Growing Ginseng in Forested Environments in Canada

Presented by Bob Beyfuss, Cornell University Ginseng Specialist (retired) rlb14@cornell.edu

American Ginseng is a Native North American Plant that is closely related to Asian Ginseng

•Once abundant, wild ginseng is now considered scarce in much of its native range and is federally protected

•The wild plant has exacting habitat requirements

•Wild ginseng has become very valuable with prices ranging from $800 to $4,500 per pound dried weight

Wild Ginseng Distribution in Canada

First Recognized in Quebec by Europeans in 1715 • Father Joseph Francois Lafitau read about the virtues

of ginseng from the reports of another Jesuit Missionary, Pierre Jartoux who used in it China and who described its habitat in great detail

• Lafitau studied Jartoux’s description of the soil and climatic conditions favorable to ginseng and in the fall of 1715, he found it somewhere between Ottawa and Montreal

Wild Ginseng Legal Status

•Ginseng was listed on the Canadian Species at Risk Act in 2003 which affords protection to the species on federal lands.

•Québec listed ginseng as threatened (the highest risk category) on the Loi sur les espèces menaces ou vulnerables in 2001 which affords protection from harvest and trade in wild specimens

• There is no legal harvest of wild ginseng in Canada for any purposes

It may be grown in a forest using two main system of cultivation •Wild simulated, with varying ranges of care and intensity

•Woods cultivated, also with varying ranges of care and intensity

•Woods cultivated systems utilize mechanical tillage

•Wild simulated systems use hand tools to work up the soil

95% of all Cultivated Ginseng is grown in artificially shaded fields, such as this in Ontario

Woodland Site selection

•Wild simulated systems are most successful when an ecologically suitable site is utilized •Ideal sites once harbored healthy wild populations that have been extirpated •Woods cultivated systems also perform better in ecologically suitable sites

What are the site conditions where ginseng is likely to grow? •Sites where sugar maple trees grow well are the best candidates

•Prefers sloping southeast facing slopes with good air and water drainage

•Soils with high levels of calcium are required for good growth

Sugar Maple is the most important companion tree in Canada

Wild ginseng is often associated with certain herbaceous plants •1.Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) •2.Baneberry, “dolls eyes” (Actaea pachypoda and A. rubra) •3.Spikenard (Aralia racemosa) •4. Jack in the Pulpit (Arasaema triplylum) •5. Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) •6. Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)

Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum)

Red and white baneberry (Actaea sp) are also called red and white doll’s eyes

Planting Ginseng

•Wild Simulated systems may begin by seeding at a rate of 50 seeds per square meter and thinning to approximately five plants per square meter.

•Normal mortality may eliminate need to thin by year 3

This area had far too many seeds planted initially

This two year old planting still needs thinning

Ginseng plants grow slowly and change in appearance over the years

Woods cultivated site preparation

Seeds are planted in rows

Thinned beds are still crowded

Good sites grow big plants!

Big Plants = Big Roots!

Maintenance

•Wild simulated plantings usually just left alone but may still require protection from pests and diseases •Gypsum (calcium sulfate) is often added annularly to both wild simulated and woods cultivated when soil calcium levels are below 2,000 pounds per acre •Gypsum adds calcium but does not change pH

Fertilizer

•All Fertilizers, including organic sources such as manure or compost, bone meal etc. seem to predispose ginseng to diseases

•Lime (calcium carbonate) raises pH and increases nutrient availability, also leading to diseases

•Add lime only when pH is below 4.5

•Optimal pH may be 5.0 to 5.5

Woods cultivated tillage

•Woods cultivated raised beds often incorporate shredded sugar maple leaves to increase calcium and organic matter levels (10% or more is optimal)

•Sugar maple leaves are 1.75% calcium dry weight

Diseases

•Alternaria blight most serious foliar disease •May be seed borne •Highly contagious •Fungicides required (organic or chemical) •Once present, never gone •Does not kill roots directly but weakens plants over time

Alternaria blight lesions

Blight may wipe out an entire garden in weeks, but roots survive

In general, the more intensively the site is cultivated • The more likely disease will occur • The more likely rodent problems will occur • The more likely pesticides will be required • The more likely a higher yield per square foot will be

obtained • The more likely the roots will resemble field cultivated

and fetch a lower price • The less likely it will be mistaken for wild

Deer may prohibit ginseng growing

Devastate both wild simulated and wood cultivated systems

Small rodents i.e. mice, voles, chipmunks may be equally devastating

Mice often get all the berries in wooded sites

Mammals

Mice are cute..but…….

They can devastate ginseng roots

Security may become an issue when ginseng attains value

Harvesting

•Most wild simulated or woods cultivated ginseng is dug by hand in the fall

•Roots weigh most in late fall •Wild simulated ginseng is usually grown for a period

of at least 8 years •The older the roots, the more valuable •25 year old ginseng is worth 5 to 10 times the price

of 8 year old

•If ginseng is to be sold and certified, growers must comply with all rules and regulations •Growers must be able to prove they grew the ginseng they are selling •Only “artificially propagated” ginseng may be sold from Canada

Wild versus “artificially propagated”

Drying Ginseng

•Ginseng is best dried slowly over a period of days to weeks at temperatures of 80 to 100 degrees with good air circulation

•Spread roots in a single layer on a screen

•Warm attics work well

•Do not dry in oven or food dehydrator if temperature exceeds 100 degrees F

Roots will loose two thirds of their weight when completely dry

Ginseng May Also Be Made into “value added “ products but these products may be subject to many regulations

Questions? Comments? Naptime?

Fishing stories?

Thanks for listening and watching!