TOPIC: Starting a Ginseng farm in ca wild simulated

Frank,

Three things. First, I never said I thought his competition in the rootlet market would be significant or even felt.

Secondly, the question was why he was not receiving responses to his questions.

Finally, we have hijacked the thread. OP, I'm sorry. I'll not post further on this subject.

BCastle wrote:

Frank,

Three things. First, I never said I thought his competition in the rootlet market would be significant or even felt.

Secondly, the question was why he was not receiving responses to his questions.

Finally, we have hijacked the thread. OP, I'm sorry. I'll not post further on this subject.

I never meant to make you mad over this issue! Maybe I just read it wrong or it was written in such a way, that it is easily to be misinterpreted. I agree that we have hijacked the O.P's Thread enough, so I am done!


Frank

GreenCure, I believe that your ambitions and heart are in the right place, so I wish you the best of luck! My only words of caution are that you should make sure that ginseng will grow well in the particular microclimate of your land. Brad is right, the costs are always higher and the profits are always less than what we all initially anticipate (even in prime ginseng growing areas), so plan accordingly. I suppose that beds of ginseng in CA would have the same issues (such as possible fungal disease, deer predation, etc,) that beds anywhere else in the country would have to contend with. Your initial post is a single gigantic run-on sentence, so I think that everyone who reads it probably reads it a little bit differently.

My only question: What do you mean by a company in Virginia monitoring your land for $500? (does this mean soil testing? or does it mean security from poachers??)

Greencure,

If I read your plan correctly what you are proposing would be woods cultivated ginseng, not wild simulated. By tilling the soil and trucking in outside soil you are changing the environment substantially and the roots will reflect that in their growth and harvested appearance. Without the appearance of wild grown , the value of the roots is far less. Often less than the cost of growing it.
Ginseng requires a variety of trace nutrients that come from the trees it grows with also. Having only oaks and pines providing detritus you may find it necessary to add the nutrients chemically, which will also change the root.

Tntrader,
Lol, I didn't realize what it was when I read the post but you hit the nail on the head. My initial thought was \"WO,SLOOOW DOWN\". Kind of like those trucks were backed up and ready to dump the dirt!

Greencure,
You have read some good advice but the truth is, we don't know your area,soil or climate well enough to help you along. Only you can confirm that through trial and error. So, I would advise you proceed with caution and try a pound or two a year until your confident with your area. I have read almost every word written \"I think\" on Ginseng and its cultivation but nothing has come close to helping me as much as my own experiences learned on my own land. The relationship you build with this plant and its growing habits can't be read from cover to cover. On my place I could show you many different places it grows differently and I now know why. I know whether if its worth the effort to try and plant in an area or not. Whether this spot is prone to this disease or that, whether that tree will starve my roots for water and nutrients or not.

I have some of the best soil for growing ginseng you can find but I don't think its worth the effort to truck it in. I live in the heart of Ginseng country, with great soil and am growing in an old cool sloping forest. It should be a no brainer, right? Wrong, I'll get a curve ball thrown pretty regular. If I walked away today and came back in a few years my venture would not be an investment, it have turned into a novelty that might return my initial expense.

My soil is great. It's loamy with high calcium and just the right amount of rocks. My soil is also great for a vole breeding ground, and they LOVE ginseng. The best bait ever made for them is Ramik Green but raccoons love it too. Let me tell ya, they are some intelligent and tenacious little dudes who are hungry,have all night to figure things out and live to raid your bait stations. They don't let the bait stay there long enough for the voles to get it. I promise I never read about raccoons and opossums being a problem in a ginseng patch.

Long story short, this frontier road is paved with adversity. Dont invest more than you can afford to lose.If you proceed, Welcome to the wild wild west of agriculture and good luck.

Hillhopper

P.S. Ditch the trucking in soil idea.

Hillhopper!

You have really covered the subject well. Most people never recover their investments.
It is a long hard road. A grower to get any premium prices on Wild Simulated ginseng should be looking down the road 10 to 20 years and he has to have a green thumb.

rootman

I can't offer much advice other than 1 thing, buy a pound and plant it and see how many grow in your area before you start off with guns blazin and spend $10k your first year.

I wish I had nice forests in California that are public so we can just take nice strolls and do that you would think that makes sense to be able to use the lands that we pay taxes to take care of but not in Ca theirs a permit required for everything then you would have to tell them why and what your doing thenmost likely it would get stolen by them Federal pricks that put up locked gates on every road they can

I was going to use Virginia university but I decided to use this company instead they will check seed's www.kaglab.com/ they do more for your money they are in Wisconsin you send them soil samples from your plots so you can ensure growth and tissue sample of the ginseng and they tell you how to keep the plants alive and well my costs will be a lot higher for sure but its safer then growing marijuana lol and pays more in the long run

Hillhopper wrote:

Tntrader,
Lol, I didn't realize what it was when I read the post but you hit the nail on the head. My initial thought was \"WO,SLOOOW DOWN\". Kind of like those trucks were backed up and ready to dump the dirt!

Greencure,
You have read some good advice but the truth is, we don't know your area,soil or climate well enough to help you along. Only you can confirm that through trial and error. So, I would advise you proceed with caution and try a pound or two a year until your confident with your area. I have read almost every word written \"I think\" on Ginseng and its cultivation but nothing has come close to helping me as much as my own experiences learned on my own land. The relationship you build with this plant and its growing habits can't be read from cover to cover. On my place I could show you many different places it grows differently and I now know why. I know whether if its worth the effort to try and plant in an area or not. Whether this spot is prone to this disease or that, whether that tree will starve my roots for water and nutrients or not.

I have some of the best soil for growing ginseng you can find but I don't think its worth the effort to truck it in. I live in the heart of Ginseng country, with great soil and am growing in an old cool sloping forest. It should be a no brainer, right? Wrong, I'll get a curve ball thrown pretty regular. If I walked away today and came back in a few years my venture would not be an investment, it have turned into a novelty that might return my initial expense.

My soil is great. It's loamy with high calcium and just the right amount of rocks. My soil is also great for a vole breeding ground, and they LOVE ginseng. The best bait ever made for them is Ramik Green but raccoons love it too. Let me tell ya, they are some intelligent and tenacious little dudes who are hungry,have all night to figure things out and live to raid your bait stations. They don't let the bait stay there long enough for the voles to get it. I promise I never read about raccoons and opossums being a problem in a ginseng patch.

Long story short, this frontier road is paved with adversity. Dont invest more than you can afford to lose.If you proceed, Welcome to the wild wild west of agriculture and good luck.

Hillhopper

P.S. Ditch the trucking in soil idea.

try these buddy, they work and drive gophers ,badgers ,raccoons and coyote's nuts and they last forever mine are 4 plus years old solar mole or vole chase i spread them out 30 feet apart

www.harborfreight.com/solar-mole-chaser-94661.html