Has anyone here ever tried their hand at growing ginseng? I am just beginning on what will undoubtedly be a long, probably frustrating, very likely aggravating endeavour, ( kind of similar to pond management) and would be grateful for any pointers, or shared experiences from someone who does, or has done it before.
I realize that a lot of the country is not suitable for this plant, so perhaps a lot of members aren't as familiar with it as those of us accustomed to 'digging sang', but here are a few figures from earlier this past week....
Tuesday, Nov 20th... Price listed is per ounce.
Zinc**** $.05 ( 80 cents a pound)
Copper***$.22 ( 3.52 per pound)
Nickel*** $.46 ( 7.36 per pound)
Silver.***$33.13 ( 530.08 per pound)
Wild Ginseng***$37.50 ($600.00 per lb.)
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has wooded property surrounding their ponds that is full of hills and hollers, unsuitable for cultivation in the traditional sense, but ideal for ginseng. Seems like a waste not to have that land providing SOMETHING........
It's too sandy up here for that I'm think.
There was an article in F-F-G magazine a while back about doing just what you are proposing. Doesn't it take 3-5 years for the first crop? Like other herbs, those prices are for dried roots, aren't they and not "fresh" ones? What's a normal sized root weigh from your area?
If I saw some in the woods I doubt I'd recognize it.
I used to dig goldenseal roots. It took a lot of work to make 1 dried pound. We would put the roots in a pillow case and tie it. Throw it in the washer to get off dirt, then drier to dry them out.
I don't know much about it, but it is an important crop here in VA and WV. Here is a link
Virginia Ginseng.I need somebody to actually point some out to me. It is very possible I may have some growing on my property.
I was on a Gensing dietary supplement.
Didn't work well.
Here in Indiana, the Ginseng harvest season runs from Sept 1st through Dec 31st. The selling season, runs from Sept 1st through Mar 31st of the folowing year. Only mature plants may be harvested, and it is required that the plant have at least 3 "branches", or prongs as they are commonly called. Harvested roots should have 4 bud scars, (internodes) on the neck. In addition, there must be a flowering stalk on the plant, and if berries are present then the digger is required to harvest and replant those berries in a suitable, nearby location.
My family has dug Ginseng for years, but this will be my first attempt to grow it. Much of the wild 'sang' has disappeared due to over-harvest, so I'm going to give this a shot.
Scott, you are correct...it will take at least 6 years before my first harvest, possibly even 8-9. I intend to plant seed every year, in hopes of having an annual crop, circumstances (and luck) permitting.
Ginseng is a unique and curious plant. All of the plant that is visible above ground dies off every fall, and resprouts every spring...as the plant ages, a new branch, or prong will be added, and a new scar or internode, will be added to the root itself...the Asian market likes to see a root with a neck full of internodes, as they can tell how old the root is...the older it is, the more money it might bring, especially if the root has split and assumed a manlike shape.
Mature plants produce berries, most of which contain 2 seeds. The seeds themselves take 18 months to sprout, meaning that a seed that fell from a plant in the fall of 2012 will not sprout until the spring of 2014. During this time, they are a target of mice, squirrels, and other scavengers. Not very many make it.
Ginseng is usually raised under one of four methods, each one produces a root that varies considerably in value. In order from least valuable to downright expensive:
Field cultivated....grown in prepared beds, under artificial shade.
Woods grown... raised beds are tilled and prepared in the woods itself, allowing for the natural canopy to provide the shade.
Wild simulated... grown in the woods, but no disturbance of the ground is performed...the leaves on the forest floor are raked back, the seed is sown on the surface and the leaves replaced to act as mulch. Doing it this way allows for the root to encounter all of the rocks, the roots from other plants, and the undisturbed ground itself, resulting in a root nearly indistinguishable from wild. This is the method I will use.
Wild... Self-explanatory.
Jwann...I have dug Goldenseal, (yellowroot) myself.
Can you start them as field cultivated, then transplant into the wild?
Yes, you can purchase both one and two year old roots for use as planting stock.
And, you are correct about dry vs. wet weight. We always figured 3.5 lbs wet to equal 1 lb dry.
With the long germination time, I'd be concerned that not enough seeds would germinate in a wild environment. How expensive are the roots vs. seeds?
Most seed that you buy is already stratified, meaning that it has spent 12 months buried in sand. If you buy stratified seed in the fall, it will sprout the following spring.
If a grower collects his own seed, it can easily be stratified at home, for planting in 18 months.
Stratified seed runs around $100-$120 a pound, which is approx 7200 seeds.
Last night I scouted ebay for ginseng. There was one seller getting $900.00/lb. He had multiple auctions that were all at this price range.
This has my curiousty sprkplug. Next year I will definately be looking around my woods for it. I swear that I have seen plants with red seeds and always wondered what they are. I am always working in the woods, and I probably have been trampling them all down....Ouch!!!! They say they like the same areas as walnuts and ferns.
If you look at "completed auctions", 3 pounds sold for 2,300.00.
It's a cash crop....with no jail time worries, unlike some that come to mind....
I don't expect to get rich, but I think it would be pretty cool to get the property taxes paid, the electric bills for the aeration taken care of for a year, and my fish food paid for. That much is very doable for a reasonable harvest, one that is manageable by one or two people. Might even be some left over for a rainy day.....
Having the land pay the overhead is a great idea.
Hey sprkplug, you said that you have hunted for this before. How labor intense is it to harvest/dig? How much time digging per pound would you guess? I am sure that there is a reason it is expensive, it can't be without a lot of work somewhere along the process. Or is it due to the years of waiting and the work is nothing.
If seeds are propagated, can they be transplanted into the wild after they get going? Are they able to tell the difference. I sure wish I knew about this two months ago when they could have been spotted more easily. Thanks for the insight so far...........Jim
The digging itself is not hard, but you need to be careful with the root....broken roots mean less money. A lot of the time and effort involved in gathering wild ginseng is spent in walking, looking for the plant. Obviously, if you're digging what you planted, then that won't be an issue.
If the roots are one or two years old, then yes, they can be transplanted into the wild. And, depending on the growing method utilized, they may take on the desireable characteristics of a wild plant, provided they are left to grow for some years.
Ginseng buyers are quite aware of the differences between wild, and fully cultivated roots, and will price them accordingly. That's why I am going with the wild-simulated method.
Great thread, I do not hunt it but some of my relatives do. One of my brothers in law hunted with his wife this year and sold what they collected for around two thousand dollars. It is a great way to pick up some spare cash. I had always heard that it was not feasable to domesticate it, but this thread and the following link has proved that wrong.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/for-fact/0057.html Now if they could only domesticate morel mushrooms.
Good info Bing.
This plant looks like a common weed we have in our overgrown forest:
Probably is just a weed up here tho.
Against the law in Michigan to harvest wild Ginseng.
Ya need a license to grow and harvest. Harvesting wild is VERBOTEN!!! Dang Gestapo anyway (gesture of your choice goes here)
Apparently five other states are as messed up on this subject as MI, so I don't feel totally alone
Ginseng, and ginseng harvesting, is highly regulated in most states...it reminds me a little of tobacco in that regard.
Ginseng, and ginseng harvesting, is highly regulated in most states...it reminds me a little of tobacco in that regard.
We can grow all the tobacco up here we want, as long as we don't sell it as a processed product. After that, ya need to document and pay taxes. It grows quite well up here.
We have some growing wild on our land in PA. My dad's friend has large amounts of it growing on his land in VA. He is always running trespassers off who are trying to dig it up. There are a number of other plants that have similar commercial value that grow wild.
Great thread, I do not hunt it but some of my relatives do. One of my brothers in law hunted with his wife this year and sold what they collected for around two thousand dollars. It is a great way to pick up some spare cash. I had always heard that it was not feasable to domesticate it, but this thread and the following link has proved that wrong.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/for-fact/0057.html Now if they could only domesticate morel mushrooms.
Bing...I've been trying to convince someone to partner with me on such an endeavor for a long time...I know it must be possible. Could we keep our hands off the product long enough to sell any?
Planted another pound of seed today. That's it for this season, just a pound and a half total. We'll see how (if) it comes up in the spring.
Stratified American Ginseng seed... you can see where some of the seeds are beginning to split, revealing the embryo inside.. In seed vernacular, this is referred to as "grinning"
View looking down the hillside where I will plant...about 4.5 hours in clearing the undergrowth, preparing the seed "runs", planting, and finally mulching with leaves...
Another shot looking down the hill, showing some of the runs. There are two more off to the left, already planted and mulched... no ground prep, aside from raking back the leaves and scratching up the soil surface..
Did you buy the seeds, or was it from plants that you have collected over the years. From what I have read, you are suppose to plant (the law?) the seeds when you harvest the root. If thats the case, how does one have seeds to sell? I also read that you should plant 5 seeds to a spot, because germination is low. Your results will be interesting for sure.
Thanks for sharing, Jim.
I purchased these seeds. You are indeed required to plant the seeds from any plant you harvest. However, Ginseng will typically begin to flower around it's third season, and harvest will not commence for at LEAST another 3-4 years after that...so, after year 3, and up until the plant is dug, your "harvest" will be seeds...hand picked, stratified for a year, then planted in the fall, with any extra sold off.
I intend to purchase and plant additional seeds each year, until my own plants can furnish me with all the seeds I require. Eventually, I should have plantings of various ages, many of which will be seed producing, and will furnish far more than the 2-3 pounds of seed I will need for my own use. The surplus will be sold, which is where the seeds available in the marketplace right now have come from....surplus from other growers.
Dried Ginseng root... $650-675 per pound, as of 11/30
Ginseng seed... $112 per pound.
Guy out here sells a lot of ginseng he was telling me last summer it was going $1000/lb.. (He was looking for a spot too hunt it where I deer hunt)
Turley's ginseng doubt he has a website or anything but he's got a big ole sign in his yard..
I'll bet it hits $850-900 easy enough. Over $50 an ounce.
Turley Ginseng Co., John Turley, ---- Hazel Dell Rd., Greenville, IL 62246; 618-664-2871. My main business is buying and selling whole goldenseal root & herb. I handle goldenseed in small or very large bulk quantity. Also selling wild ginseng roots.
Nope, no website, but easy enough to find.
Remember those seeds I planted back in December....
Success! I've got 'sang fry!
Doesn't look like $700 a pound does it? Long, long way to go
Sweet! I got my eye on this thread.
Well done Sprkplug!
I have seen a few amatuer ginsing grow ops in Idaho/Montana, fascinating stuff.
Super excited for your adventure, I wish you all the luck in the deep woods.
Keep the updates coming, I will be following closely.
Remember those seeds I planted back in December....
Success! I've got 'sang fry!
Doesn't look like $700 a pound does it? Long, long way to go
It kind of looks like another plant seedling that's worth a lot more then $700 a pound. That third leaf throws it off though.
Yep....looks good. Planning on planting another pound or two of seeds this fall.
A grouping of ginseng.
So what kind of dirt/conditions does this need to grow?
It may be something worth trying out.
We used to dig Snake Root back about 20 years ago.
That's looking really good Spark!!! Good for you!
Did you put mulch around them? The newest photo makes it look like it. That previous pic where you raked the leaves into rows, did you plant the seeds on the bare ground area of that? Then covered them with the leaves again?
Where did you buy the seed stock, if you don't mind saying? PM if you want.
By that last photo, looks like you planted the seeds close together. All your rows come up that good?
My neighbor plants ginseng all over my woods. Then again he plants a lot of other stuff too---if you know what I mean. After this year, I think I'm ready to give up the market farming and go into roots.
F&C, that latest photo was taken in the flower bed beside the house. I held over some seed from last fall, and waited until this spring to plant it. Actually, I held it too long and it sprouted in the fridge. Rather than take it to the woods, I scratched the mulch away in a shady spot that has trouble growing anything else, and scattered it there. It did far better than I thought it would.
After I posted last night, I decided a photo was in order, so I took that shot. My woods grown plants look just as good however.
You're right on with the photo showing the rows. I raked the leaves back to bare ground, scratched up the surface with a rake, dropped the seeds by hand, (trying for a coverage of 4 seeds per sq.ft.), and pulled the leaves back over top. That's all you do for a wild-simulated planting. I was very pleased with the germination rate, but remember....many of these plants will surely succumb before the 8-10 years needed for harvest are reached.
I'll send you a PM with info on where I got my seeds. I don't want to post a non-PondBoss approved link in the forum.
MRHELLO, Ginseng prefers low PH and high calcium.....very high calcium, on the order of 4000 lbs per acre. The more common nutrients usually associated with plant growth ( potassium, phosphorous, nitrogen) are not as important. Some growers are experimenting with adding gypsum to planting sites. Sugar Maples are favored trees for planting under, as their leaves retain calcium when dropped in the fall, enriching the soil. There's something extremely satisfying about tapping maples for their sap in late winter, knowing that under my feet the Ginseng is awaiting spring.
Most important: Ginseng prefers 80% shade....it will not flourish, and may perish, if it receives too much sun.
Dry weight has passed $50 an ounce in some areas already this season.....rumor says it will go higher by the end of Nov...
Grow plants, GROW!
Ginseng prefers low PH and high calcium.....very high calcium
Grow plants, GROW!
Sparkie, I'm thinking if you'd bury a 1# HBG next to each plant, you'd be in the money.
No, you don't have to thank me for this suggestion, just trying to help out.
Come now Yolk.....combining the extreme aggressiveness and tenacity of HBG with the miraculous healing and restorative powers of ginseng? Left to marinate underground?? Do you realize what the outcome would be?
A plague of unstoppable zombie fish.
I'm carrying enough baggage around already....I don't need "Author of the Apocalypse" added to the load.
Wait a minute...perhaps in low doses, infused in daily feedings of AQ500...it could provide the final push needed to get over the plateau...
Yolk you're a freakin' genius. May I include your name on the acceptance speech for my Nobel?
Checked on the Sang' while I was in the woods. It's coming up yet again, and I've got some two-prongers in the mix this year!
Two pronger setting it's first berry. Sweet!!!
I think he documented it all in this thread..
Tony, why are the two prongs important? Does it just mean the plant's doing well, or is that when it produces berries?
Al, the number of prongs is a rough approximation of age. Here in Indiana, it is illegal to harvest a plant with less than 3 prongs. Usually, a ginseng plant will not bear seeds until its third season, so while not unheard of, it's just a curiosity that a plant this young would do so.
When the plant has its foliage, you count the prongs....after it's dug, you judge the age of the root by the bud scars on the rhizome. The older the better ($$), but it better have at least 4 internodes (bud scars) on the root....hefty fines if it doesn't, and proving that this was a plant that you planted from seed and was not dug wild, is very tough to do.
Thanks.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Threads like this fit the PB forum like a glove. Lots of history being lost right now, and it's nice to see posts like this.
Nov.1st, 2014. One more pound planted. There were a total of 8 runs like this today.
A wild four pronger from a few weeks back. This is what a digger wants to see, and what I hope we will have some years down the road.
Does ginseng grow in Texas or is it a northern thing? Never heard of it growing down here. Didn't even know there was a market for it
Pat W
It's primarily thought of as a northern species. It likes damp, heavily shaded, thick forests. In addition, the seeds need to go through a cold/warm/cold cycle in order to germinate. If there are parts of Texas that meet those qualifications, I don't know why it wouldn't?
Scott, yes, each 'branch' is considered a prong.
Tony, I hear the bottom fell out of the market this year (as compared to last years prices).
What have you heard?
I've never even looked for it up here, and wouldn't know where to start looking.
So far this year it's been a roller coaster ride as to prices. Started off pretty strong, then decreased. Lot of speculation in the market right now, supposedly due to the unrest in China, the phenomenally high prices paid last year, and the tremendous influx of new diggers fueled by the likes of "reality" television....several programs on right now claiming to show how quick and easy it is to get rich off ginseng. The market is flooded by poor quality, underage product, dug by everyone from methheads to heads of corporations. All hoping for a quick buck.
The worry in the sang community is that this will push a plant that is already listed as threatened, over the edge into endangered.
Since the US signed the CITES treaty, it is bound by the agreement. What happens from here forward is anyone's guess. If the plant can survive the onslaught of uneducated diggers, many of whom will soon tire of the work and lack of riches, we should be okay, and the prices may rebound. There's already talk of a price increase around Thanksgiving.
In the meantime, I'm documenting every step I take, including keeping all receipts and logging gps coordinates of planting sites. In case the time comes when I'm required to prove that those plants were planted by me, and are not naturally occurring.
CITES....convention for international trade in endangered species of flora and fauna.
The same unrest fears about China are driving down fur prices for the upcoming year. Lots of uncertainty there, and there's a lot of tiptoeing around until the first sale or 2 of furs.
Just like some other industries, "from cradle to grave" documentation is probably going to save some businesses, both small and large.
The same unrest fears about China are driving down fur prices for the upcoming year. Lots of uncertainty there, and there's a lot of tiptoeing around until the first sale or 2 of furs.
Just like some other industries, "from cradle to grave" documentation is probably going to save some businesses, both small and large.
Documentation provides proof, but if you can't collect money due you, it's worthless.
2015 could suck really bad in MI.
Wild 'sang. Turning yellow, but still holding on to some berries. Makes it easy to find.
Berries. Indiana law dictates that if the plant is harvested, the berries must be replanted in the near vicinity of the plant from whence they came.
Three prong. This plant is legal to dig by state and federal law, but it's just not what the market wants to see right now. Leave it.
A meager collection of two and three prongers.
How can you tell how many prongs without seeing the root?
Prongs are "branches" that come off the stem. It's all about telling the age of the root, and a three prong plant is most always at least three years old, which makes it legal. When you dig the root, there will be bud scars on the neck of the root, one for every year the plant sent up a shoot....like counting rings on a tree stump.
When you dig a three prong plant, you double check the bud scars to verify age. If it doesn't have three, you re-bury it or leave the top attached while in the woods to verify that you dug according to the book. If it has easily identifiable bud scars of three or more, you may discard the top. After planting any berries of course.
