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Post by Alan on Oct 6, 2009 13:41:30 GMT -5
I have noticed over the past couple of years that a few sections of this site haven't grown incredibly quickly, this being one of them. What I was wondering though, is there anybody on the site also playing with woods grown ginseng? Kim and I have had incredibly good luck with our little experiments, so much so that next year we are planning a huge harvest worth quite a bit of money hopefully. This year we planted a further 3 lbs of seeds, or 24,000 seeds to be relatively exact. Our last three crops of seed have come up with outstanding numbers and I can't even begin to say enough about the folks over at www.gotginseng.com |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Oct 9, 2009 9:54:22 GMT -5
I haven't worked with genseng, but I have been interested in wasabi and golden seal. I've been put off both because of phytophora in the wasabi and the difficulty of acquiring golden seal. However, I've been thinking that I really need to readdress both issues. With regards to the wasabi, we have a very small creek that is year round, but can go almost dry in winter. On the golden seal, I've heard that you need to walk backwards balancing laundry baskets on your right big toenail for it to a) grow and b) produce. I can't remember what I read now but you have to start with either roots or seeds and one way will produce good roots but the other won't... very confusing to me at that time and way WAY to complicated.
For this year, I'm focusing on ginger which, thanks to Karen, I have one nice little shoot going along with a Vietnamese pepper, and horseradish. Speaking of horseradish, I know it's a menace to society if it gets loose on you, but you do market stuff right Alan? Seems to me you might want to try some particular in "beef" season. I recall that it did very well in upscale California markets especially close to Christmas. There is nothing like freshly grated horseradish on on perfectly roasted prime rib.... ::swoon:: au jus... ::sigh:: tender ::drool:: flaaaavoooor... ::shudders::
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Post by plantsnobin on Oct 9, 2009 14:24:55 GMT -5
Jo, don't believe everything you read-I don't know about in your area, but goldenseal isn't hard at all to grow around here. I like Prairie Moon Nursery for seeds, and they also sell bare root plants, though I haven't bought the plants from them. Packs of seed are currently $2 and are very generous with their quantities. I have goldenseal growing in my ornamental garden in the shade of a red-leaved peach tree where it is doing well. Of course, it is everywhere in the woods too.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Oct 9, 2009 16:08:40 GMT -5
Thanks Karen! That's some great news. I kinda figured I didn't have all the best facts at the time, but I wasn't able to invest much more time into research then either. I figured that the right information would come my way at the right time. And I was RIGHT! Here you are! ;o) I'll check out Prairie Moon after a bit. Right now, we have hungry bees.
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Post by plantsnobin on Oct 9, 2009 16:14:44 GMT -5
Jo, I was just looking at the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, and they have plants too for fall planting.
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Post by Alan on Oct 16, 2009 7:48:04 GMT -5
Hey Jo, Same as Karen here, neither goldenseal or ginseng is hard to grow from either roots or from seed. If you need any advice let me know. The best source for bulk ginseng seed is www.gotginseng.com very reliable people. |
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Post by mjc on Nov 15, 2009 22:12:53 GMT -5
I'd love to grow ginseng, but due to the crazy regs here, I think not...
The yearly license fee for a grower's permit is $10 (not much), but consider you need to pull one for 5 yrs before harvesting any (yeah, 5 yr old or older plants only)...and then if you hold any over, you need to pull a permit for each year. You also have to have your roots weighed and certified...
(growers need to pay $0.50/lb for having it weighed...collectors get it done for free)
There's more, but basically, the only thing you need to do collecting wild ginseng is have the land owner's permission and replant the seeds...so, this state makes it easy to get all the wild stuff and hard to cultivate it...
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Post by Alan on Nov 15, 2009 22:21:14 GMT -5
Wow, that is seriously some hardcore regulation.
My advice, do it anyhow and don't tell anyone, stagger your plantings every year and don't havest until year eight when you can dig roots from three seperate years when the roots won't all look the same and be so very noticable to the buyer.
What could planting ginseng which for all intents and purposes could be considred "wild" in the near future hurt anything is my question.
Perhaps they are worried about planting density and phytophoria? But if that's the case they would need to be regulating a lot more than just ginseng to stop the spread of that particular disease.
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Post by mjc on Nov 15, 2009 22:29:16 GMT -5
Basically, I think the regs are more to prevent farming it than anything else...WV has a serious history of wild collecting (it's almost a religion around here). Good idea, but I'll need to find some local (under the radar) seed (there has been talk of genetic testing to check 'strains').
And if you think those are hard core, you should see the regs on 'game birds'...basically anything other than most ducks (don't raise Rouens), geese, chickens, guineas and turkeys (some of the heritage breed turkeys could potentially cause problems, too).
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Post by mnjrutherford on Nov 16, 2009 7:19:16 GMT -5
What the heck is up with WV politicians? Don't they have more important things to deal with like poverty levels rivaling Third World countries? Or is this how they keep the voters nailed to the ground? Sheesh!  |
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Post by plantsnobin on Nov 16, 2009 10:06:56 GMT -5
Lots of different angles at work there probably, but folks genereally like to keep rare plants rare. Price goes down if there is a lot of it. Not just with ginseng, but with other endangered plants-researchers who should be wanting to save a species aren't really all that interested in saving it, just in studying it. They don't want people planting something endangered in its native habitat, because then they can't get grant money to study the problem. That happens a lot more than most people realize. There are lots of plants that are endangered, not because they are hard to grow, but a habitat has been wiped out and they won't let anyone plant it back.
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Post by mjc on Nov 16, 2009 10:27:39 GMT -5
Or is this how they keep the voters nailed to the ground? Sheesh!  (The idiots around here keep voting the incumbents back into office and bitch up a storm about how screwed up things are...can't connect the two things as being related.) I won't even start on the milk regs... ;D (not good for the blood pressure) I'm basically sitting on a 135 acres with about 50 of it as woods... I'm working on getting ramps reestablished in my woods, because the former owners (before the in-laws bought this place) wiped them all out. There's at least two goldenseal plants I know of on the property...I check on them occasionally but don't even think about touching them. There had been ginseng here...but it went the way of the ramps, 20 yrs ago, and that's the rub...because there are records of there having been 'native' ginseng on the property...  Hopefully, it will have been long enough that they'll think it came back on it's own (going with Alan's idea...). |
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peapod
gardener
Zone 4, acidic soil, and sandy loam that I have worked on for 4 years. Fixing the bad stuff.
Posts: 175
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Post by peapod on Nov 16, 2009 22:30:51 GMT -5
I'm not growing ginsing but I did start 300 roots of goldenseal this summer. Here's to hope. Ginsing I am not sure will do well here. It's so windy and cold in the winter...
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Post by Alan on Nov 17, 2009 21:30:44 GMT -5
I agree with everything you said Karen! 100% that is the truth. It's like the turkey regulations in some states which don't allow for turkeys without them being in confinement and dissalowing free range or allowing a certificate to raise them, because it would just be a shame for them to cross with the wild types, which they were derived from in the first place! LOL Not to mention the wilds were so over hunted that in the early part of the 20'th century there were breeding projects based on re-introducing "wild" turkeys while adding to the gene pools of all the subspecies using domestic birds. Peapod, glad to see others planting goldenseal as well, it is illegal to dig at all and highly endangered in many states and is good for stomach ailments as well as chest colds and respiratory issues. In Indiana it is legal to dig, but rare to find and not very high priced really. I take care of my many patches here and stratify seed naturally in large patches every season, I've had a lot of success with spreading it, not just here on the farm, but unknown to the neighbors, on theirs as well. Even if it is illegal to plant woodsgrown ginseng in many states, I advocate to any of you who want your own source of medicne and revere the beauty and power of this plant and want it to survive for your granchildren to see to plant it. Next season if there is interest enough and if you can't import it into your state, let me know and you can send me the money to order the seed and I'll make sure it gets mailed to you from another address so you have seed stock. For those interested in seed, check out www.gotginseng.com |
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Post by mjc on Nov 17, 2009 22:45:50 GMT -5
Sounds like a plan...
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Hopefully, it will have been long enough that they'll think it came back on it's own (going with Alan's idea...).