TOPIC: Site suitability?

Have a few shots of the spring groung cover from last spring I wanted to share

Koolrayz,
I hope you plant as much ginseng seed as possible. It is going to do very well in that woods!!!!
The first pic is some beautiful Trillium as I suspected from your earlier description.

The Second pic SHOWS ONE OF THE LARGEST PATCHES OF DWARF GINSENG I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!
Holy cow!!!! Did you know that is Dwarf Ginseng? It is everywhere underneath the mayapple in the third pic too.
Thanks,
Latt

You have me really excited now!I cant wait until spring so I start searching the area. I am hopeful that there is already seng on site.
I lived in Wyoming most of my life and have never paid much attention to what is on this property.
I have a half pound of seed and a hundred 2 year old rootlets coming. I would like more seed but it is just not available, I want to take it slow anyway. I plan on studing and laying out the plots this summer so I can start a more agressive planting schedule this winter. The articals and history on the forum have been a great help
Thanks!
Ray

koolrayz

Great pics of your ground cover.

Sounds like you better work overtime to get the beds ready for planting. In my opinion it is really too late to be planting this spring.

You see, ginseng seeds are unlike most other types of seeds. The seeds when you receive them will be alive actively growing. There will be no time to waste getting your beds ready to plant after you receive them. They need to be planted ASAP. And the rootlets will more than likely have come out of their dormancy, which means they are vulnerable to \" Root Shock\". The new growth bud on the roots will be more vulnerable to damage at this time of the year. And the buds may be actually be growing when you recieve them. And we have already had reports of Roots emerging from growers in the south.

Here is a note out of Scott Persons Ginseng Manual:

\"When to Plant
Traditionally, ginseng is planted in September, October, and early November. Some growers prefer to plant as late as possible in the fall, so that the first snowfall quickly protects their seeds from critters. Actually, as long as the ground is not frozen, seeds can be planted at any time. Spring planting in late February and early March is an option in the south, where the ground thaws early; but, once the weather starts to warm up, seeds quickly begin to sprout. (If anything, refrigeration only accelerates germination.) Thus, Spring planting is possible within only a small window of time. For that reason, growers generally do most of their seeding in the autumn.\"

I would say that if your going to plant this spring, you better act quickly. Because planting seeds that have already sprouted is a very delicate operation without breaking off the little tail root sticking out.

Sorry to sound negative, but just trying to emphasize, that you are about out of time to plant this spring.

Try to have your brush clearing done and beds ready to plant before your seeds and roots arrive.


Classicfur

Koolayz,
I agree with Classicfur and I would get the seed and roots in quickly. Once you get your half pound in and roots in now, this gives you time to prepare for this coming fall if you want to plant new seed and roots.
Good luck!
Latt

Thanks for the tips. I have a site near my house that I flagged last night for this first small planting. I cleared the beds of branches and large debri so I just have to rake when they come. Hope to have it in before the weekend. Will try and order Person's book online today.

koolrayz

Just a note to keep your bed size manageable. Like 4-5' wide and as long as you desire. The length is not so important as the width. I prefer 4' wide and no about 40' or less in length. That way you can reach to the center of your beds without stepping into them. Plant the roots in rows that are a foot apart and plant each root about 9' apart within the rows.

For seeds you want about 4-5 seeds per sq ft. Of course when your in a hurry, the seeds seem to drop at a different rate and some times the seeds bounce a little. So you may end up with 6 in one sq ft and 3 in the next sq ft. Just do your best to keep it 4-5 per sq ft.

When your planting thousands of seeds, your bound to have afew areas that end up looking like this.

Good Luck Planting!

classicfur

koolrayz

Here is a Visual Site Assessment by Bob Beyfuss that may help you to see how good your site is for ginseng.


Visual Site Assessment and Grading Criteria for Potential
Woodland Ginseng Growing Operations
BOB BEYFUSS
CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
DOMINANT TREE SPECIES
1. Sugar maple +10
2. White ash +10
3. Mixed Hardwoods (beech, cherry, red
maple, white ash, red oak) +5
4. Mixed Hardwoods above plus some
hemlock and white pine +5
5. Red or white oak +3
6. Ironwood, birch, hickory +1
7. ll softwoods +0
EXPOSURE (ORIENTATION)
1. North, east, or northeast facing +5
2. South, southeast, northwest +2
3. West, southwest +0
SLOPE
1. 10 to 20 % +4
2. Level +3
3. 20 to 40 % slope +0
SOIL PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
1. Few stones, 75% tillable +10
2. Moderate small stones, 50% tillable
+8
3. Very stony, 25-50% tillable +5
4. Large rock outcropping,boulders
less than 25% tillable +3
5. Soil too rocky to till +0
UNDERSTORY PLANTS
1. Reproducing population of wild
ginseng +15
2. Sparse wild ginseng +10
3. Maidenhair fern, rattlesnake fern
+8
4. Christmas fern, blue cohosh,
baneberry +6
5. Jack in a pulpit, other ferns, trillium,
bloodroot, foamflower, jewelweed,
mayapple, elderberry +5
6. Wild sarsaparilla, Virginia creeper,
ground nut, lady?s slipper +3
7. Club moss, princess pine, bunchberry
+0
8. Woody shrubs (spice bush, witch
hazel, viburnum, dogwoods) +0
SECURITY
1. Very close to occupied, full time
residence of potential grower, within
easy view of residence +10
2. Forested land less than 300 to 500
yards from growers residence,
patrolled regularly +8
3. Remote woodlot within 1/4 mile of
residence, patrolled regularly +3
Grand Total (A through F)
RESULTS
40 to 59. Excellent site, great potential.
30 to 40. Good site, do complete soil
analysis.
20 to 30. Fair site, test soil.
Less than 20. Poor site, look elsewhere


Give yourself the points that best descibe your property, then add up the points.

classicfur

Here is another Site Assessment by Bob Beyfuss, but the scoring sees a little different.

www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/wildplant/..._evaluation_form.pdf

classicfur

Thanks for the links!
I seem to be in the 40's
It may score better but I dont know if there is already any wild ginseng on my lot. There are some small sprouts coming up under the leaves. hopefully I can do some real looking next month now that I know what it looks like. I got the adress to send a soil sample in today and ordered the Persons book last night. I still need to get some slug killer and some mouse and mole traps out. Found a mole hole right near where I am going to plant so I need to get right after killing them.