PH range which is neutral. So your PH level of 6.6 is still considered acidic. However a soil PH of 5.6 is 10 times more acidic than a PH level of 6.6. Thats why I agree with Classicfur and Hillhopper on planting on plot 1 and plot 3. But like classicfur stated do a test plot on plot 2. I think plot 2 will prove to be an exceptionable plot. I knew the soil was darker when I asked because it has all the characteristics of dark loamy calcium and organic rich soil. More often than not Calcium rich loamy soil is on the higher side of the acceptable PH range in the 6.5 to 6.9 range. So I think time will prove calcium rich organic soil can make up for a PH level on the higher side. My plot that I had mentioned and that you had asked about was just planted in October of this year. So I cannot give you a success story. However if it is any consolation I am going to put another 10 pounds in on that plot as soon as the weather breaks, soon I hope. I would not invest 10 lbs of seed to a spot that I do not feel strongly about. I have many spots planted and this plot has the highest PH level of all. However I have very high expectations for this plot.
Calcium is King when it comes to Ginseng!!
Thanks,
Dave

Meng888,

I agree with the others and have one suggestion to add.

In the #2 area where calcium and other minerals and organic matter is exceptional but the PH is a bit higher than ideal you might consider decreacing your seeding rate down to something more like 3 seeds per sq foot instead of the normal 4-5 seeds per sq foot (as suggested in Scotts book).

If the higher PH does increase disease problems then giving the plants more room should help reduce disease problems or at least the spread of the disease problems.

Another thing that would help to reduce disease problems would be to plant some goldenseal mixed in with your genseng.

PS - I just started planting seng this fall myself and the area I am planting tested OK on PH in the 5.4-5.7 range but somewhat low on calcium (in the 1400 ppa range). I added gypsum and bone meal to my beds when I planted to help things out and will top dress each spring/fall with more gypsum and occasinally some rock phospate or bone char.

I have planted about 2 lbs of seed so far this fall/winter and may plant some more after Christmas if the weather cooperates and ground is not frozen - on up until March or so.

Best of Luck !

TNhunter

Proper soil ph has more to do with growing healthy seng than just keeping diseases in check.

I would have some concern about the PH, but you are on the border of the high end.

Here is something from the ginseng book by Persons:

\"An excess of commercial fertilizers or lime can raise the soil ph too high, and a high ph is associated with ginseng root rot. Where the ph is in the range of 5.0-6.7, the nutrients that ginseng needs are available and bacterial diseases are frustrated, leaving only fungi to threaten the plants.\"

Here's some from Kimm Pritts book:

\"different plants require different ph ranges in order to efficiently use nutrients from the soil. In ginseng cultivation, the proper ph will influence root shape, size, and weight. Ginseng likes a slightly acidic soil, which is the normal condition of woodland soil under many deciduous trees. A ph below 5.5 or above 6.5 can often curtail root growth. Most growers recognize a ph of 5.6 to 5.8 as ideal.\"

\"Soil ph can be altered through amendments to bring it into ginsengs prefered range.....If the soil is too sweet(ph too high)to grow ginseng successfully- a rare problem in woodland gardens - leaf and bark compost usually have a mild acidifying effect on soil and can often offer a slight correction. Aluminum sulfate and sulfer are also good soil acidifiers.\"

Root quality and growth will decrease when soil ph is too low or too high.

classicfur