How to Grow American Ginseng? The Latest Planting Technique Tutorial

American ginseng is a type of ginseng, also known as Guangdong ginseng and flower-flag ginseng; it got its name because the United States was formerly called the "Flower Flag Country." It originated in the region from northern United States to southern Canada, mainly in Wisconsin. It is usually divided by place of origin into (what is generally called) flower-flag ginseng and Canadian ginseng; although the two are the same variety, because of the influence of climate, the former's root surface transverse wrinkles are more obvious than the latter's, and its content of active ingredients is also higher. Methods of taking it include boiling, stewing, and steaming, and it can also be sliced and held in the mouth to dissolve or ground into fine powder and taken mixed with water.

Site selection

Because it likes a cool, moist climate with half shade and half sun and a permeable, loose, fertile soil rich in humus. The American ginseng planting site should be chosen on a well-ventilated path that is toward the southwest to northeast in a well-afforested area and on fertile land in a gully or valley with good drainage or on fertile land on both banks of a river, and it is not suitable to choose an open, sparsely forested, dryness-prone area in front of a mountain or a winter cold-wind path running northwest to southeast. Practice has proved that, as long as organic fertilizer is scientifically increased and chemical fertilizer is rationally used, it is feasible on sandy loam and silty sandy loam relatively rich in phosphorus and potassium.

Land preparation

To reduce the harm of nematodes and other diseases and pests, the previous crop for American ginseng is best a grass-family crop. If after wheat or corn is harvested the stubble is left, plow and turn it once every half month and sun the ridges to promote the decomposition of the previous crop's residues and accelerate soil maturation; at the same time, apply per mu 6000kg of rotted pig manure and cow and horse manure (chicken manure and human excrement and urine are on the alkaline side and are not suitable) and other finely crushed high-quality organic fertilizer, 50kg of rotted cake fertilizer, and 100kg of high-quality three-element compound fertilizer, evenly turning and mixing them into the 20—30 cm plow layer. In late autumn, level the land and make high beds, building one every 2 m, with a bed height of 25 cm, a bed top of 1.4 m, a side slope ratio of 1:1, and a ditch bottom width of 10 cm. The bed surface should be made as level and fine as possible, and on it spread 3 cm of finely crushed phosphorus-containing weathered stone (4 cm for planting seedlings), and after sowing cover with another 1—2 cm. During this process, use 20 grams of 50% carbendazim, etc. per square meter to disinfect the soil, of which 15 grams are turned and mixed into the soil when plowing and preparing the beds, and the remaining 5 grams are mixed into the phosphorus-containing weathered stone spread on and covering the beds at sowing time.

Sowing and transplanting

For direct seeding of seeds, use 3.5kg of seed per mu, with row and plant spacing of 10&time;10 cm; it can be harvested after growing for 4 years. This saves labor and the roots are very long with high yield, but it wastes mulch, and spraying pesticide is also more and costly; more importantly, it cannot meet the market's demand for thick, short roots, and the root price is low. Therefore, in production, the method of first raising seedlings and then transplanting is still used. When raising seedlings, raise 3.5kg of seed on 2 fen of land at 5×6 cm plant and row spacing; after growing for 2 years, dig them out and transplant them at 20×10 cm row and plant spacing over about 1 mu, then grow for another two years and harvest. American ginseng cannot be continuously cropped, and seedling land cannot be used again to plant American ginseng.

1. Sowing

① Seed treatment: In August, when the ginseng fruits turn red, harvest the fresh fruits, immediately rub off the flesh and wash them, let them dry slightly, then soak the seeds in 1000 times 50% carbendazim for 10—20 minutes; take them out and dry them, then soak them in 50ppm high-quality gibberellin for 24 hours, then take them out and rinse once with clean water, then mix with sand (seed:sand = 1:3); after mixing with sand, put them in a basin or box and place in a cool place until November; the temperature should be controlled below 25°C, and the humidity is best at 10%—12% moisture content; too wet easily rots the seeds, and the standard is moist enough that a handful forms a ball when squeezed and falls apart when released. Seeds from the current year emerge vigorously, while seeds from the previous year emerge with weak growth.

② Sowing time: In late November, those treated by the above method may have 70%—80% split, while those not treated with gibberellin have about 30% split; they can be picked out in batches and sown, and the sowing period lasts until the end of December. The remaining ones that have not split are kept at 0—5°C, and by February of the following year they can still split and can also emerge after sowing; those that split 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: On the leveled bed surface with sufficient moisture, spread 3 cm of sieved, evenly fine, moistened weathered stone mixed with fungicide for disinfection, then level it again, then use a standardized 5×6 cm plant and row spacing hole-punching board to punch holes (2 cm deep) and sow, so as to keep the depth standard consistent; after sowing, spread more fungicide-disinfected weathered stone 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; generally seedlings emerge around April 20.

2. Transplanting. To meet market demand and save land, reduce costs, and ensure uniform and consistent growth, transplanting is used; transplanting generally uses 2-year-old seedlings.

① Digging seedlings: It is best from late October to early November after the aboveground parts of American ginseng have withered; dig open the bed soil along the bed, then start lifting the roots from one end, digging as deep as possible to avoid damaging the roots. Try your best to dig, select, disinfect, and transplant all at the same time; if piled for a long time, they easily lose water and suffer heat damage, which affects survival. If planting cannot be finished before the end of the year, do it as early as possible after the end of the year in late February or early March before the bud scales sprout.

② Seedling selection: Select seedlings with robust root systems, plump buds, and no diseases or pests, and transplant them in three grades according to seedling size.

③ Disinfection: Seedlings easily carry pathogens, so they need to be disinfected before planting; generally soak the seedlings in 1000 times 50% carbendazim solution for 10 minutes, which has a certain effect on preventing and treating root diseases.

④ Transplanting method: Planting density: grade one 20×10 cm, grade two seedlings 20×8 cm, grade three seedlings 20×6 cm. For permeable, drought-prone soil, slanted planting is better (place the seedlings into the bed at a 45-degree angle to the bed surface); for poor permeability, flat planting is better. Covering soil thickness: grade one seedlings 5 cm, grade two 4 cm, grade three 3 cm. Before transplanting, both the 4 cm bed spread and the weathered stone used to cover the seedlings must be mixed with fungicide for disinfection.