Planting ginseng seeds in the woods today, serenaded by a huge flock of sparrows.
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
New Adventures of an Old Man Trying to Start a Farm
Planting ginseng seeds in the woods today, serenaded by a huge flock of sparrows.
Small Calm Farm 
Wow! So many sparrows!
From where did you source Ginseng, friend? The only ginseng source I’m aware of is Korean; called “panax,” from the same Greek root which gifted us “panacea,” interesting!
And what’s the area bounded by the boundary line? Is that your whole “ginseng field”? About how many square feet?
The high viz tape marks off planting areas. The ground flags and tape mark rows of seeds. Before planting, I identified north and east facing slopes with roughly 75% shade (as per copious amount of research and recommendations). Then I planted a pound (several thousand) of seeds and 25 4-year-old rootlets. I haven’t posted pics of all the growing areas scattered about the woods. Not sure of the area I’ve planted. Would estimate about 1/4 acre. Slope and shade and canopy conditions may not be ideal, so my confidence level isn’t high. Will see what happens come Spring.
Bought seeds and rootlets from Wisconsin grower. Wisconsin, notably Marathon County in NW of state) produces 95% of US ginseng exports (mostly to China).
The sparrow cloud is nearly always present back in the woods. Hundreds of them, if not 1000+. Love them. Good company.
Korean (aka Asian or red) ginseng is one of the two primary types of ginseng. Panax quinquefilious (American ginseng) is the other type, grown primarily in southern Canada, northern America, and the wooded mountain areas of Appalachia. Wild ginseng grown in wooded areas is supposed to be more highly valued. Asians, particularly the Chinese, are the biggest consumers. Asian ginseng is supposedly the Yang (warm) and North American ginseng is the Yin (cool) by those who believe in such things