How to Grow Chinese Medicinal Herbs and How to Choose Profitable Medicinal Herbs?

Growing medicinal herbs is the most profitable, but many farmer friends do not understand the methods and the market situation of medicinal herb cultivation, thinking that expensive and rare medicinal herbs will surely make money. NO! NO! NO! Growing medicinal herbs carries risks; adapting to local conditions and market trends is very important. So what medicinal herbs are profitable to grow?

1. Genuine regional medicinal herbs are the way to go

Chinese medicinal herbs are a special agricultural product with obvious regional characteristics, and since ancient times authenticity of origin has been emphasized. The implementation of the new pharmacopoeia in 2015 raised the issue of content to an unprecedented height. Respecting tradition and growing local genuine regional medicinal herbs is the general trend. By all means, do not blindly collect wild medicinal herb varieties for cultivation. The content of wild Atractylodes seeds with cinnabar dots after artificial cultivation is already well known. Growers are advised not to blindly buy wild variety seeds or seedlings at high prices for cultivation, and even less to be tempted by factors such as price into blindly growing southern medicinal herbs in the north or moving northern medicinal herbs to the south.

You should choose local genuine regional medicinal herbs. Such medicinal herbs are well received by pharmaceutical factories and medicinal herb traders, are easy to sell, and fetch relatively good prices. For example, the four great Huai herbs, Bozhou's Atractylodes macrocephala, peony, and Chinese peony, Nanyang in Henan's Cornus officinalis and Salvia miltiorrhiza, Heze's peony, and Shangdang's Codonopsis pilosula. In Yunnan, choose Yunnan Polygonatum kingianum, Yunnan Paris polyphylla, Panax notoginseng, Gastrodia elata, Angelica sinensis, and so on.

2. Grow bulk medicinal herbs, not niche medicinal herbs

1. Do not grow niche medicinal herbs

Medicinal herbs with large usage volumes are mostly used in general prescriptions, such as Atractylodes macrocephala, white peony, Codonopsis pilosula, Bupleurum chinense, Platycodon grandiflorus, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Polygala tenuifolia, Scutellaria baicalensis, Pinellia ternata, Aconitum carmichaelii, and other varieties. Sometimes although the prices of these varieties are not particularly high, their sales channels have always been good and they generally do not pile up unsold. Be cautious about growing rare, exotic, and expensive varieties.

2. 40 commonly used bulk Chinese medicinal herb varieties

Ginseng (including mountain ginseng), Astragalus membranaceus, Fritillaria, Corydalis yanhusuo, Platycodon grandiflorus, cow bezoar, Coptis chinensis, Angelica sinensis, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Rehmannia glutinosa, Atractylodes macrocephala, white peony, Poria cocos, Ophiopogon japonicus, honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, Cyperus rotundus, licorice, Eucommia ulmoides, Magnolia officinalis, Forsythia suspensa, Aucklandia lappa, Panax notoginseng, Gastrodia elata, antelope horn, bear gall, cinnabar, goji berry, long pepper, benzoin, storax, Sophora flavescens, nutmeg, Cynanchum stauntonii, Morinda officinalis, Arisaema erubescens, Vitex trifolia fruit, Trichosanthes kirilowii, fingered citron slices, Cistanche deserticola.

3. Choose varieties according to local conditions

Medicinal herb cultivation has very high requirements for soil and climate. You should choose land and climate suitable for growing them.

1. Sandy loam with good drainage and rich humus

is the favorite of most medicinal herbs.

2. Barren hills and bare ridges

can be planted with dandelion, wild chrysanthemum, Scutellaria baicalensis, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Polygala tenuifolia, Cornus officinalis, Forsythia suspensa, wild jujube trees, honeysuckle, Dioscorea nipponica, and other highly vigorous varieties.

3. Mildly saline-alkali sandy land

can be planted with Belamcanda chinensis, honeysuckle, Sophora flavescens, wild jujube, Arctium lappa fruit, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, licorice, and so on.

4. Slightly acidic sandy soil

can be planted with Fritillaria, Astragalus membranaceus, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Atractylodes macrocephala, lily, Chinese peony, Aster tataricus, safflower, and so on.

5. Arid zones

The main suitable varieties are: Bupleurum chinense, Polygala tenuifolia, Belamcanda chinensis, goji berry, and so on.

6. Clay plots

Root and rhizome types should be avoided; choose whole-plant or fruit and seed medicinal herbs such as Schizonepeta tenuifolia, Trichosanthes kirilowii, Coix lacryma-jobi seed, mint, Agastache rugosa, purple perilla, and Cassia obtusifolia.

7. Shaded, relatively warm and moist land with little light

can be planted with Arisaema erubescens, Pseudostellaria heterophylla, Stemona japonica, Angelica sinensis, Codonopsis pilosula, Viola yedoensis, Scutellaria barbata, Fritillaria ussuriensis, and so on.

8. Barren land

Suitable varieties are: black nightshade, Cassia obtusifolia, and so on.

9. Adapt to local conditions

For example, Astragalus membranaceus can only be grown in areas north of the Yellow River. Grown south of the Yellow River, the quality of Astragalus membranaceus is seriously affected. Saffron crocus propagates by corms. Only corms of 10 grams or more can bloom; those below 8 grams generally do not bloom. Grown in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, larger corms can be propagated each year for seed, and more flowers are harvested.

In the northwest, north China, and northeast, because temperatures are low, open-field cultivation cannot grow normally; they must overwinter in greenhouses or protected areas, and flower yields are very low. The seed corms get smaller with each planting, so seed must be purchased every year, and the benefits are very poor. Growing saffron crocus in northern regions is basically unfeasible. American ginseng, ginseng, and rhubarb must be grown in cool regions with low winter temperatures in order to grow and develop normally.

Although varieties such as Gastrodia elata, Panax notoginseng, American ginseng, Gastrodia elata, saffron crocus, and monk fruit are expensive, they have strict requirements for climate and soil. If conditions are not suitable, it is a waste of time and energy.

4. Choose varieties according to your means

1. Beginners should choose easy-to-manage bulk varieties

Outsiders have the impression that growing medicinal herbs brings large returns, large investment, and large risk. Actually, this is not the case. There is a category of medicinal herbs called herbal medicines, which, as the name suggests, are plants that can grow like grass, such as Plantago asiatica, Leonurus japonicus, Eclipta prostrata, Artemisia capillaris, black nightshade, Cnidium monnieri, purslane, and so on. People who do not recognize them collectively call this type of medicinal herb “grass”. If you have no cultivation experience, you can choose low-cost land and grow bulk herbal medicines that are highly vigorous and easy to manage. Although the prices of such medicinal herbs are relatively low, the success rate is relatively high. But be careful to choose small varieties cautiously, because small varieties have small usage, small market capacity, and large market fluctuations.

2. Those with experience can choose root and rhizome varieties that require slightly more complex management

Input and output are usually proportional. If you have some cultivation experience, you can choose varieties with slightly larger investment and slightly more cumbersome management, such as Atractylodes macrocephala and dry Pinellia ternata. Because such varieties have high thresholds for cultivation and processing, limited planting area, high and stable prices, and considerable returns.

3. Those with ample funds should grow varieties with longer growth cycles

Belamcanda chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, Bupleurum chinense, Polygala tenuifolia, red peony, and others have growth cycles of more than two years; Bletilla striata and Polygonatum have about 3 years; Paris polyphylla has about 8 years. Because these varieties have long capital recovery cycles, many small growers are unwilling to plant them, so yields are stable and prices are stable.

5. Cultivation costs

The cost of growing Chinese medicinal herbs consists of seed and seedling costs, fertilizer costs, pesticide costs, management costs, and so on. Seed and seedling costs are a factor that must be carefully weighed. Seed and seedling prices vary greatly between different years. Seed price changes are basically parallel to Chinese medicinal herb prices, but slightly lag behind. Generally, seeds are harvested before Chinese medicinal herbs. If the new-crop price of Chinese medicinal herbs is good, then seed prices will rise rapidly. Because people see that the returns on Chinese medicinal herbs are good and all want to plant the next year, they rush to buy propagation material. This time lag is as short as ten or twenty days and as long as several months. Therefore, if you are optimistic about a certain Chinese medicinal herb and need to develop cultivation, you must purchase propagation material as early as possible. In some years, such as one year when the cost of fresh Corydalis yanhusuo seed corms was nearly yuan per hectare for seedlings, then you must be very cautious about growing Corydalis yanhusuo. The very high seed and seedling prices indicate that the national planting area is very large, and when the new crop arrives, the price of Chinese medicinal herbs may plummet.

6. Returns from cultivation

This is the primary concern in growing Chinese medicinal herbs. There are many factors affecting the income from growing Chinese medicinal herbs. The main objective factors are: cultivation cost, propagation material, cultivation techniques, and market price.

The quality of cultivation techniques directly affects the yield and quality of Chinese medicinal herbs. Under the same conditions, some people grow Isatis indigotica yielding 6000 kilograms per hectare, while others get only more than 1500 kilograms. The former has a net income of more than 15000 yuan per hectare, while the latter makes a loss. This reasoning is quite obvious, so it will not be repeated here.

7. Sales

If there is nowhere to sell them, growing Chinese medicinal herbs has no benefit at all. Therefore, before planting, see whether there is a sales channel and whether they can be sold.

8. Do not grow the same variety year after year without change

Adjust the Chinese medicinal herb varieties grown each year in a timely manner according to production and market conditions. It is somewhat difficult to predict the price change trend of each Chinese medicinal herb. When choosing varieties to grow, unless you are very confident, you should diversify, that is, you can choose 2 to 5 varieties, mainly grow 1 to 3 varieties, and use the remaining varieties to propagate propagation material, waiting for a good opportunity to promptly expand the area. This method can avoid the risk of losing everything and also allows timely adjustment of the varieties grown. At the same time, combine the long and short terms and use the short term to support the long term, that is, grow both annual and perennial varieties at the same time. Generally, perennial Chinese medicinal herb varieties have better returns and relatively stable prices, while annual varieties have relatively poorer returns and faster price changes.

9. Initially understand the price change trends of different types of Chinese medicinal herbs

Choose varieties to grow according to their change characteristics. According to historical data analysis, the price changes of some Chinese medicinal herbs over the years show certain trends: Chinese medicinal herbs such as ginseng, Pseudostellaria heterophylla, Coptis chinensis, Angelica sinensis, Ophiopogon japonicus, safflower, Cornus officinalis, Gastrodia elata, lily, and goji berry have been artificially cultivated for decades or even more than a hundred years. Their price changes show cyclical fluctuations. Two important factors affecting the fluctuation cycle are: the harvest period of the Chinese medicinal herb and the difficulty and speed of production recovery. For example, ginseng is generally harvested in 5 to 6 years, and the year when the price reaches its peak will see a decline by the harvest year. The price change cycle of Gastrodia elata is 3 to 5 years, while the change cycle of safflower and Pseudostellaria heterophylla is 2 to 3 years.

For these Chinese medicinal herbs, developing cultivation when prices fall to a trough or in the 1 to 2 years afterward can catch a relatively high price at harvest. When prices are very high, it is not suitable to grow them, otherwise the harvest will exactly coincide with the time when prices fall.

Chinese medicinal herbs are a special commodity of our country. Some people have taken the path to prosperity by growing medicinal herbs, while others have lost everything. The reasons are mainly in the following aspects:

1. Seed selection

Without certain cultivation experience, do not grow high-priced medicinal herbs or high-benefit medicinal herbs, and do not blindly follow trends. There are specifically 2 situations: a. Medicinal herbs whose prices remain high for a long time generally have very high requirements for cultivation techniques, climate, and land. For example, Paris polyphylla, Bletilla striata, dry Pinellia ternata, and Gastrodia elata. If you do not have the corresponding conditions, the success rate of cultivation is very low. Taking dry Pinellia ternata as an example, dry Pinellia ternata is annual, with a yield of about 120 kilograms per mu and an overall investment of 3000 yuan. The price is above 100 yuan per kilogram all year round, but judging by benefits, the benefit per mu is above 8000. However, it is very difficult to grow and has harsh requirements for production areas! b. Some medicinal herbs experience sharp price increases due to scarcity, climate, and so on, and these cannot be chased upward. For example, maca was heavily speculated a few years ago, and in the past two years it has gradually fallen out of favor.

2. Pay attention to correctly analyzing medicinal herb seed company advertisements

Many promotional materials from seed-selling companies now greatly exaggerate the prices of medicinal herbs, the prices of seeds, and the yields of medicinal herbs, some even by more than double. In particular, buyback contracts are just empty words. Unless the price of the medicinal herb is rising and the product is out of stock, in other circumstances they basically will not buy it back. Those that can actually be bought back are fewer than one in a hundred.

3. Traps

The biggest trap in Chinese medicinal herb cultivation is “high-price buyback”. Some so-called Chinese medicinal herb brokers sell Chinese medicinal herb seeds and seedlings under the guise of buyback and sign buyback contracts with farmers. By the time the medicinal herbs are harvested, these Chinese medicinal herb brokers have long disappeared. Suggestion: Due to the particularity of demand for Chinese medicinal herbs, it is recommended that farmers and planting cooperatives sign contracts with pharmaceutical companies, guaranteed by relevant departments.

4. Poor information

When there is too much medicinal herb it is grass; when there is too little it is treasure. Farmers growing medicinal herbs must never blindly follow trends. Our country has 17 major professional medicinal herb markets, and the prices of Chinese medicinal herbs change rapidly. Some farmer friends who are far from medicinal herb markets and have inconvenient transportation have few channels to obtain information. Sometimes although they obtain some information, it is difficult to catch up in time. Remember that before the hepatitis outbreak in Shanghai, the price of Isatis indigotica was 3 yuan per kilogram, and overnight it rose to 40 yuan per kilogram. So people who grew Isatis indigotica rushed in droves, but after the new crop was harvested, the Shanghai hepatitis epidemic had long been brought under control, and the price of Isatis indigotica plummeted all at once. The harvested Isatis indigotica medicinal herb could not be sold. Similar lessons should be learned.

5. Not broad enough in knowledge

Growing medicinal herbs requires understanding more about the properties and characteristics of medicinal herbs and related knowledge. The author suggests that farmers read more books such as “Compendium of Materia Medica” and “Great Dictionary of Chinese Materia Medica”, and not easily believe what businesses boast. For example, some businesses selling seedlings claim that one mu of Crocus sativus can harvest four or five kilograms of dried flowers, and medicinal herb traders will buy them back at 40000 yuan per kilogram. At first glance, growing one mu can earn tens of thousands of yuan. But after looking at the “Great Dictionary of Chinese Materia Medica”, you will understand that the so-called “Bofulan” and “Safulan” are saffron crocus, also called fanhonghua, whose pistils, that is, stigmas, are used as medicine. Getting four or five kilograms per mu is harder than reaching the sky, let alone that medicinal herbs have strict origin requirements. Fanhonghua produced in Tibet is a genuine regional medicinal herb, but if grown elsewhere, whether the output can sell for a good price is still unknown. Another example is Yin Chen, used to treat hepatitis, which has strict seasonal requirements for harvesting. If the season is missed, it loses its medicinal value and can only be used as firewood. The author suggests that farmer friends who want to become rich by growing medicinal herbs should choose varieties that are readily marketable and best negotiate with local medicinal herb companies and sign purchase contracts to eliminate worries.

6. Poor skills

Chinese medicinal herbs are different from grain crops. Planting seasons and management both require technical knowledge, and beginners must be cautious. For example, for Glehnia littoralis, if you want to grow it, you must buy seeds that have undergone winter cold storage treatment to sprout; otherwise, seeds that have not undergone cold stratification, no matter how good, will not sprout. Also, Cynanchum paniculatum seeds are very small and light. If river sand is not mixed in when sowing, they will be blown away when windy weather comes. Also, burdock is sown after the summer wheat harvest, so that the medicinal herb can be harvested after autumn. If sown in spring, only seeds can be harvested, and the root loses its medicinal value.

Therefore, only by mastering a complete set of scientific planting experience such as medicinal herb-grain intercropping, vegetable-medicinal herb intercropping, and fruit-medicinal herb interplanting can farmers achieve increased income from growing medicinal herbs. Therefore, when choosing the types of medicinal herbs, farmers must adapt to local conditions and timing and understand market conditions in order to make money by growing medicinal herbs.