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Steve,<br><br>
A good ginseng site should need little to no soil amending. Most WS
growers will use calcium in the form of gypsum if calcium levels are
below 2000 Lbs/acre. Shoot for a Ph between 5-6. Bob Beyfuss
at Cornell has done alot of work on this, also, Scott Persons has a new
book out that talks in detail about all of this;
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0914875426/sr=1-1/qid=1138816384/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-6270884-1115301?%5Fencoding=UTF8"><font face="Times New Roman, Times">Growing
& Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal & Other Woodland Medicinals</a>
by W. Scott Persons, Jeanine M. Davis <br><br>
</font>I have had very good success planting seeds in flats or containers
and then transplanting into the forest after about 6 mos. of
growing. I have done this many times when I still have seed left
come Spring, sow in flats and keep protected (watered is necessary) until
the roots form their bud for next years growth. Once that bud is
formed (Mid-July here in Ohio), they can be transplanted 1 by 1 fairly
easily and most will come back the following spring. This is never
the preferred method, it is much easier to plant/grow ginseng in the
forest than in containers. <br><br>
As several folks have already described, you ought to be able to direct
seed in the wild simulated fashion and plant these much quicker than
sowing in flats or containers. 10-12 seeds/Sq. Ft. may be a little
too thick a seeding rate, if you try to get a 4-6 seeds /Sq. Ft. seeding
rate, you will likely end up with approx. 1-2 plants Sq. Ft. at maturity
(optimal density), the rest will have thinned themselves out over
time. If you are going to use containers, I would suggest a native
woodland soil mix with sand or perlite/vermiculite if you need better
drainage, put some gravel or pebbles in the bottom of the
containers. Using composts or other potting media will greatly
increase your chances of disease & root rot.<br><br>
Hope this helps!<br><br>
Chip <br><br>
<br>
At 12:03 PM 2/10/2006, Steve Diver wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Geetings MPWG -<br><br>
I'm familiar with ginseng cultivation via wild simulated in<br>
forests and bed production in a shade house.<br><br>
A start-up farmer that I'm working with has a nice forest<br>
location to try the wild simulated method. Do you think<br>
that rock phosphate and compost or humates are an<br>
essential soil amendment, or just plant into native soils? <br><br>
But the real question relates to container production of<br>
ginseng, for eventual transplanting into beds or forest,<br>
or perhaps from seed-to-havest in three to five years down<br>
the road. The farmer has too many stratified seeds and<br>
too little time to forest plant the whole "pound" of seeds
by<br>
end of February to mid-March.<br><br>
Is there any experience raising quality medicinal ginseng<br>
in containers and pots.... any size and shape, or troughs.
<br><br>
Knowledge of compost-based potting mixes and organic<br>
fertility is readily available.<br><br>
Just need to know if ginseng can be successfully<br>
raised in pots and obtain medicinal quality for sale into the<br>
trade, and if there is any technical literature on container<br>
production.<br><br>
Thanks,<br><br>
Steve Diver<br>
Fayetteville, Arkansas<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
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<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
Chip Carroll<br>
NTFP Research Education & Demonstration Coordinator<br>
Rural Action Forestry<br>
Appalachian Forest Resource Center<br>
33560 Beech Grove Rd.<br>
Rutland, Ohio 45775<br>
phone: 740-742-4401<br>
fax: 740-742-8303<br>
<a href="http://www.ruralaction.org/forestry.html" eudora="autourl">www.ruralaction.org/forestry.html</a>
<br><br>
<a href="http://www.appalachianforest.org/" eudora="autourl">www.appalachianforest.org<br><br>
</a><a href="http://www.growginseng.org/" eudora="autourl">www.growginseng.org</a> </body>
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