Ginseng has been grown under cultivation in America for the past twenty years, and it has been fully demonstrated that the plant can be raised successfully provided the necessary requirements are furnished.
Culture.
Ginseng is propagated from the seed produced in the small berries which ripen during the early part of September. Eighteen months are required for these seeds to germinate, and during this time they must not be allowed to dry. When the ber ries are gathered, they should either be planted at once or be stored in four times their bulk of clean, moist sand. A tight wooden box will answer the purpose for storing, but, as mice are very fond of ginseng seed, the top should be covered with a wire screen. The box containing the seed may be stored in a cool cellar during the stratifying process, which requires twelve months. During this time great care should be exercised in keeping the sand continually moist ; if the sand gets dry, the seed will generally become moldy very soon, in which case it should be separated from the sand, thoroughly washed and repacked in new sand that has never been used for this purpose. The sand should be passed through a fine-meshed sieve before using, then when the seeds are wanted it may be sifted, making a very easy way of separating it from the seed.
After storing for ten or twelve months, as de scribed, the outside shell will begin to crack on a large percentage of the seed, when it is ready for planting. Some growers advocate planting the seed as soon as harvested ; others advise burying it in the open ground for the first twelve months ; but the writer has devoted a great deal of time and study to stratifying seed and thinks that the above method will give by far the best results.
This is the Korean method of caring for ginseng seed: Remove the pulp or berry from the seed. Wash clean, place in thin cloth bag, and store in dry, cool cellar, until ready to plant. Soak the seed in blood-warm water (98°-100°) for seventy-two hours and immediately plant. Will grow in five to ten days. Seed may be planted the next year after it is harvested, or kept for any number of years.
It is planted in May only after danger of frost is past.
beds for the seed should not be over four feet wide, as this is the most convenient width for weeding and working. They should be raised several inches above the level to supply good drainage, and surrounded by six-inch boards to prevent washing. Walks between beds may be six teen or eighteen inches wide.
In preparing the seed-bed, the soil should be worked very fine ten to twelve inches deep. The seed may be sown either in drills two inches apart each way or scattered broadcast. The latter method requires much less labor than the former and, if the seeds are scattered evenly, will be found to give as good results. When drilled in, it will be sufficient to place the seeds one inch apart, if they are to be transplanted the first season. Some growers do not transplant till the second sea son's growth has been completed. There are 7,000 to 7,500 seeds in a pound ; southern seed will some times go ten thousand or more to the pound. After the seeds are sown, they should be covered with one inch of fine, rich soil. If the natural soil is a rich loam, light or sandy, it will answer the purpose, but if it is of a heavy texture a liberal quantity of leaf-mold or other light soil that is well supplied with decayed vegetable matter should be added.
September and October are the best month.; for sowing the seed. After the planting, no work is needed until the following spring, with the excep tion of giving the beds a light mulching of buck wheat straw or forest leaves to protect them dur ing the winter. In early spring the mulching should be entirely removed before the plants make their appearance, which is in the early part of May.
In the growing season the beds must be kept free from weeds and allowed a free circulation of air, to keep the plants strong and healthy. In early autumn the seedling roots may be planted in permanent beds or left for another season's growth. Either method is practicable, as either one- or two-year-old roots are desirable for trans planting.