What conditions are needed to grow ginseng?
Ginseng is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, known as the king of a hundred herbs, and its effects and functions are world-famous, with large quantities exported abroad every year. With the scarcity of wild resources and the development of artificial cultivation, after many years of growing, the ginseng planting area in China still cannot meet market demand. The main reason for this is the requirements ginseng has for its growing environment, so what conditions are needed to grow ginseng? Let's take a look together.
1. Growing environment
Ginseng prefers a cool and shady environment. When planting, choose an understory environment in broad-leaved forests or mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, preferably a forest dominated by oak and linden trees, as this can meet its needs for light, temperature and moisture.
2. Soil
Ginseng has strict soil requirements: the soil organic matter content must reach above 3%, the pH value must be between 6 and 6.5, and the concentration of quintozene in the soil must not exceed 0.3 mg per kg of soil. It is suitable for planting in deep forest soil or mountain podzolic brown forest soil that is well-drained, loose and fertile, with a thick humus layer. In addition, it is neither drought-tolerant nor waterlogging-tolerant, so soil moisture control must be extremely strict, with 70%-80% being best. Therefore, doing a good job of drainage and irrigation when planting is a key point in growing ginseng.
3. Light
Ginseng is a shade plant and is quite strict about light. If the light is too strong, the plant will be short with thick, yellow leaves; if the light is too weak, the plant will grow tall and spindly with thin, dark green leaves, and growth will be abnormal or deformed. Therefore, when planting, shading must be reasonable: it is necessary both to avoid strong light exposure and to reasonably use scattered light and refracted light so that it grows normally. Generally, the suitable light level for ginseng growth changes with latitude and temperature. Where the latitude is high and the temperature is low, the light it needs is stronger; conversely, it is weaker.
4. Fertilization
Ginseng is a fertilizer-loving plant. When planting, humus-rich soil is generally used, which can provide the nutrients needed for growth, but fertilizer is usually applied during planting to make it grow faster. It likes organic and inorganic fertilizers, but is afraid of unrotted or incompletely rotted fertilizer, as this will cause the soil to lose water and lead to root burn. Therefore, when fertilizing, fully rotted organic or inorganic fertilizer must be applied.
The above is an introduction to the growing conditions for ginseng. I hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.