Planting Woods Grown "Glacial Gold"Ginseng Seeds By Hand
Spring Planting Time For Ginseng
Is From
Feb. 15th  to Apr. 15th 

FALL OF "95"

There are two ways of planting woods grown "Glacial Gold" ginseng. You can use a cultivator or rototiller. If you are going for what they call woods cultivated ginseng, you need to rototill the first four to six inches of soil. This makes the ginseng plants much easier to harvest. But the ginseng roots grow straight and you wind up with ginseng roots that look like carrots. A good deal of the value of ginseng on the export market is by the appearance of the root. What the market is really looking for, other than very high ginsitis levels, is appearance. This is where the ginseng roots have split and formed what we call "figurines" in the business. Anything that looks like the lower anatomy of a human is a prime ginseng root.

When you run across the extremely rare plant which they call the emperors root that is shaped like a human body, where the arms are pronounced, the legs are pronounced and the male sexual organ is pronounced, that is an emperor ginseng root. Those single individual ginseng roots can bring as much as $ 10,000 (US).

Wild simulated is the way I plant all of my ginseng plants.  Disking only the upper one inch of the soil leaves the substructure intact with all kinds of nice roots from existing trees, vegetation, etc. As these plants grow down, hopefully, they will hit a root which will cause a split and then you will have "figurines". The difference in the value between straight roots which sell for maybe $80 (US) to $90 (US) per pound for woods grown, (the ginsenocides level is there for capsules, but the appearance isn't there), and wild simulated, where you can get both the appearance and the ginsenocides levels, bring $300 (US) to $500 (US) per pound. It requires more effort at harvest. You have to be very careful. But one way you're digging up two dollar plants, (woods cultivated), and the other way, five dollar plants, (wild simulated).

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One of the most important things is plan the delivery of your "Glacial Gold" ginseng seeds. The importance of taking your ginseng seeds directly from the stratifying pit, moving them right out to your plantation and getting them right back into the ground, can not be emphasized too much! The hulls on these ginseng seeds are sensitive. If they start drying out on you, your germination rate is going to go down.

Another thing to be concerned about in your "Glacial Gold" ginseng seeds is excessive washing. Some of the seed dealers seem to think washing helps and they put them into a cement mixer while they are decontaminating them and wash them real good. When I'm buying seeds, I look for two primary things:

1. I want to see a little sand on those seeds, then I know they're pretty fresh from the stratifying pit. I do my own decontamination prior to planting.

2. 1 look for what they call grinning. When these seeds are fresh out of the stratifying pit, they should not be starting to crack for your fall planting.

There are numerous ginseng dealers out there who have ginseng seeds for sale. If they cannot deliver the top quality product you are paying for, look for another dealer. Go after these hybrid or dual strain, any of these reputable dealers will bend over backwards to help you. When you get your ginseng seeds, get them into the ground, don't let them dry out.. Have your sites prepared.

If you are working with about 50 lbs. of ginseng seed, lay it out in about five rows, about 90' long and about 6' wide. Get over on the northeast, east, or southeast side of your woods. Look at your ground vegetation. If there is nothing growing there, you haven't got enough light. If there is too much vegetation, there is too much light for your ginseng. Ginseng likes that morning sun, especially when you're working with seedlings or seed beds. The ginseng will be up before the other vegetation is up. It will be up before those leaves start to fill out. It needs that early morning sun. Experience has taught me that one.
At any rate, once you've got your rows laid out, rake back your leaves, leave areas in between your rows down through the woods. Run a rototiller along the edge of the rows, this helps promote good draining and it loosens up the dirt. If you can find a hand planter, this is great, or disk only the upper one inch of the soil leaving the substructure intact, as I do, and plant with a commercial planter. In the ginseng trade, they look at how many pounds of root they expect to get back from how many pounds of seed they plant. A good ratio in field cultivated is about 3 1/2 to 1. One pound of seed should yield about 3 1/2 pounds of root. If you do that well out in the woods and you start moving at around $500 (US) per pound, then the seeds aren't quite so expensive.

Any rate, hand plant or broadcast them by hand. If you are going to broadcast by hand break them up in sections. Spread your seeds out evenly into different containers so that you've got an idea of the area you've got to cover.

Now, after you've planted your seeds, take some topsoil out of your trenches and put about a three-fourths inch covering over the whole bed, uniformly. Rake your leaves back across, your leaves are your mulch. Do not rake those leaves off the bed or back onto the bed if they are wet. They will mat, if they mat that ginseng cannot get up through it in the spring. It might not be a bad idea about the 15th of April through the 1st of May, when the plants are starting to come up, to loosen those leaves with a rake. Make sure they're loose, especially if you're working in an oak forest where the leaves are big. Get involved with your plants.

Now, try to run your rows north and south wherever possible, but try to follow the contours of your land. Ginseng like its moisture, but it does not like to stand in low areas, or "get its feet wet" as they say in the trade.

About using straw as mulch, I have had some disastrous results using straw as mulch. I've heard of other growers who have had the same problem. There is something about the fungus that is in the straw, or what they're using on the wheat, I do not recommend using straw for mulch. If you can't get a hold of any leaves, go rake some old peoples' yards for free, go out in the park and help clean up the park's leaves.   Drainage ditches are used as harvest paths. Make sure you can access them.

Planting can be done with seeds or roots in the fall. (If they are dual strain roots, you could be in the hybrid seed business by next fall.) September and October are the best months to plant. Three and four year old roots may be used for seed production. Initially, roots cost more, but as they get older, the ginsitis level gets higher and they become more valuable.

Ginseng needs good air flow especially towards the hotter parts of the days and the evenings. You can get it on the slope of a hill. That hot air will rise in the evenings and will cool your plants.

If you prefer to plant seeds, they must be stratified first. This stratification is necessary because ginseng has an eighteen month gestation period. When you pick the berries in the fall, you store them in a stratifying pit through the winter and then you plant them the next fall. They will come up that following spring. Either purchase stratified seeds or stratify them yourself. Just prior to planting you want to decontaminate the seeds.

I use Captain's water. I put the seeds into a tub that contains Captain's water and I like to place a little bit of my Manzate2OO DF in there. Fungi can be fun for ginseng growers! Then after you have decontaminated the seeds, get to your planting.

Roots are transplanted after two to four years. It's not recommended at one year. They don't seem to survive the transplant shock as well as they do at two years. At two years they are old enough to be used for houseplants, to be put into pots. I prefer the third year, because they will begin to have the flowers. Once you put them into a pot, they have a tendency never to get any bigger than when you planted them into the pot. If you wait till the third year, you will get flowers and seeds off them.

Planting roots is much the same as planting seeds. Soak the roots for fifteen minutes prior to planting in a solution of two tablespoons of Captain's water per gallon of water. Do not rinse after soaking. If you cannot get Captain's water, you can use bleach.

My personal experience has taught me that ginseng likes close husbandry, especially when you work with your initial seedling beds. The closer you plant these plants together, the better germination factor you get. Plant these things a little tight.

The rows for roots should be planted five inches apart in all directions. Roots are planted about three-fourths to one inch below the surface. Be careful not to plant them too deep. Place the root in the row with the bud up. Be careful not to damage the bud as this is the growing point. Keep the tops from growing into each other and competing for nutrition and moisture. As with seeds, keep them moist, they dry quickly. Roots also need to be mulched after planting