Cultivating ginseng on woods properties

[Telemark]

This seems to be a good option for me on the open woods areas that I want to keep open with minimal understory. It's the area I want to use for trails and buffer zones and not have a lot of deer movement. The total area will be over 20 acres, and I wonder if ginseng is a more lucrative option than black walnut.

Anyone have experience with ginseng cultivated in the wild?

 

[Mozark]

I played with wild simulated, on a very small scale, back around twenty years ago. Maybe three pounds of seed and a couple of pounds of three year old root. I had very little survival, especially with young seedlings. By the time I figured out what I was doing wrong, I was out of the notion to plant more. It seems like here (northern ozarks) if its not planted on top of almost straight rock, it drowns out or dies from disease. There are a few small pockets of plants that have survived all these years, I need to start collecting seed from and replanting. I do have a little wild simulated that is dried, that I keep to use. The only advice I can really give is that your drainage needs to be impeccable.

 

[Telemark]

That's good to know. I think I have some potential spots that are very well drained. Thanks for the info.

 

[Maddog66]

For years and years, we would keep all of our berries from picking wild ginseng and plant them on our 40 which already had wild stuff growing on it. (Obviously before the days of laws requiring it be planted back at the digging site).

I bet one of my uncles planted multiple quart jars full. Some just spread out into the leaf litter, and some plugged by hand, or finger actually.

Did some come up? Yes, but it was real spotty. Just like wild planted. I’m sure our seed supplemented the existing plots on our old 40. But if I had to guess, I’d say the rate was 1/100 seeds at best.

One day in the late summer about 15 years ago, we went for a walk to check on “our sang” and realized it had almost all been poached. Probably 90+% except for the stuff real close to the house. Cleaned out.

We know for sure some of those huge old plants were over 30 years old. Some were over 4’ tall with 4 prongs.

God I wish I’d taken pictures!!

So, does it grow well???? Not really

 

[PatinPA]

My great grandfather had patches of ginseng scattered all over the place. My dad took that over and someday will pass the secret list of locations on to me. Unfortunately most of it is now on private land. I don't know that much about it but I know it likes shade and my dad always told me if you find a bush we call spice bush, that is always a good place to plant it.