southside cultivating

[greenboy]

Hey guys,

Heres the story, i have a ravine that has 1/2 acre north side and 1/2 acre south side.. i currently go to school and live with my parents and they were generous enough to let me plant the north side of the hill with 10lbs seed "wild simulated" as an investment. (i finished planting approx 1 month ago)

i've been diving into other investment ideas and maybe went a little overboard with this idea but hey, i figured id ask you guys who actually know quite a bit..

So with this south sided hillside.....it has about 70% shade when the trees have leaves in summertime. Soil is almost identical to north side, but its warmer than the north and has maybe 10% less shade.. this is common, But what if i put up artificial shade? i posted some pics of a test plot i was going to monitor this upcomming year. (this is mostly the _frame_. im making it out of dead trees and limbs on the ground) I figured if i could block more sunlight, conditions could be favorable. there isnt anything planted yet. i was going to focus on the soil mostly and maybe in the spring purchase some rootlets to test.

since this is a cultivation setup, i intend just to create drainage paths down the slopes Im particularly looking for an answer to this... When the trees lose their leaves, does the seng need the shade as much? i get that underground the soil stays moist with leaves. but the tops dry out around this time correct? so will i need this shade up still well into winter?

I think the struggle will be monitoring the shade since the trees provide 70% already in the summer.. although id rather have more than too little.

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah6/showtime24/IMG_1617_zpse3edbwfg.jpg

i have many more sticks across the supports. Provides pretty good shade with the leaves down!

Thanks!
    

[Brad]

Hey Greenboy,

First, welcome to the site.

I would say the first thing would have been to put in a few ounces of seed as a test plot.  That will tell you how things will actually work out.  Soil is more important than shade, but shade is important.  The shade is important to keep the surface of the plants cool -70% should be ok.  I really don't think you need to add anything. 

Keep in mind, the best investment is full blown cultivated (which will likely cost you a million dollars before your first harvest to be profitable), or wild simulated.  In commercial and woodsgrown operations, you cannot replant the same ground and expect success. 

My advise would be to plant test plots (one of my better wild sim patches in on a south west slope) and if things work out, plant the whole hillside.  But, don't expect to get a fast buck because it won't happen.  I normally go back over my areas (using the ECF Seeder I make) and replant in two years.  This varies the age class and genetic diversity of the patch.  By year six, you will find young plants you didn't plant -which means the patch is naturally reproducing from that point.  If you only selectively harvest the largest, most marketable roots (see my article Good Ginseng?) you should be able to sustainably harvest that area for many years -especially if you take care and plant the berries by hand as they become ripe.  However, if you dig too much at a time, you might run into the replant failure woodsgrown and commercial growers experience.  Remember, its better to sell fewer roots for top market dollar than to sell half your roots and most of them bringing only 30 cents on the dollar.

Please keep us in the loop on this one.  I'll help all I can

b

[greenboy]

hey Brad,

Thanks for the reply!

I'll forsure keep this thread updated on what i find and how my plants are doing

i think i may be planting another half acre - 3/4 next year it turns out! so ill have around 1/2 east facing hillside and 1/4 south facing. my east facing has some good walnuts growing on it towards the lower portion of the hill. Its at a 35%-40% degree though as well as the southside. i planted 80 2 year old rootlets all over the east side in raised beds and under the shaded south side under the structure. need to send in soil samples still for both hillsides.

i may just start out small and grow it in the next few years! i wanted a cultivated patch though too so i could sell seed and rootlets the first few years

let me know what you think! ill be sure to update on soil tests