UofL,
\"IF\" you are planting in good locations for seng to grow and you plant them properly - you could see 25-40% of them make it to harvest time.
In Scott Persons book he mentions planting 4-5 seeds per sq ft and expecting to have 1-2 mature plants per sq ft at harvest time.
Ginseng will not grow just anywhere - you have to get the location right.
The more south you are (KY-TN-AL) the more you need to focus on North or North-East facing hillsides. The more North you go that becomes less important to not important at all.
If you have land that has ginseng growing on it already and doing well then plant your seed in those same areas. Just don't get it too thick or you could have disease problems.
Spend that 30.00 on seed this fall and give it a try.
You could sure do a lot worse with 30.00.
I planted nearly 4 pounds of seed this fall/winter.
Below is a pic of one of my beds this spring.
Good Luck !
TNhunter