TOPIC: Cultivated rootlets grown simulated wild

Does anyone know how this will affect the rootlets? (weight, looks, value, etc.) If so I would appreciate a answer, I am just starting and can use all the help I can get.

Welcome to the forum.
My 2 cents, By using cultivated roots, you have already eliminated 2 classifications of ginseng, wild and wild-simulated. Now your delimma is narrowed to cultivated or woods-grown. Others will chime in, some will agree, some will detract. A good time will be had by all.

How does the value of woods grown range, is there a variation in the weight between woods grown and simulated due to the fact it was started as cultivated?

I can only surmise that a cultivated rootlet will be long like a carrot and smooth which are 2 traits not sought after value wise. So planting it and leaving it to mother nature will only tell after it has a chance to adapt to the woodland environment.
Will the rootlet split off and grow gnarled with wrinkles as desired? I do not know. It will be interesting to see what happens for your roots over the next decade.
Good luck,
Latt

I agree with Latt.

The question I have, however, is how old are the cultivated rootlets you are starting with? Also, are they cultivated as in shade grown without benefit of fertilizers and the like, or cultivated as in commercial ginseng production farm grown where they are grown for maximum growth in the shortest amount of time?

Here is the reason I am making a distinction. Everyone knows that I've been selling what I call SELECT rootlets. These are grown under shade in raised beds with mixed (some years more than other) soil. However, I never fertilize them. In the fall, they are maybe 1/4 or 1/3 the size of a commercial seedling from a ginseng farm. Yet, they are commonly twice the size of most of the wild/woodsgrown/wild simulated plants of the same age.

Ih Ohio, our law does not differentiate a difference once the rootlet is planted in the woods. As long as you do nothing else as far as cultivational practices, it is legally wild. Additionally, my suspicion is that if the root is still relatively small, it will indeed develop from that point as if it were truly wild.

There are advantages to doing this as the seedlings which are a little larger will arguably have a better shot the second and following years. I've some experimentation in progress on this, but as of yet there are not results to consider.

Welcome to this forum!

I have to agree with the guys above. There's a wealth of knowledge here and some real expereinced growers on the forum. Keep posting!

They are cultivated as to whether fertilizers are used or not I do not know. The age is 3yr. old rootlets.
I planted some many years ago and then was divorced and the property sold before I knew whether I was successful or not. It was planted woods simulated. I have always wanted to grow ginseng. I intend to grow woods simulated, but the 3yrs growth on the rootlets would help. If I may ask I have wooded areas however there are parts that get too much sun especially in the afternoons, would wood lathe shading make any difference in the root growth?
Also when there are flash floods parts will have water that goes down quickly due to it's somewhat hilly on my ground, and there's a wide deep creek that runs between the two pieces of ground. Would this affect the quality or endanger the roots from rot?
I want to grow high quality roots.

ghunter,
If you stick with it long enough you will find like most of us here that there are alot of challenges that you will encounter trying to get your crop to harvestable levels. I am constantly learning new things from others on this board. More than once i have started at the very first page of the forum and read for hours just trying to absorb the wealth of knowledge that is here. You have already identified several issues on your property, sun, drainage, ect. Looks like you are on the right track. If i was using 3yr rootlets, i think that i would go ahead and give them good spacing(more than 12 inches apart) probably closer to 18 if i had enough space. Too much sun is definately a concern with ginseg. Look at your forest today and try to imagine what it will look like in 10 years. You will constantly have to make adjustments on what works best for you.