Seeding Methods

[Brad]

Lets hear about how you plant in the woods.

As some of you know, I developed a seeder for wild simulated ginseng in the woods a while back.  It pokes a hole and you drop a seed or three into a funnel that ends up in the hole.  I can seed about 1/2 pound an hour this way.  It works through leaves and in all ground conditions, but it is slow. 

For the rootlets I sell, I till beds and plant them with an Earthway seeder.  I have more trouble with disease this way, but that's the price of thickly growing ginseng anywhere.  Of course, this will not be considered wild simulated ginseng, but woods cultivated by law here in Ohio.

I have tried the common method of raking back the leaves and then scattering seed and putting the leaves back.  I didn't do too well that way, but it might have been the seed that year -I've not tried it since.

I have tried just scattering ginseng around in the woods.  I got very low emergence this way, but some of it did take.  I also tried this very late in the year after the leaves had fallen and it was then too wet to till anymore beds.

Lets hear about some of your experiences

[FTB]

 This is going to be my first year at it.

 I bought the seed to put back as seng is far and few here.I'm going to make very small beds.I'm growing the seng in spots that has more than on companion plant.North and east hills only.Now from all the reading I have done,I think the rake and scatter method is ok at best.The on way it seams to work is if you doulble rake and get the seed at least 1/2 to 1 inch deep.The seed at 1/4 inch seams to have low germanation.

 I have to grow it in the wild because of lack of land.So my game plan is to make alot of small beds in alot of areas.I'm sure a few beds will be lost to other sengers but I feel it's better than nothing even tho I did the work.Plus when I seng hunt I'm planting as I go.I'm sure I'll never get to pick those plants,but at least I'll be putting back........

[tnginseng]

My first year, i tried a raised bed method in the fall in tennessee, used a tiller to make the beds, planted the seeds and covered with hay...total disaster, apparently feild mice used the hay as either a new home or a food distribution point to eat almost all of the ginseng that i planted    ............  Since then i have opted to plant my seed in the spring or late winter (End of Feb) using the rake and scatter method. Tennessee typically has a wet spring and i have gotten good germination this way, other people dont like to plant in the spring but it works for me.

[frankyz669]

hey brad, can you show us a pic of the seeder you are talking about?
thnx, frank.

[Brad]

http://www.emeraldcastlefarms.com/Products/Seeder.html

[timbo]

Hey , Brad , have you ever seen one of those old fashioned  corn planters? One of those duck billed hand held jobs. That design with some modifications might work. I saw the photo of yours but couldn't really see it real well. Must work pretty well if you can do a half lb an hour? Whats that like 2-3 thousand seeds?

[Brad]

Yes something like that if you figure an average of about 7000 seeds per pound.

I have bought a couple of the old corn planters.  They definitely need to be modified to plant ginseng seed, however.  Without modification, they plant about a dozen seeds in one hole.

I've got some ideas and started work on a design similar built for ginseng seed.  However, its sidelined until I get more time.