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Johnston, Iowa

Tuned into this History Channel show for the first time this weekend. Dang $600 to $1,000 per pound! For those prices I think I could find some space in my garden to grow some Ginseng. Anybody grown this before? Looks like it only grows wild in Appalachia and Ozarks. Wonder if it could grow elsewhere?

1/26/2014 11:24:09 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

Nope, yer outta luck!!! LOL & you must carry a weapon/handgun!!! Don't be afraid of getting shot!!! Funniest title I have ever seen....OUTLAWS!!!! digging roots from the ground!!!! So funny!!! Peace, Wayne

1/26/2014 11:31:32 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

& I really know nothing about growing Ginseng!!!! LOL

1/26/2014 11:32:05 PM

Williamsburg,KY

Dan, I believe wild ginsing is what sells. And it will take at least 5 or more years before its worth anything. I know people down here who 'sang', walking the mountsides is not for whimps.

1/27/2014 7:14:23 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

Yep wild only gets that price...Farm raised is much lower. Once you grow it on the land that portion must sit fallow for several years

1/27/2014 7:37:48 AM

Gays Mills, Wisconsin

Dan,
Ginseng grows in Iowa, one of the top hunters I know is your great Bob Ruff, Hall of Famer Anamosa Weigh-off multiple winner!

1/27/2014 8:08:28 AM

Bethlehem CT

A friend of mine used to collect wild grown American ginseng from the forests along the Connecticut river valley in New Hampshire.

1/27/2014 8:15:12 AM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

My friend Darcy Keil was a ginseng hunter/grower in Jackson County. He never got rich but he made a fair amount of spending money. He used to go to garden shows to give advice on growing seng, and had patches of it in his 200 acre forest. He even found a plant growing in my timber. My daughter wants to try growing some, but with Darcy gone we have to do it without his help.

1/27/2014 9:09:25 AM

Corbin, KY

Don't you just love non reality TV. Yes Wild does bring the best price. Growth rings are closer together.

1/27/2014 10:03:05 AM

Princeton Kentucky

Dan I've got it all around the small creeks here south of ya's across the big creek. Where on earth would you send a sample to see if its the real deal and where to sell it? I'll do some info lookin myself via the net.

1/27/2014 10:42:44 AM

Johnston, Iowa

Thanks everybody. No doubt walking the mountainsides is not for wimps. Good to know it grows here in the Midwest, after looking at plant pics online I know I've seen it before while walking in the woods. Tripped me out hearing about the one guy's 50 year old patch in his back woods which he said could "finance my retirement". Might be scripted BS, but it got me thinking . . . I've some wooded hills behind my place . . . Hmmmm

1/27/2014 10:44:09 AM

Princeton Kentucky

Found the Info. We actually have to have a License to dig it,lol...I'm shocked,lol. This may be interesting,hmm.Heres the info link I found:
http://dnr.state.il.us/law3/ginseng%20regulations.htm

1/27/2014 10:53:19 AM

50 Acres

I have picked it here in Ontario. Just a few roots for personel use. You have to leave some of the plant. It spreads by the root system. I have planted over 400 seedsw inthe wild I, m not sure if they took. There are about 3 different plants that look the same. A local man pays 16.50 to 17.50 an ounce. I only recognize it in mid to late August, at flower stage. It seems to grow in shaded maple sugar bushes on the north side of hills.

1/27/2014 11:10:43 AM

Billerica,Massachusetts

illegal to harvest here

1/27/2014 11:42:38 AM

west central IN/East central IL

I've been digging sang for over 20yrs. and this show is terrible and is going to give people the wrong idea. Not all ginseng sells for high prices. believe it or not each state will vary from $75-250 for green sang and $375-900 for dry sang, which takes about 400+ roots depending on size. Those prices are for good yrs., its not like that most yrs. It's not easy and you have to be half mountain goat and half crazy to dig it. I had a great patch going but got wiped out by drought. Lost $1000's in sang and seeds.

1/27/2014 12:06:41 PM

Johnston, Iowa

http://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/files/ginseng_factsheet.pdf

Looks like plenty of regulations in my state too. Need a permit, limited season, etc., etc., etc.

Man that plant looks a lot like Virginia Creeper which grows EVERYWHERE in the woods. Maybe picking the Ginseng out from the other plants which have a compound leaf with 5 leaflets would be the biggest challenge.

Megakin thanks for sharing your experience. The show makes it seem like digging Sang is like a "Gold Rush" right now.

1/27/2014 2:31:27 PM

Bellevue, Ohio

You can grow it in the woods. If you space it out and pick a good spot that it would grow naturally, you will get the "wild price". But to get a good price you need to let it go for 20 years or so. My Dad is from Birch River. I can just imagine next year all the get rich quick people tramping around.

1/27/2014 8:50:16 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

It is grown commercially here in British Columbia. Crop rotation is no different with growing ginseng as with any other crop, but it takes up to 4 years to get your harvest.

http://www.bcginseng.com

1/28/2014 5:04:10 PM

Central Illinois

I always heard that the shape of the root can influence the price, the chinese think the roots shaped like the human body,(2 legs ,2 arms and a body)have different medicinal properties.

rhino horn and ginseng go figure

1/30/2014 8:59:00 AM

50 Acres

My experience with Chinese medicine menis they count the nodules on the stem . They count the number of years of growth. They like 7 to 9 yearsd of growth. There is white gen and red gen . Different plants for different age groups.

1/30/2014 11:31:34 AM

Central NY

Plant the berries if you find some and don't pick all of it....

1/30/2014 10:34:05 PM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

Just got my ginseng grower license today, $2 and good for 5 years. Then there is the $34 harvester license when you go to sell it.

1/31/2014 5:52:00 PM

Johnston, Iowa

$2/$34 not bad. Thanks Mark!

2/3/2014 11:57:26 AM