Ginseng anyone?

[Jstpssng]

Well, not quite. I ordered 50 seeds on a whim this spring for fall planting; they came in this week so today I planted them. The directions told how to prep the bed,tilling and mulching, et al; I just dug a hole for each seed the way yhe articles about gathering it in the wild suggest.

Now for a cage to keep the squirrels and turkeys out. :thumbsup:

Pretty cheap entertainment for $4.50.

 

[dave1949]

You will need to give us an update next year about how well they sprouted. I seem to recall people raising ginseng commercially in beds under shade canopies.

 

[clemsonfor]

If you can grow it should be pretty profitable , isnt that stuff worth like $140/ dried oz? I know it depends on queality.

 

[Western]

If you can grow it should be pretty profitable , isnt that stuff worth like $140/ dried oz? I know it depends on queality.

No Kidding!!! got my mind turning now, will be interested in this thread!

 

[creekbend]

www.profitableplants.com/growing-ginseng-for-profit

 

[Jstpssng]

It takes about 6 years to mature, which will be about the time my fruit trees start producing.
I'm doing it mostly to see if I can, but certainly will keep planting more if these take off well.

 

[forgeblast]

I have been planting about a 1/2 pound of seed a year for the last two years. This was the first year I was able to harvest my own seed. Remember you need canopy over it, sunlight is not good it will dry out the seed.
The seed also needs to be stratified. Ginseng seeds and ginseng rootlets for sale stratified and ready to plant ginseng seed and ginseng rootlets
I put 4' fiberglass posts in the ground, and then put chicken wire along the bottom. Above the chickwire I run fishing line, with flagging. The deer dont like sticking their heads in the fishing line and the flagging keeps the birds out.
The biggest problem if you plant a lot will be 2 legged pests when the plants get old enough.

The pamphlets that I have seen have given an estimate of 30k per acre, with 9 year old roots.

 

[Jstpssng]

I have been planting about a 1/2 pound of seed a year for the last two years. This was the first year I was able to harvest my own seed. Remember you need canopy over it, sunlight is not good it will dry out the seed.
The seed also needs to be stratified. Ginseng seeds and ginseng rootlets for sale stratified and ready to plant ginseng seed and ginseng rootlets
I put 4' fiberglass posts in the ground, and then put chicken wire along the bottom. Above the chickwire I run fishing line, with flagging. The deer dont like sticking their heads in the fishing line and the flagging keeps the birds out.
The biggest problem if you plant a lot will be 2 legged pests when the plants get old enough.

The pamphlets that I have seen have given an estimate of 30k per acre, with 9 year old roots.

Thanks, that's good to know. My patch is directly in back of my house, and not many people go there.
I've always thought that a sugar bush would be a good place to grow it on a larger scale if you can keep the varmints out. (Including the 2 leggedvariety which you mentioned.)

It sounds like you are getting quite an operation going, hope it works out. :thumbsup:

 

[forgeblast]

we (the wife and I) made a list of ways that we could use our property to make extra money. We took the list and then divided each item
up into amount of work (days, weeks, mts), difficulty of work, inital investment, potential earnings, and ability to get the product to market, and then just a few comments on if we wanted to do it.
For example
firewood, large amount of work, large degree of difficulty (hauling, splitting, stacking), about 1k in intial investment (log splitter, etc), earnings dependent on price of fuel and amount of producers in area, no truck so have to have people pick up cutting into profit, possibly work with a campground for wrapped firewood. (would do it if out of work, but would rather not since there are a lot of firewood producers in our area).
Ginseng
small amount of work (spring and fall)(spring set up fences and plant seed)(fall harvest berries)(work not very difficult garden like), intial investment 100 dollars a year until producing seed, fencing $, and then free, "potential" earnings 30k per acre, to get to market, slowly dry roots and then there are state regulated ginseng buyers.
Woods-grown vs. wild-simulated ginseng
Growing American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) in Forestlands - Home - Virginia Cooperative Extension
http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bpoladm/stratpp/forprod/pdfs/ginfs.pdf

 

[forgeblast]

Ginseng poachers take to the woods as prices soar - 8 News NOW
I came across this article and thought it was timely.
Ginseng poachers take to the woods as prices soar

 

[Jstpssng]

Ginseng poachers take to the woods as prices soar - 8 News NOW
I came across this article and thought it was timely.
Ginseng poachers take to the woods as prices soar

On the plus side, at least they aren't breaking into people's houses and stealing the copper anymore. No doubt some of these are the same guys.

Too bad about that old guy though. He'll spend the rest of his life in prison.

 

[Rowdy Redneck]

Hey Jstpssng, I stumbled across this thread after doing a forum search for ginseng. I am thinking about growing some. How has it worked out for you?

 

[jfh28]

it likes very specific locations to grow......well shaded 80 - 90%.....north facing slope.....moist but well draining soil......you want seeds from a reputable grower......best method is known as the hankin method....trench an inch or two down ....plant seeds one per linear foot and cover back up with soil and then cover with leaves to protect from frost/freeze......you only plant in fall.......you've got to watch the weeds as they will overtake the grounds if you let them......haven't had problems with squirrels or turkeys but the deer can devastate the crop........tried the fishing line and it doesn't bother them once they realize they can barge thru it........fencing needs to be 7-8 feet high to stop them jumping over and if you have a large area that can get costly fast.......plus they go after the tallest most mature plants first........I have not found a good solution for them yet.........Jack

 

[Gale Hawkins]

What about using a solar powered electric fence for deer protection?

 

[jfh28]

for me it's deep in the woods because ginseng likes shade so doesn't get a lot of sunlight and I'm not sure it could keep the charge........Jack