Ginseng and Other Medicinal Plants / A Book of Valuable Information for Growers as Well as Collectors of Medicinal Roots, Barks, Leaves, Etc.

by A. R. Harding

After I have them planted I cover the beds over with a layer of leaves or straw to hold the moisture, which I leave on all winter to protect them from the cold. In the spring I remove a part of the leaves (not all), they will come up thru the leaves as they do in their wild forest.

All the attention Ginseng needs after planting is to keep the weeds out of the beds. Never work the soil after planting or you will disturb the roots. It is a wild plant and we must follow nature as near as possible.

Ginseng can be profitably grown on small plots if it is cared for properly. There are three things influencing its growth. They are soil, shade and treatment. In its wild state the plant is found growing in rich leaf mold of a shady wood. So in cultivation one must conform to many of the same conditions in which the plant is found growing wild.

In starting a bed of Ginseng the first thing to be considered is the selection of soil. Tho your soil be very rich it is a good plan to cover it with three or four inches of leaf mold and spade about ten inches deep so that the two soils will be well mixed. Artificial shade is preferable at all times because trees take nearly all the moisture and strength out of the soil.

When the bed is well fitted, seed may be sown or plants may be set out. The latter is the quicker way to obtain results. If seeds are sown the young grower is apt to become discouraged before he sees any signs of growth, as it requires eighteen months for their germination. The cheapest way to get plants is to learn to recognize them at sight, then go to the woods and try to find them. With a little practice you will be able to tell them at some distance. Much care should be taken in removing the plant from the soil. The fewer fibers you break from the root, the more likely it will be to grow. Care should also be taken not to break the bud on top of the root. It is the stalk of the plant starting for the next year, and is very noticeable after June 1st. If it be broken or harmed the root will have no stalk the next season.

It is best to start a Ginseng garden on a well drained piece of land, says a Dodge County, Wisconsin, grower. Run the beds the way the hill slopes. Beds should only be four to five feet wide so that they can be reached, for walking on the beds is objectionable. Make your walks about from four to six inches below the beds, for an undrained bed will produce "root rot." The ground should be very rich and "mulchy." Use well rotted horse manure in preparing the beds, for fresh manure will heat and hurt the plants. Use plenty of woods dirt, but very little manure of any kind.

Set plants about six inches each way, and if you want to increase the size of the root, pinch off the seed bulb. In the fall when the tops have died down, cover the beds about two inches deep with dead leaves from the woods. We make our shades out of one-inch strips three inches wide and common lath. The north and west fence should be more tight to keep cold winds out. Eastern and southern side tight, two feet from the ground. From the two feet to top you may use ordinary staves from salt barrels or so nailed one inch apart. Have your Ginseng garden close to the house, for Ginseng thieves become numerous.

I was raised in the country on a farm and as near to nature as it is possible to get, and have known a great deal of Ginseng from my youth up. Twenty-five years ago it was 75 cents a pound, and now it is worth ten times as much. Every one with any experience in such matters knows that if radishes or turnips are planted in rich, old soil that has been highly fertilized they will grow large and will be strong, hot, pithy and unpalatable. If planted in rich, new soil, they will be firm, crisp, juicy and sweet. This fact holds good with Ginseng.

If planted in old ground that is highly fertilized, the roots will grow large, but the flavor is altogether different from that of the wild root, and no doubt specimens of large sizes are spongy and unpalatable to the Celestials compared to that of the wild root.

If planted in rich, new ground and no strong fertilizer used, depending entirely upon the rich woods soil for enriching the beds, the flavor is bound to be exactly as that of the wild root. When the growers wake up to this fact, and dig their roots before they become too large, prices will be very satisfactory and the business will be on a sound basis.