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.

"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"

If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1)
And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1)
Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT?
PB answer: It depends.