SEVERAL DIFFERENT GINSENG SEEDS PLANTING METHODS
Do not freeze ginseng seeds. Do not allow them to dry completely out inside their shell. They will perish.
(1) Ginseng Casual Hand Planting Method
(1 ) Items Needed
Small container such as a prescription pill bottle to carry seeds in and to keep them from drying out.; Ginseng seeds; Sturdy solid teaspoon to plant with.
(2) Planting Locations
Best areas are on North through East & South-East well drained hillsides which provide a ground shade of from 70 to 90 percent under small-leaved deciduous trees such as maple, beech, birch, poplar, black cherry, etc. Avoid stands of evergreens, and large leafed deciduous trees such as oaks. Avoid places where water gathers and stands. Ginseng will develop root rot in such areas.
(3A) Hand Planting Method with spoon.
Scrape leaf cover back with spoon and then insert spoon blade in soil about 1 to 2 inches deep and open a small crevice, drop in 1 seed, remove spoon and gently close crevice with hand. Do not pack the soil. Re-cover with leaves. Repeat process with next seed at least 1 foot away from last seed planted.
(3B) Hand Planting Method Without Spoon.
Shake out a few seeds in one hand. Take 1 seed at a time with other hand between thumb and index finger, and use it’s middle finger to poke down thru leaf cover and leaf mold to 1 inch deep in moist mineral soil. Place seed in bottom of hole and loosely cover the hole with soil and leaves. Repeat process with next seed at least 1 foot away from last seed planted.
If you want to avoid having deer take large numbers of your plants, do not plant more than 10 seeds in one circle, but, rather, move at least a few yards away to repeat the process. Plant in or near patches of other plants such as may apple, Jack-in-pulpet , blackberry briars, gooseberry, etc. to avoid plants being right out in the open where they can be easily spotted by deer or other ginseng hunters.
Keep records of the general areas you plant along with what year they were planted and what time of year planted.
SOWING METHOD
Planting Locations
Best areas are on North through East & Southeast hillsides which provide a ground shade of from 70 to 90 percent under small-leaved deciduous trees such as maple, beech, birch, poplar, black cherry, etc. Avoid stands of evergreens, and large leafed deciduous trees such as oaks.
Once a location has been selected the site can be prepared for planting. When planting, (1)Use a yard leaf rake, rake back the leaves in an area suitable for ginseng (assuming you are in the woods). (2) Remove fallen limbs and weeds from the area. (3) Rake the ground and leaf mold thoroughly. (4) Scatter the ginseng seed on the ground about 5 or 6 inches apart (mixing the seed with sand will help separate them so that they will not fall in "clumps" and possibly choke each other out). (5) The seeds can then be raked gently into the ground. (6) Tramp the area completely to press the soil down around the raked seeds. (7) Immediately rake the removed leaves back over the entire area. (8) Tramp the area thoroughly to press the leaves flat.
Plant as early in the Spring, all Summer long and as late into the Fall season as possible before snowfall. The ideal time to plant is immediately after a gentle fall of rain. This allows the seeds to remain moist. THESE SEEDS WILL NOT COME UP UNTIL THE SPRING OF THE YEAR FOLLOWING PLANTING.
The first year the seedling plants will usually have three leaves and be approximately 1 inch tall. Light Weeding may be necessary during the first several years. Leave other plants in with your planting to provide extra protection for your babies. The mulch should be left on to help control the weeds and also provide protection for the roots during subsequent winters. Each Fall the leaves falling from the trees will once again blanket the plants and add an extra layer of protection for the upcoming winter.
Over the next several years the plants will "slowly" grow and begin to mature. and you will be planting seeds which the plants begin to bear possibly the third year after planting. As the years pass, your plants will become more and more hardy and acclimated to your particular location.
Our contact information for extra advice and current seed prices;
Fred Gates,
2648 Wolf Spring Road,
Scio, NY 14880
(585)593-3484
FredRGates@aol.com
Please go to our website www.wildspiritginseng.com for tons of information on how to plant, grow, harvest and market ginseng plus much more, including potting instructions, and our lowest Seed Prices.
Dear Customer;
Thank you for your purchase.
If you wish to reach me for any reason, please contact me at fredrgates@aol.com or call me at 585-593-3484.
My mailing address is Fred Gates, 2648 Wolf Spring Road, Scio, NY 14880.
For a great deal of information on wild ginseng and just about any wild herb, tree, shrub or plant which grows in North America,
please visit my web site www.wildspiritginseng.com
You will find that the website is mostly links to great treasures of information which represent lifetimes of study by the most devoted and talented scholars of our native plants which can scarcely be found anywhere else on Earth.
Fred Gates Ginseng Seeds
GINSENG SEED SOWING METHOD
These seeds should be planted immediately and will sprout in the Spring of 2016 (this coming Spring)
For larger plantings, the following method works best for me;
Choose an area near the top of a hill under hardwood forest on the slopes ranging from North through East.
Wait until the leaves and soil are moist from a recent rain.
Rake or blow back the leaves down to leaf mold.
With a yard leaf rake, scratch the soil thoroughly until it is rough.
Broadcast the seeds so that they fall an average of about 6 to 8 inches apart.
Rake them into the loosened soil.
Tramp them thoroughly with flat bottomed shoes (without deep treads).
Rake or blow leaves back over the planting.
Tramp the leaves down thoroughly.
The seeds will be partially germinated, but if they are planted in moist soil which never completely dries out, the seeds will continue to germinate and as many as 50% or more will come up next Spring.
Please watch my ads for seeds which may be available all Summer long as soon as May!
Good luck on your venture, and keep in touch.
Best regards,
Fred Gates
My Year Around price list of germinated ginseng seeds ready for immediate shipment; (International shipping prices will vary)
Order as many of the following lots as desired;
100 plus seeds @ $10.00 plus $2.04 for shipping for a total of $12.04.
1 ounce of around 400 seeds @ $20.00 plus $2.00 for shipping for a total of $22.00.
¼ pound (4 ounces) of seeds @ $40.00 plus $2.50 for shipping for a total of $42.50.
½ pound (8 ounces) of seeds @ $75.00 plus $3.00 for shipping for a total of $78.00.
1 pound of seeds @ $129.00 FREE SHIPPING.
I accept check, money order or PayPal. My PayPal email is FredRGates@aol.com
Please send your mailing address and quantity(s) desired with payment to;
Fred Gates
2648 Wolf Spring Road
Scio, NY 14880
How To Grow Wild Ginseng In Pots

(1) Ginseng can be grown in boxes or pots in the house. Just like flowers. The container should be six or more inches deep and of any convenient size. Get rich loam from the woods, preferably that which grows around old decayed deciduous tree stumps, or use potting soil. Mix the soil 50/50 with sandy loam. SOIL NORMALLY MUST BE ONLY SIGHTLY MOIST. Soggy soil for any great length of time will cause the rootlets on a ginseng plant to deteriorate and eventually cause the main root to become diseased.
The pot or other container must have large drainage holes or even slits in the lower part of the pot to assure of rapid drainage of standing lower water in the container.
Check the soil often to avoid over watering.
(2) Set the seeds in the box or pot with the bud about 1 inch apart and 1 inch below the surface of the soil. Cover the top of the soil with about 1 inch of good decayed deciduous leaf mulch to keep the soil from drying out.
(3) Place in a room or refrigerator which gets no lower than 38 degrees F and no higher than 50 degrees F through the cold months. Ginseng absolutely must have this lower temperature to help it come back for the coming season. Check several times through the winter to make sure that they do not dry out.
(4) When spring comes and the seeds begin to sprout, remove from the room or refrigerator to a shaded place, near a North or East window. Give plenty of ventilation,, even if you have to set up a fan to gently move the air over the plantings. This will greatly aid the condition called “Damping“ which encourages mold to infect the plants.. Keep the ground in your pot covered with leaf mold, and after the dangers of frost is gone, it can be placed in a cool place outside if desired. Avoid too much sun or rain. Ginseng is a deep woods plant and must have at least 70% shade, and is never found in a soggy or boggy area in the wild.. When the tops die down on your “babies”, move them back into a cool room or refrigerator as described above. Check several times through the winter to make sure that they do not dry out.
(5) When spring again comes, remove from the cool room or refrigerator to a shaded place, near a north window. Give plenty of ventilation, keep the ground in your pots or box covered with leaf mold, and after the dangers of frost is gone, they can be placed in a cool place outside if desired. Avoid too much sun. Ginseng is a deep woods plant and must have 70% shade. Too much sun will cause it to get sunburned, and too little will dramatically slow its development
(6) To conserve space in your refrigerator, you can carefully remove the ginseng roots from their pots or container after Their tops have died down, making sure that you do not injure either their rhizomes or hair roots, and seal the ginseng roots together in zip-lock bags with slightly moist (but not damp or wet) soil to completely cover them and keep them from developing mold. .
(7) When spring comes again, pot your plants at least 3 inches apart with the top of the root 1 inch below the surface in the soil, and place outside as before.
(8) Repeat the procedure described in (6)
(9) When spring comes again, pot your plants singly in gallon containers or pots with the top of the root 1 inch below the surface in the soil, cover with leaf mulch and place outside as before. They should be ready to offer for sale as a potted plant, or you may wish to keep them to produce and sell seeds from.
Plants can be sold from your home, at Farmer’s Markets, Flea Markets, Along the road, To any store which sells plants, As gifts, etc., etc.
You may wish to keep some of your plants over to produce seeds before storing them for the winter;
(10) In the Fall Gather the seeds as quickly the berries become scarlet and soft and plant the berries whole, without bruising, under the leaf mold and flat on top of mineral soil., high up on North or North-East Hillsides under deciduous trees (avoid oak, because its leaves are too broad to allow the tender shoots to spring up, and they fall too late in the season to protect the berry from drying out). and carefully cover the berry with leaf mold so that it will keep the seeds moist until the Autumn rains come. Ginseng seed will perish if it dries out.. The seeds will germinate over the next year and some of them will come up the year after that. You will be doing Wild Ginseng a great favor, for you will have an important part in keeping him alive and well in this wonderful country of ours. This may be the last stronghold of Wild Ginseng on the face of the Earth!
or
(11) You can easily “striate” the seeds by placing them in a container such as a large coffee can with a plastic lid in the following manner; (A) Obtain clean sand which has been washed to remove salt, etc, or get some from a river bank, etc. (B) Place a thin layer of sand in the bottom of the can. (C ) Sow a layer of seeds across the sand in such a way that they do not commonly touch each other. (D) Repeat (B) and (C ) until the can is nearly filled, or until you run out of seeds, and place another half inch of sand over the top. (E) Firmly place the plastic lid on the top of the can and store in a Cool place with a temperature no higher than 50 degrees and no lower than 39 degrees Fahrenheit. The seeds will be ready to pot or plant in the following Spring, and will sprout the Spring thereafter. Please visit my web site at www.wildspiritginseng.com for lots of great information and resources about ginseng. Fred Gates
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Best regards,
Fred Gates