TOPIC: Who will see seng tops up first this spring ?

Guys I am not sure when my stratified seeds will come up this season,seeing this is my first year ever planting any,but I will let you know then and im going to keep a watch on them.Something I did on purpose was I planted one patch beside 3 wild plants just over from them to see the difference in how they come up etc and compare everything.

Something else that will be interesting to me is I planted every seed as I plant the wild seed that I have planted for years.I did not do any other type of preparing for the planting as well,just the Mountian dirt as it is. I planted 8 different areas to compare plants with plants and soil to/aginst or/for soil. Once they have grown a few years and I find the absolute best roots I will post the best soil to root area and the soil content of that area for all to check out.

As you can tell guys I am planing the Lords will to enjoy this new hobby....
LoL it is funny in away to me to love to dig ginseng as I do and to no as
mutch about wild ginseng as I do,and still be completly a begginner at something
concerning ginseng im starting new

Billy.

Billy

Good to hear you planted some seeds. It's something to look forward to this spring!

You are blessed to have such rich soil. From what the seng plants from your area look like, I would say your soil is the best for seng.

Here's something I copied from Bob Beyfuss Ginseng page.

\"In some ways it is necessary to ?unlearn? much of what you may already know about gardening or growing crops when you begin to think about growing ginseng. You may be the best gardener on the block but a ginseng garden is unlike any other garden you may have tried. Ginseng is a unique and even a mysterious plant surrounded by huge amounts of folklore. Some of the folklore is true and some is nonsense. This plant absolutely refuses to be characterized by any hard and fast ?rules? as to how it will or will not grow. For every ?rule of thumb? you discover there will be a contradiction somewhere. If you talk with other growers you may find that what works for them does not work for you and vice versa. \"

sites.google.com/site/drbobsginseng/home/about-me

I have been a gardener for years and found that ginsemg is a tricky plant to grow. But persistance will bring success. It's a very Special plant!

Thanks, classicfur

Billy,

I agree with you 100% on planting as you are - especially in areas where you know seng already grows naturally and there are good healthy plants established already.

No need to do anything there but get those seeds in the ground.

The BIG difference in how we have always planted seng berries (short shallow trench, dropping those berries 5-6 inches apart, covering them with about 1\" of soil) and patting that down and some of the wild simulated plantings I am doing now is SPEED and efficiency.

I don't even want to think about how long it would take me to plant a pound (7000 seed or so) one at a time in a hole or dropping them in a trench like we do when planting berries.

I know that would work GREAT but it sure would take a LONG time.

The double rake back method that I am using now gets them planted very similar (very little difference) but I can plant 1000-1200 seed in about 1 hour. And that is a 49 year old not pushing it - a young stout fellow like you could probably plant that in half the time.

Perhaps when you get those \"best\" locations identified you can move on to some more efficient (larger volume) plantings - like a 5'x50' (250 sf) bed using the rake/scatter method.

I had a couple hundred seed left from my last pound (that I bought here from wildgrown) and got out and planted them this morning and video'd it in 2 parts. I am working on uploading the first part now - they are longer video's than I usually make and will take a bit of upload time.

When they are both up - I will post a link to them here.

The Vid's will show the double rake & scatter method that I am using and although this is my first season planting wild simulated seng - my 30 years of gardening experience and my knowledge of seng are both telling me this method should work very well.

Hope every seed you guys poke in the ground does well.

Good Luck !

TNhunter

Well up here the ground won't thaw till the end of May. The plants pop up the middle of June in the backyard but in the bush it won't be till late June, right when the mosquitoes are at their best.
We have two feet of snow right now with more on the way this weekend.

guy

Hey Guy,

Yesterday morning it was about 42 degrees here and it was bright and sunny all day and by mid afternoon it was in the low 70's.

One of those winterdays that sure feels a lot more like spring.

Looks like today will be about the same.

I think that if someone was going to grow seng for a living it would probably be to their advantage to be located in Tennessee like I am.

One things for sure - you would sure have a lot more time to plant seed. You could plant heavily in the fall and then there would be lots of times in December, January and Feb where you could plant more.

Our snows usually only stay on the ground for a few days (possibly a week or a littl more for a big one) and then it will warm back up and all that melt off, and man the leaves and woods soil really rakes up nicely after that.

TNhunter

TN,
Great video on your other post this morning. I was thinking about doing a wild simulated planting video too but I think you about got it covered. That soil and seed sure looks nice. I like the way you bring some soil over to the raked leaves then scatter the soil back to cover the seeds before you rake the leaves back on. That is a great way to get some soil on top and around the seed so it is not just laying on top the soil.
Looks like the same technique that I use as well and I think I will start adding your modified step of getting some soil back on the seed. I usually scratch the seed in with a rake making sure not to push all of the seed I planted together in a pile. But I really think your modification will prove to be a valuable added step and it did not take much time at all to add it to the process.
Thanks,
Latt

Latt,

Glad you liked that video and my double rake method.

It does take a little longer but the end result is you put the seeds down on some nicely raked/furrow'd soil and then you get to rake some soil and all that leaf compost back on top (covering it with 1/2 or possibly a bit more good soft soil and leaf compost), then you put the leaves back on top.

After that I walk the entire bed down trying to step on every sq inch and that gets all of that soft stuff compressed down on the seeds and makes sure they have very good soil contact. It also helps to keep the leaves in place.

Expecting good results with that method - Mid-Late April will know for sure

PS - in the video you could see how nicely the soil worked up - nothing but a leaf rake and it was just lose and fluffy. Back in the October timeframe when I was planting in that same hollow the ground was much harder (after that long hot/dry Sept-Early October period we had).

I think someone in the Middle TN area is probably going to be better off planting seng later in the Fall, and even in mid-late winter like this (soil condition wise). After the ground has frozen and thawed out a few times - it sure does work up nicely.

TNhunter

TN,
I agree 100% with walking the planting bed after planting seeds especially with late winter or in a spring planting. 4 years ago I did an early spring planting out back in one of my Hosta beds where the soil was very loose and loamy. I actually tried to avoid stepping on the seed thinking I was doing a good thing. Well when the ginseng was due to come up it only came up where I stepped on the seed. It was sad but humorous as well. You could actually see the seedlings in foot print patterns in a straight line where I walked on them. I realized that by compacting the seeds into the soil so they made good contact ensured their survival. This was before I had read that good seed to soil contact is essential for good germination.

I know that it is impossible to step on every seed when planting a large ginseng site. I think the soil sets up and retains moisture in the woods better and there is a less chance of it drying out. But your modified method of raking some soil onto the seed will set up around the seed for good seed to soil contact.
Thanks,
Latt
Thanks,
Latt

TNhunter
I agree with your comment on planting late here in TN. From here on out I don't believe I will plant anymore until the ground freezes and thaws at least once. After the snow melted and the ground thawed the other day I got out and planted another 1/2lb and it was ridiculous how loose the soil was. It was like moles had ran through the hole site and worked it up. Ideal conditions for planting seed! I had worked my tail off prior and didn't get it that well prepared.

As always guys it is good to chat with you all.

classicfur - I did enjoy what that guy said about planting ginseng I sure app your help.

Tn-hunter I am interested in the d/r method,,,I am going to watch the videos and pick up on that double rake method.Sounds very intersting to me.I will also check back with you after the tops come up to see how well this works out for you.It was alot of work planting two pounds all by hand all as wild seed......

Latt - thanks for sharing the foot step and seng that came up story with us.That remended me of how I have always planted the wild seed back....I always always pat the dirt back down and then rake the leafs etc over,,,and in the wild that methis is sure...

Guy - Brrrrrrr

Billy.