TOPIC: planting Stratified American Ginseng Seeds in west central ohio

i consider myself a novice ginseng hunter but i really enjoy it... in fact u could say im obsessed with it when im out in the woods, i never want to leave till im too tired to walk or it gets dark... ive been taught by my oldr hillbilly uncle who has decades of experience in hunting from eastern Tennessee all the way up here to ohio...any way my question is :if i buy the Stratified American Ginseng Seeds and plant them in my 7.5 acre woods.. and left them alone for 5 or 7 years..would this be considered wild ginseng? my woods are not technically a mature old growth forest... im thinking it was farmland back in the 1930`s up to mid 40`s`s but i do have lots of mature hickory, black cherry and oaks and elms and locusts..and i have an abundance of blood root, lady slipper and even a few yellow root and lots of the same plants i see when out hunting ginseng so i planted some wild berries from roots ive found in the wild(no lectures please).. i want to purchase some Stratified American Ginseng Seeds here but id like to see if anyone has the same type situation and what problems i may run into .. any tips, tricks and advice would be appreciated
Thanks

hey man. Think about something for a minute. If i take a berry out in the hills and plant it and u come behind me ten years later and dig it you are going to sell it as wild seng, so what is the difference planting seeds in your woods. If you plant the same way as out in the wild and don't fertilize it to me it is just as wild as what is in the wild. And on the area sounds like you have some good land u have most of all the companion plants. I don't like the type of trees to much though. Hey if u do buy seeds try and use straw for mulch that is what i use. it seems to work well and u don't usually have to worry about it blowing off like leaves. Also i would have a soil test done to see how good your ground is. OH YEAH and on the lecture i never like to hear someone taking seed from the hills only hurting yourself. Take the roots you dig and plant them on your land and leave the berries. If u do take berries be reasonable. Good luck.

If you've got bloodroot and yellowroot and a north facing slope I'd say that sang will grow there.

hey hillbilly thanks for the info and your point of view.. and you`re right taking ALL of the berries is wrong and only screws your grandkids out of the same thrill of hunting seng, and i beleive in keeping to the letter of the law.. and i only took a few berries in total, maybe 1 berry for each plant i found and i plant the rest at the place they were found and i WILL NOT take a 2 pronger no matter if ive been hours in the woods with no luck.. i consider my self a conservationist and i figure if its growing in my woods then it has more protection from poachers.. IE.. my pump 12 gauge haha.. but i really want to pass this knowledge on to my boys that ive been lucky enough to learn from my wise older uncles... thanks bro and good luck hunting
thanks

Hillbillyankee, I have not bought seed and planted it but I am also thinking about doing it. I think as long as you are not fertilizing,spraying,the plants they will be wild with time.If you grow them and baby them buyers will be able to tell that they are'nt wild.Seems to me growing ginseng for profit would take all the fun out of the Hunt.Just would not feel the same if I knew where the seng I planted was.I just love going deep in the woods in search of the big ole wild plants,finding them gets my heart a pounding.Not knowing where is part of the thrill!!

yes i agree the appeal is all in the hunt..i just bought 2oz of seeds from this site wild.com (which seems very reputable) and the seeds i plant are not going to be fertilized or messed with in any way, other than to set up a prime germination setting and letting mother nature take her course, in fact i dont want, nor would i buy the cultivated ginseng ... i may be an old man before i could see any significant harvest..but thats ok.... im still a novice and have found about 30some roots this year... i will not be babying these plants in any way(no fertilizer or any thing) other than to check germination and maybe put some kind of deer deterrent in the surrounding area... i figure if i rake away the leaves , scratch the dirt, sow the seed and cover back with leaves... then thats all im prepared to do...(unless i hear some other suggestions), and wait and see what happens...if i get a 10 to 15% germination rate i suppose i couldnt complain and im not looking to profit... i still have years of hunting to be good enough to find enough for profit... i figure if i can find enough for my own use and give a little to friends & family then im content with that .. i know there are unethical hunters out there that will wipe out all the ginseng in a whole woods which is ignorant and shameful...i dont beleive in screwing over the next generation and id never do that even if i was a good enough hunter to find it all.... which im not heck, are any of us?...... i just know when im in the woods and find that 1st root, then i get in the fever and have to be dragged out of the woods ha ha.. this is just a hobby for me ... and if at some point i could make a few $$ then thats just a bonus... i love the solitude of being in the woods a hunting seng... its good for the soul... i come out exhausted but i always feel good inside and its theraputic for me.. a bad day ginseng huntin is beter than a good day at work haha.. if u look at my avatar you`ll see a big ole 5 prong root i found this year... it was like a carrot and made my day.. i know others have found much bigger roots but this was a great find for me and now i cant wait to get back in the woods every chance i get!!
thanks for the reply and good luck huntin bro
god bless u

Sounds like the seed would grow fine there to me.Here is my account of planting.

1st - Plant about 100 or so seeds to see how the soil does if all does go well then invest more time and money with a larger planting and this is my method.

This is exactly how I do it in the woods (WILD GINSENG),when I find plants I harvest the berrys first from the pod,then I make a 1 inch hole for every seed in my hand,then I ad the seed 1 seed to each hole,then rake over with the same soil,then rake over the leaves and leave it,then I harvest my plant that is mature and ad the final seed or 2 to this hole and cover it back.

Year after year for years the new seng comes up and I dig the same hollers over and over every season I have a friend that I dig with that has senged the same hollers for 30 years and we just dug there the other day and all was very good,he taught me this method.And this is something I say to,it can be no wilder in the woods of the Mountians,than it is in the woods behind your house if the procedure is done as exsplained here,you just plant it and leave it alone,no extras no aditives period.You will be amazed at what it can do all by its self if the soil is rite there on your land (and i think it is from what all you said was growing there already)If not then you would have wild simulated seng because you will have to add to the soil.Still good seng,just not altogether wild.

I am convinced that the same exact method will work for you and will be wild seng as much as any other is unless as mentioned above you fertalise it etc,but you already no not to do that im sure.

G/L
Billy.

We must be becoming the Ole Timers that we use to talk to about the outdoors! Now we just do it alittle differantly with computers.Times change but going to the woods to find that big ole seng plant will always be the same.Hard to find a more enjoyable thing to do.Maybe one day I will buy some seed and spread it around but for now I'll let the ole groundhog do it.

hey hillbilly thanks for the advice, i ordered 2oz of seeds from here which are quite a few... im plannin in using dead logslogs to set up some beds for growin...from what ive read i figure if i rake away the leaves in the 15x15 beds , scratch up the dirt. spread the seed and then cover back with the leaves...and then all of the leaves will be turning color and falling this fall (some have started already)....and the layer of leave that i put on plus the layer thats getting ready to fall.. should make for good germination in the spring... whatcha think? and according to the description the seeds should germinate in the spring... but i`ll be playin in by ear so it should be interesting

Hillbillyankee69

As Billy said one inch deep.

GUY