How to Grow American Ginseng? A Detailed Guide to American Ginseng Cultivation Techniques
SummarySite selection: It is best to choose mountain broad-leaved forest areas at an altitude of 800-1000 m or fertile farmland, and to choose loam or humus loam with a relatively deep humus layer that is slightly acidic, with a relatively high groundwater level and good drainage. Land preparation: plow in spring and summer of the year before sowing, and apply base fertilizer 1 year later. Transplanting: American ginseng seedlings need to be cultivated for 2 years before they can be dug up for field planting, and it is best to plant them in spring from February to March. Shade shed construction: American ginseng is a shade-loving plant under the forest, and artificial cultivation requires the erection of a shade shed for shading.
American ginseng is a particularly nourishing tonic, even praised by everyone as the “king of a hundred herbs.” Eating it occasionally has many benefits for the body, and it also holds a very high position among health products, selling well for a long time. So do you know how American ginseng should be grown? Let's go and learn about it together below!
I. American Ginseng Cultivation Techniques
1. Site Selection
(1) In low-latitude areas of China, it is best to choose mountain broad-leaved forest areas at an altitude of 800-1000 m or fertile farmland, with a relatively deep humus layer, a pH below 6.5 and slightly acidic, a relatively high groundwater level, and good drainage, loam or humus loam.
(2) Fallow land or virgin wasteland with surrounding irrigation conditions, or gently sloping land with a slope of 5-20 degrees, is preferable.
2. Land Preparation
(1) After the ginseng land is selected, plow it in spring and summer of the year before sowing. Do not prepare and use it immediately. The plowing depth should be about 20 cm, and it should not be too deep, so that the soil weathers and matures and the fallen leaves and branches fully decompose.
(2) After 1 year of fallowing, plow again, screen out stones and other debris, and mix every square meter of soil with 8 g of 50% carbendazim, 2-3 kg of decomposed barnyard manure, and 1 kg of bone meal or 2 kg of superphosphate, applying them into the soil as base fertilizer.
(3) Then shallow plow once, level and harrow finely, and make raised beds 1.2 m wide and 20 cm deep, with operation paths 80-100 cm wide, to facilitate drainage, air circulation, and reception of scattered light.
3. Transplanting
(1) For seedlings raised by sowing seeds, American ginseng seedlings must be cultivated for 2 years before they can be dug up for field planting. The planting period is preferably before sprouting in spring from February to March. During this period, the earlier the better, and no later than late April.
(2) It can also be done after the plants turn yellow in autumn, but spring planting is preferable. Dig up the ginseng seedlings the day before planting, and plant them as they are dug. When planting, grade them by seedling size and plant them separately. A row spacing of 25 cm × 12.5 cm is relatively reasonable.
(3) At present, the oblique planting method is mostly used, that is, the planting furrow is kept at a 40-45 degree angle to the ground. When planting, the bud eye faces upward, the roots spread out in the furrow, and the soil covering thickness is about 5 cm. Cover the bed surface with 4-5 cm of leaves or short-cut wheat straw (5-8 cm long), or add 3 cm thick sawdust, to protect the seedlings through winter safely and prevent weeds from growing.
4. Shade Shed Construction
(1) American ginseng was originally a shade-loving plant under the forest and avoids direct sunlight. Artificial cultivation requires the erection of a shade shed for shading.
(2) The time for erecting the shed is generally in early to mid-April to May, starting when the covering on the ginseng bed surface is removed.
(3) The forms of the shed frame include arched sheds, single-transparent sheds, double-transparent sheds, flat-topped sheds, etc., and should be adapted to local conditions.
II. How to Grow American Ginseng
1. Seed Treatment
(1) When the ginseng berries turn red in August, harvest the fresh berries, immediately rub off the flesh, wash them, and let them dry slightly. Then soak the seeds in 1000 times diluted 50% carbendazim for 10-20 minutes, remove them and dry them, then soak them in 50 ppm high-quality gibberellin for 24 hours, then remove them and rinse once with clean water, and then mix with sand (seed:sand = 1:3). After mixing with sand, place them in a basin or box and keep them in a cool place until November. The temperature should be controlled below 25 degrees C, and the humidity should preferably be 10%-12% moisture content. Too wet easily rots the seeds. It should be moist enough that it forms a ball when squeezed and breaks apart when released.
(2) Seeds from the current year emerge vigorously, while seeds from the following year emerge with weak growth.
2. Sowing Time
(1) In late November, about 70%-80% of those treated by the above method may have split open, while about 30% of those not treated with gibberellin may have split open. They can be picked out in batches for sowing, and the sowing period lasts until the end of December.
(2) The remaining ones that have not split open can be kept at 0-5 degrees C, and they can still split open by February of the following year. After sowing, they can also emerge. Those that split open even later cannot emerge, or cannot emerge completely, because the low-temperature treatment time is less than 70 days and physiological after-ripening cannot be completed.
3. Sowing Method
(1) On the leveled bed surface with sufficient soil moisture, scatter 3 cm of sieved, evenly fine, moist weathered stone mixed with fungicide for disinfection. After leveling again, use a standard 5 × 6 cm spacing hole-making board to make holes (2 cm deep) and sow, so as to keep the depth standard consistent.
(2) After sowing, scatter fungicide-disinfected weathered stone again to cover the seeds. For smoothness, after covering with weathered stone, smooth it once with a board to ensure a sowing depth of 2 cm, then cover with 10 to 15 cm thick grass to preserve moisture and prevent freezing. Seedlings generally emerge around April 20.
III. Growing Conditions for American Ginseng
(1) American ginseng is suitable for growing in mountain broad-leaved forest areas at an altitude of about 1000 m, with annual rainfall of about 1000 mm, an average annual temperature of about 13 degrees C, a frost-free period of 150-200 days, and a mild climate with abundant rainfall.
(2) It likes shade and moisture and avoids strong light and high temperatures. The optimum temperature during the growing period is 18-24 degrees C, and the relative air humidity is about 80%. It has strict soil requirements and is suitable for loose, relatively thick, fertile forest sandy loam rich in humus, with a pH of 5.5-6.5, and it avoids continuous cropping.
IV. Prospects for Growing American Ginseng
(1) In the past, the American ginseng used in China generally depended on imports. Introduction and cultivation of American ginseng is a matter of the past 30-plus years. In the 1940s, the Lushan Botanical Garden in Jiangxi successfully introduced American ginseng from Canada, but it was not promoted. It was not until the 1970s that China introduced American ginseng again and conducted trial plantings in relevant research and production units in Beijing, Jilin, Liaoning, and Shaanxi, among other places, and succeeded in 1980.
(2) In 1980, the Institute of Medicinal Plants of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences first promoted planting at a ginseng farm in Ji'an, Jilin. After 4 years, the largest harvested American ginseng plant weighed 105 g, with a saponin content of 5.44%. Later, planting was successively promoted in Beijing (Huairou), Hebei (Zhuozhou, Dingzhou), Hubei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Hunan, Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia, among other places. In addition, with the successful trial planting of American ginseng in the original ginseng-producing areas of Northeast China, the national American ginseng cultivation area has reached 4 million square meters, forming four major cultivation regions: Northeast China, North China, Central China, and Kang-Dian (including high-latitude and high-altitude mountain areas), involving more than a dozen provinces and municipalities directly under the Central Government, dozens of counties, and hundreds of cultivation farms. At present, domestically produced American ginseng can not only meet domestic demand, but can also be exported to earn foreign exchange.
In fact, growing American ginseng requires a large investment of effort and money, because it is, after all, a very precious medicinal material, and suitable climate and relatively high technology are needed to produce high-quality, high-yield American ginseng. Although the number of people growing American ginseng is gradually increasing now, the market is still in short supply, so the prospects for growing American ginseng are still relatively objective.