What season is generally best for planting Gastrodia elata?

The growth of crops follows certain patterns, and planting Gastrodia elata is no exception. A good living environment can help the roots of Gastrodia elata grow stronger, so that growers can obtain a better harvest. Therefore, the editor here provides everyone with some information related to the growth of Gastrodia elata, for reference only.

The season for planting Gastrodia elata

Like many crops, Gastrodia elata also has its own growth patterns and seasonal timing. The general planting time for Gastrodia elata is from November to March of the following year as the best planting time. However, the growth of Gastrodia elata occurs between April and October of the solar calendar, and the growth period is about six months.

Cultivation techniques for Gastrodia elata

1. Selecting the seedling bed

Choose loam or sandy loam that is moist, breathable, has good water permeability, is loose, and is rich in humus. Dig pits 35 cm deep and 85 cm long and wide for cultivation. When selecting land, virgin land is especially good. A soil pH of 5-6 is suitable. Avoid clay and waterlogged low-lying land, and avoid continuous cropping. In addition, places such as air-raid shelters, mountain caves, and basements can also be used to grow Gastrodia elata.

2. Cultivating fungal beds

To plant Gastrodia elata, you must first cultivate good Armillaria mellea fungal material or fungal beds. Generally, broadleaf trees can be used as material for cultivating Armillaria mellea, but tree species such as sawtooth oak, oak, chestnut, and cork oak are better.

3. Seed treatment

① Seed selection: Select Gastrodia elata dug out in the same year, remove the commercial tubers, select all seed tubers and then screen them again, pick out rotten tubers, deformed tubers, and other inferior seed tubers, and finally determine those with comparable size, robustness, neat appearance, large size, good color, and no wounds as the seed tubers to be used the following year.

② Seed dressing: Use a 10-50 times dilution of Xin Gao Zhi Mo for seed dressing to prevent disease invasion. Loosen the bottom of the pit, level it, and spread a layer of broadleaf tree leaves and humus soil. Then evenly place the previously prepared wood at the bottom of the pit, with a distance of 6-8 cm between the wood pieces, and place 6-8 pieces of wood in each pit. When planting, place Armillaria mellea branches close against the fish-scale openings on both sides of the wood, and then place Gastrodia elata seeds at the fungal branches and wood, so that the two can quickly establish a nutritional symbiotic relationship. After that, divide the remaining Armillaria mellea spawn into granules the size of soybeans and evenly scatter them among the wood. Then fill it level with humus soil or fine sand, and press gently and firmly without leaving gaps. If there is a large amount of seeds, fungal spawn, and fungal branches, another layer can be cultivated above the first layer in the same way. But note that the upper and lower wood pieces should form a ”well“ shape. Finally, cover with about 15 cm of fine soil, cover with dead branches and fallen leaves, forming a turtle-back shape, slightly higher than the ground, to facilitate drainage.

4. Management after planting

After Gastrodia elata is planted, no fertilization is needed, and no loosening of soil or weeding is needed; maintain a wild state. The soil moisture content should often be kept at about 40%, and the ground temperature at 15-28 degrees. During the rhizome expansion period, spray Yaocai Gen Da Ling solution on the leaf surface, which can promote the transport of leaf surface photosynthesis products (nutrients) to the root system, improve the nutrient conversion rate and soil-loosening capacity, make the rhizome expand rapidly, and greatly increase the content of effective substances. In high-temperature summer seasons, use shade nets or branches to shade and cool, and prevent trampling by people and livestock. If drought occurs, water appropriately. At the same time, pay attention to preventing water accumulation during the rainy season. Before overwintering, thicken the covering soil and add leaves to prevent freezing; during the high-temperature period from June to August, build sheds or interplant tall-stalk crops for shade. Before the rainy season arrives, clean the drainage ditches and promptly drain accumulated water to prevent tuber rot. In spring and autumn, receive necessary sunlight exposure to maintain a certain temperature.

5. Harvesting and processing

Generally, digging is done in spring and autumn from October to November. After digging out, wash away the mud and sand and the fungal rhizomorphs on the surface of Gastrodia elata with rice-washing water, then place in a steamer and steam for 10-25 minutes, depending on the size of the Gastrodia elata. After steaming, simply air-dry or oven-dry it, and be careful to prevent mildew during rainy days.

The planting prospects of Gastrodia elata

The market price of Gastrodia elata is very stable and has good planting prospects. The technical difficulty of artificial cultivation of Gastrodia elata is not great. Ordinary crops are all sown directly in the soil and rely on fertilizer in the soil for their growth, while many people who grow Gastrodia elata have heard that Gastrodia elata relies on Armillaria mellea for nutrition and uses wood as a nutrient material, so they feel that growing Gastrodia elata is very complicated.

The producing areas of Gastrodia elata

The producing areas of Gastrodia elata are distributed in tropical, subtropical, temperate, and cold-temperate mountainous regions. From New Zealand and New Caledonia in the east, to Madagascar in the west. From Australia and New Zealand in the south, to Northeast China and the Far East region of the former Soviet Union in the north. It mainly includes China, India, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal, Japan, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, the Ryukyu Islands and Ogasawara Islands that were once dependent territories of China, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula of Malaysia, New Caledonia, as well as Korea, the Philippines, Russia's Far East Amur Oblast, Primorsky Krai, the Kuril Islands, and other regions. This plant has not been found on the African continent, Europe, or the Americas.

The cultivation difficulty of Gastrodia elata is relatively low among most medicinal herb cultivation. At present, the market price of Gastrodia elata is relatively stable, and the market prospects are also relatively good. Therefore, as long as growers can well grasp the growth patterns of Gastrodia elata and do the right things at the right time, they can generally obtain relatively good returns.