TOPIC: Hay

I have a couple questions. I'm trying to figure out what I will need to start up. How much hay to over coat beds is needed per acre? I really have no way of figuring this out. Good ole expierence I guess. I'm trying to see how many bales I would need to purchase. Also, is there a particular type of hay I should stay away from? Thanks guys, Gareth

I have budgeted 2 to 3 bales of Straw per 1,000 square feet. Perhaps Hillhopper will reply to this as he is already doing it. I think Larry Harding uses a specific type straw void of weed seeds. Once again I bet Hillhopper would know which one to use. I used to know but I can't remember. Good question as to which one to use. I don't think I would use hay though. I would use straw.
Latt

Yeah Latt, that makes more sense to use straw. Maybe Hillhopper will respond. You stated 2 to 3 bales per 100 sq/ft. Wow, thats a lot more than what I was thinking. How deep and thick should i put it?

I understand the average debth is around 3\".. however that is after the plants are up. When we got our project started, I looked at using hay or straw, however at the time, it seemed like an added expense... when I was walking over leaf clutter already there that would do the job nicely anyway. Another consideration I had was introducing hay seeds to the woods, didn't want those in there at all.

And, there are different points of view on this. Some are looking at the ease that seeds push thru, others are looking at replicating the Wild Grown plant.

Our decision to grow in the manner we are growing is based on the end product result... which is to ethically represent our product as close as Wild as we can get. Again, it's just our approach. Many other folks do it differently, and I've no issue with them a'tall!

Put on 3 or 4 inches when you plant. It will mat down over winter.

A lot of the commercial guys use rye straw as it is an annual and the plants that start will die off the first winter. Some even plant rye over the seeded beds before mulching as a nurse crop.

Here, I can't get rye straw, so use wheat straw. Try to find a good source of clean straw. However, if you end up with some wheat growing, just keep them topped with a weed whacker so they don't reseed.

Thanks guys. That will be a hard choice in considering. Both make sense to me. BCastle, do you mound your beds or just plant and straw over? Whitjr, in the mountains of NC, which is where we will be, are there enough trees to supply the mulch in the form of leaves?

For woodsgrown beds, yes I hill them up a little. When I rake them up, the hill might be as much as a foot or more high. It compresses and flattens out some when I seed. By the third year, you can't tell the beds were even tilled much less hilled up. I'm thinking if you till, and do not hill the beds some, you might end up with a low spot which will hold ground water around your ginseng. Not a good thought.

Thanks BCastle. I guess the beds settle just like here where we live. Is there a big difference in price and quality between going wild simulated versus the woodsgrown? After 3 years of the beds settleing, wouldn't the roots look like wild-simulated? Sorry for the basic newbie questions. I'm trying to figure out a solid plan and method so I can figure out exactly what I'm going to need. Tools, cash etc.

If they are not too thick, are in a good area, and you don't fertilize or otherwise try to rush them, they will look as wild as any wild root by the time they are 10 years old and ready to harvest.

I think (and this is my opinion) that woodsgrown originally meant \"cultivated under natural shade\". This is not what woodsgrown is today. Cultivated implies growth enhancers, woodsgrown doesn't. Woodsgrown implies the possibility of fungicides, wild simulated doesn't. So, if you want a better yield, you might plant woodsgrown and tend them for the first few years to get them going well. Then, just let them be unless an emergency pops up (phytophthora or such).

Thanks for the clarification. I was starting to get a little confused. I do not want to use any growth enhancers, hormones or fertilizers. But, I do plan on using natural fungicides if need be. Which I'm sure at some point I will need to use fungicides. BCastle, you suggest to straw over after fall planting just before winter? Is this to lock in moisture and protect from winter?