Selecting a site for your ginseng patch

There are a couple of important factors to consider when choosing a site on which to plant and grow your ginseng crop:

1 - First and foremost, if you plan to plant your ginseng seeds or rootlets in the woods you obviously need to select a site that is hospitable to the healthy growth of ginseng plants.

For 'seng to flourish it needs a wooded area with these specific traits: The forest floor needs to have approximately 80% shade from hardwood trees such as poplar, black walnut and sugar maple. Also, the ground should be sloped facing north or east and be rather moist, yet have good drainage (this is NOT a contradiction as one might think).

2 - Since ginseng roots bring a relatively high price when sold, it is imperative that your site be secure from poachers. Theft is the number one threat to any ginseng crop so you need to make sure that the site you choose for yours is hard to find and/or hard to get to undetected from roads and adjacent tracts of property. (See the page entitled Protecting your ginseng crop for more information regarding site security.)

Your options for suitable sites are virtually unlimited if you plan to grow your ginseng under artificial shade, therefore site security should be the number one factor to consider when making your choice.