I've been lurking on here awhile and figured I'd register. I'm far from a newbee to hunting and attempting to grow ginseng, but still have lots to learn. I've enjoyed reading everyone's experiences and learned a lot so figured I'd post mine and welcome comments, advice etc. I was raised and still live in a heavily wooded area with lots of hunting opportunities. My late father was an avid hunter, though not ginseng, so I had to learn that on my own. I'll never forget going to the school library and finding \"ginseng\" in a book, turning to the page for a picture only to find that page ripped out and gone. I finally found some pictures and one day while sitting on a ridge waiting for a squirrel to come to my side of a hickory tree I looked down and found, my first ginseng plant. It became an addiction after that and when I was younger, in better shape and had more time, I dug over 12 pounds dry 2 different years. Since then there have been several years I found some and several years I didn't go at all. This year I'm probably going to hit my goal of a pound, but just don't have much time anymore, plus the big stuff just isn't around here much anymore. But I sure love looking! I also (in my youth) brought home some little stuff and transplanted it and had a beautiful little patch going by the house. Around 1986 (give or take a year) My father and I decided to plant our (his) woods full of Ginseng. I think he bought like 20 or more-can't remember, pounds of seed and we raked and planted all fall. The next spring our woods was covered with little 1 prongers. The following year it was covered with little 2 prongers, man it was a sight to see and we were on our way to growing a bunch of sang!! In June of the second year some kind of blight hit and in the blink of an eye probably 95+ percent of our plants were dead. It even spread over and killed my little wild patch. Since then I've had some limited success at growing some-about enough to cover seed cost, by planting by hand and very thin and in overgrown areas. We've been hit by thieves 3 times. Did manage, through one bragging, to track down the group of 3 that did the most damage one year and have them questioned by authorities and 1 said yea we found a little, so all 3 were written up and pled guilty on a plea bargain to digging out of season, but didn't do me much good as the guy that tipped me off insisted on remaining annonamous, so I couldn't prosecute for criminal trespass and theft like I wanted to. 3 years ago I planted some dandy 2 year old rootlets I got pretty reasonable. I was pretty excited and put them in a good looking area that I had sang grow before. As best I can\could tell not a single one ever came up-I just can't figure that one out? Through my failures I still have the desire to keep trying and purchased a pound of seed off Bcastle this year. Thinking about buying that book people on here rave about by Parson's-is it really worth the $95 used price? Growing ginseng can be kind of depressing watching your patches dwindle every year unlike golden seal which increases every year, but I guess if it was easy it wouldn't be valuable. I have exclusive access to quite a few acres of prime ginseng woods and I'd so like to fill them with wild simulated ginseng when I get a little closer to retirement where I have time to keep watch on them, but I'm going to have to be more successful at growing it to do so. I've been surprised to read from Latt and others the effects of deer on ginseng-I have deer paths right through my patches and have never once seen where a deer nibbled on a ginseng plant-very strange I guess, maybe they just have tastier stuff in this area? Well that's the ramblings of a newbee to the site. Feel free to comment and keep the good tips and advice coming.
