The plants you would not think are edible and people eat

[TNHunter]

Ginseng seed is normally put in stratification in the fall… berries ripen Sept in most locations… pulp is removed and seeds are put in stratification… normally done by burying the seeds in a sand bed or some use leaf compost… they are kept in stratification until the next fall then taken out for planting.

Fresh batches of stratified seeds… you will have best luck with them if you purchase asap from supplier… right after they pull them up from stratification bed… and as soon as you get them… you plant them asap.

The longer you… or the supplier… stores them… before they get planted… the less success you will have.

Speaking from 11 years experience with stratified seed.

TNHunter

[TNHunter]

@IL847 — I do sell ginseng each year… harvest in the fall.

In TN, season starts Sept 1 — and I think it officially ends Dec 31… but usually early/mid Nov, a hard frost has taken the tops out, they die for the year, and come back the next spring (here usually first or second week in April).

Best time to sell dry ginseng, is normally around Thanksgiving, or just prior to Christmas… the price normally peaks in that timeframe. That is when I normally sell what I harvested for the fall season.

Above is some nice wild that I harvested last fall… and sold just after Thanksgiving.

Some very nice hefty old roots in that plate.

If any of you are really interested in growing ginseng… I would highly recommend a book…
Growing & Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal & Other Woodland Medicinals… by W. Scott Persons, Jeanine M. Davis. I got it online 11+ years ago.

The pic above is from the book… where he list work to be done by time of year…
Sorry for the cooked pic, had to do that with my phone and book.

Notice he says in Sept-Oct year old seeds are up from stratification… and in Oct-Nov, you start new years seeds in stratification.

So they go in the stratification bed late fall, and are pulled up the next fall (a little earlier), normally spending almost a year in stratification.

Notice what he says after taking them up from stratification… he says before Planting…

Your absolute best bet for high germination rate is to plant them asap after pulling up from stratification.
Any kind of artificial cool storage, especially longer terms - can mess them up… no germination, very low germination… and sometimes, delayed (by a year or two) germination.

Been there, done that.

One last pic on the subject… it is a very pretty plant…

TNHunter

[subdood_ky_z6b]

Cauliflower.
Brussels sprouts.
Kale.

[subdood_ky_z6b]

Nice. So you have a favirite place to collect the wild roots? How has your home grown roots done? Sang has become pretty much non existent in these parts, guess folks have picked it clean.

I used to drink American ginseng tea, supposed to be good for you, gives me a slight stimulant effect, but not as harsh as caffeine, i.e. coffee. I would buy a pack of tea bags (40?) from an Asian supermarket years ago.

It’s not as potent as the Chinese/Korean versions. In Chinese medicine terms, the American version is considered “cool”, and the Asian versions are “warm” or “hot” energy wise.

[IL847]

Trev, thanks a lit for all the Ginseng grow ways and tips. I learned a lot. I am not sure the condition of the seeds. I only know ginseng is hard to germinate. I guess I should keep the seeds in the refrigerator till fall to plant them.
Your ginsengs look good. I know who to ask next time I am looking for buying some ginsengs.

[TNHunter]

subdood…

The most excellent wild American ginseng, gets sold mostly to China… Pacific Rim area…

And in China… they grow artificial shade grown cultivated ginseng, that is treated with pesticides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, that is a fraction of the price of true wild ginseng… and they sell that to the US to use in energy drinks, tea’s, etc…

The best price I ever got on a pound of dry ginseng was 760.00 — but that is for Tennessee Ginseng.
Some of the north eastern states… especially West Virginia, Vermont, even NY… fetches a higher price than ours does. When I was getting 760.00 some of those guys were getting 1200.00.

It takes around 3.5 lbs of green ginseng root, to dry out to a pound.

Roots harvested earlier in the year, dry out more than those harvested later in the fall.
Many years ago, there was no season, and you could dig it in May thru summer months… but it took more like 4+ pounds of that early root to make a pound of dry.

TNHunter

[TNHunter]

IL847 you are welcome…

If you are looking for some ginseng rootlets to plant… you might check out wildgrown.com
They sell rootlets and stratified seed. I have also bought seed from hardwoodginseng.com and a few other sources… but those have been good ones for me.

But it has been a few years since I bought seed… once they get 4-5 years old, you have your own berry supply… and no longer need to purchase seed. A berry will have 1-3 seeds in it, with 2 being the norm.

You can plant berries in the fall when ripe… and they will naturally stratify and germinate… I have had good luck with that myself.

A berry planted in the fall… will go thru that fall and winter, and the next spring and summer, fall and winter… and normally will germinate the next spring.

Ginseng is not a quick crop at all… Books will say 7 years, but could be much longer depending on your location, how heavy your timber is, calcium in soil, etc…

TNHunter

[IL847]

@TNHunter

And in China… they grow artificial shade grown cultivated ginseng, that is treated with pesticides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, that is a fraction of the price of true wild ginseng… and they sell that to the US to use in energy drinks, tea’s, etc…

China mostly growa Korean Ginseng which is stronger than American Ginseng. There are several ginseng farms in WI that grow a lot of ginseng that sales to China market and market here as well. These are American ginseng. Cultivated ginseng sales way less than wild ones. It is harder to find older and wild ginseng nowadays. I have heard ginseng plants can grow to over hundred years which really can sale for a lot of money.

[Shuimitao]

Wow, these are some beautiful ginsengs. What’s the market price for these very old roots? Say the 30 year old one?

Do you know any reputable sources for ginseng seeds? I bought some on eBay a couple years ago and got good germination rates. But that seller stopped selling so I am looking for a good source again. Thanks!

Sorry. Just saw your answer to somebody else. So never mind.

[TNHunter]

@IL847 Annie… I would plant those seeds asap. Not wait until this fall.

Your best bet to get good germination from purchased stratified seed… is to talk to your vendor… find out when they pull their stratified seed up from stratification… and get the first available shipment from them to you.

Then when you get them… plant them asap.

I used to order 2 lbs… and would bust my but to get them all planted in 2-3 days.

A pound of stratified ginseng seed averages around 7000 seeds.

TNHunter

[TNHunter]

Also… stratified seeds (before planting) should be float tested first… just dump the entire bag of seed in a bowl of water…

Stir them a little… any floaters after 10 min should be descarded… they are bad.

The sinkers are likely good seed… but should be treated in a 10% bleach solution, 10 minutes, before planting.

You should also split open a few seeds to check for proper embryo growth… to verify they have been properly stratified… before you do those other steps.

I will go to my computer and send a pic to help you understand the embryo growth issue.

Here you go…

The seeds in the pic above, you slice them open, razor blade, along the seam, cutting them in half.
Inside you can see (if properly stratified) the embryo. the seeds above have been thru very nice stratification process, and the embryo is fully developed.

Now above is an example of seed where they simply were not stratified properly, the conditions just were not right… the embryo did not develop as they should. when you plant seeds like that, you will get poor if any results.

A little bit of food coloring will make the embryo development a little easier to see.

If you slice some seeds open and there is no embryo, or they are very tiny if found, that is a batch of seed you should return to the vendor for a refund. Simply not stratified properly… or may not have been stratified at all.

Green Seed - has not been stratified at all, and some (less than honest seed sellers) will sell you green seed, as stratified seed… Back around 2014 2015 there were several out there doing that… the only way to confirm that your seed has been properly stratified, is by checking them yourself… Examples above.

Ok found one other pic that you might find helpful…

The pic above shows some GOOD stratified ginseng seed. If you will notice, several of them, are starting to split open (along the seam) and there is some white showing, where that embryo has grown and is starting to cause the seed to split open, and some will even have little tails hanging out (the start of root heading out)… They call that tailing…

A GOOD batch of seed will look like that.

Also notice the color of the seed… that is the right color there.

If you let them dry out, they will get much lighter, almost white… when keeping them in cool storage (perhaps for a week or so, while planting a large batch)… you need to keep them moist (so they keep that nice color)… and don’t let them dry out and turn white.

Best of luck to you.

TNHunter

[ggrindle]

Great song by Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler - Old Pigweed

[TNHunter]

@Shuimitao … older roots with long necks 30 40 flats… are definately higher price than younger roots.

If you sold those separately… the price could easily double or more.

But then your remaining roots to sell the value of them would be reduced because you took all the high value roots out.

It is best to only harvest roots that are 10+ years or older and some of those may be 20 30 40 or more years old… and I sell them all in one batch.

If you have a very high quality batch of aged, long neck roots… you can generally barter with the buyer for a higher price for the batch.

A buyer might quote you a price of 600.00 per pound… but that is his safe quote for average batches… when you show him a batch that is way above average… he will know it right off… and will be willing to pay more.

TNHunter

[clarkinks]

The stealing of ginseng is an issue to. We lost nearly every plant on my grandpa’s farm to thieves and those plants were decades old. We did not sell any we used them. The plants grew naturally in old growth woods we did not need to try and grow them.

[TNHunter]

@clarkinks — very true loss to thieves is a risk for sure. Deer often browse the tops… does not usually kill it. It just sends up a new top the next spring… growth is slowed some.

Fungal diseases root rot… a lot can go wrong and will.

It really takes an ideal location to grow ginseng (talking wild simulated) ginseng well.

My place is not ideal… calcium levels too low… in the 1500 range. It will grow here but does not really thrive. Really need 12 14 years for a good crop.

In locations where your soil is rich in minerals… and you have calcium in the 4000 6000 range… ginseng will thrive… considering other requirements are met.

TNHunter

[JohnS]

Rose of Sharon is a bit fibrous. I eat it. Flavor not bad. Maybe I will try to cook it a bit.
john S
PDX OR

[Fusion_power]

I’m waiting to see the results of planting ginseng seed in my woods last fall.

I fixed a pan of poke stalks yesterday. Gather young rapidly growing stems when they are about 2 feet tall before the inside develops chambers. Use a sharp knife to scrape the red skin and all leaves off the stem. when peeled correctly, the underlying layer of dark green tissue should also mostly be gone leaving the pale green stalk. Discard any stems that are tough to cut. Cut up like okra, add corn meal, and fry in oil. Salt to taste.

[BlueBerry]

How about for breading? Meal, flour, egg?

[Fusion_power]

Guess I typed that on automatic. When I fry okra it is always in corn meal so yes, put corn meal on the poke stalks and fry like okra. Edited to show the corn meal.

[Shuimitao]

Thanks a lot for the details information about seeds. You are obviously very very knowledgeable!

What I did before was truly a random or ignorant process, just buying half pound of seeds on eBay in September and throwing everything in my backyard woods in November, then checking back in May for any young plants. So far I may have about 100 plants around 3-4 years old growing.

It’s fun to grow something quite unique and rare. I am not a real ginseng believer but it’s very satisfying to have something you can brag to your Chinese friends.