Ginseng: Green Gold

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To defend against possible animal intrusions, some commercial growers fence off their growing beds. One fellow I know keeps stable of slightly underfed cats. Personally, I've enjoyed the unsolicited assistance of screech owls and a family of Cooper's hawks that nest near my beds. But, as I said, four legged raiders aren't likely to pose much of a problem.

To tell the truth, the human pests are probably the worst predators. Poaching ginseng is a punishable felony in a few states, but that doesn't keep some light-fingered types from being irresistibly tempted by a large patch of mature ginseng. After all, once roots are dug up, they can't be traced and can easily be sold for full value. Consequently, some growers keep large, loud dogs to ward off two legged thieves . . . but most people are just careful to keep their own counsel about the fact that they're cultivating a crop of green gold.

HARVESTING AND STRATIFYING SEEDS

Seeds are picked in the fall as the berries ripen on third-year and older plants. A healthy fifth-year plant produces at least 15 berries, each containing two seeds. You should store your harvested red nuggets in a cool, moist place out of the sun, where they're protected from rodents. I put mine in tubs in a shed, alternating one-inch layers of fine sand with half-inch layers of berries, and place a damp towel on top of the whole shebang. In six weeks or less, the berries decay, exposing their seeds. Until then, the berry pulp keeps the seeds moist, but when the pulp has completely deteriorated, the seeds begin to dry out and lose their viability.

To keep my rounds usable, I spread the six week-old sand-and-seed mixture on a window screen, and hose the sand away through the mesh. Afterwards, I can either plant the 'sang starters immediately or stratify them.

In the beginning, you'll probably elect to plant all of your seeds right away and wait the 18 months (!) it takes for them to germinate. But when you start producing more seeds than you have time (or space) to grow, you'll almost certainly have to stratify them in order to sell them: Folks simply don't want to buy any seeds that'll take over a year to sprout!

To "age" the seeds so that they will germinate in the spring following a fall planting, I mix them with sand or fine dirt, and place this blend in a box that's screened on the top and bottom to admit rain and allow drainage. Then I bury the box in the woods-just below the surface of the soil-and cover it over with an inch or two of earth and two inches of mulch. The next fall (or as early as August), I dig up the one-year-old stratified seeds to plant or sell.

DIGGING AND DRYING ROOTS

Various conditions determine growth rates, but it's rarely economical to harvest roots before their fourth year. (After the fourth year, root weight generally increases about 20°76 yearly.) When you do dig up your crop, wield your shovel carefully, so as not to mutilate the roots . . . or you'll lessen their value.

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