By Linda Goodwin, 1997
Scott Harris of Sylvan Botanicals have been growing Panax quinquefolium - commonly known as ginseng on their farm near Cooperstown since 1991
"We started with 50 roots." Scott said.
Scott, president of the New York State Ginseng Growers Association (NYSGGA). is now experimenting with forcing ginseng plants.
Sylvan Botanicals is certified organic through NOFA-NY and runs a mail-order business.
Carol M. Schumann, research horticulturist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Beaver, W.Va., used ginseng from Sylvan Botanicals in her first DNA trials.
However, Scott and Sylva are not only interested in growing and marketing ginseng, but also in acting as a broker to New York farmers willing to plant ginseng seeds in their woods.
"We will also do on-farm consultations statewide and buy wild and wild-simulated roots," Scott said.
Although Wisconsin is the largest producer of ginseng, Scott said, their ginseng is cultivated under artificial shade and has fallen out of favor with the Asian market.
"The door is open for New York to take the lead in the wild-simulated market," he said.
Ginseng prefers to grow on a northern slope, where the soil is moist, but not wet, and under 70-80 percent natural shade from hardwoods like maple and beech.
"The easiest method of planting is to select a well-drained site, rake back the leaf mulch, stir the soil with a steel rake, lightly scatter the seeds and replace the leaf mulch," Scott said.
"Be sure to purchase only stratified seed," Scott added.
Ginseng seeds have a 18-month germination period. Stratified seeds have been buried in a sand pit for a year, which will allow them to come up the first spring after planting.
When Sylvan Botanicals first planted ginseng, wild roots were selling for around $200 per pound. The price during the past winter was in the $350 per pound range, with reports of old wild roots selling for as much as $450 per pound.
This year, Sylvan Botanicals is seeing a germination rate of more than 90 percent. Scott said that if a farmer began with about one pound of seeds, in 10 years lie could harvest more than $3,000 worth of ginseng.
"That's better than anything the bank can offer," Scott said. "If you plant ginseng now, you can send your kids to college on ginseng funds."
"Ginseng grows very well in all of the northeastern states." Scott said.
From the archives of the NYSGGA, Scott pulled out documents dating as far back as 1884. Other sources show that Chinese healers used ginseng more than 4,000 years ago.
The leaves of the plant can be used to make tea, and the roots can be ground into a powder that can be encapsuled or added to foods and beverages.
Whole roots can be used to make extracts, some of which is being sold combined with maple syrup. The seeds can be harvested for either replanting or sale after the third year of growth.
The North American Ginseng Association, the NYSGGA and the Department of Environmental Conservation have recently combined efforts with Cornell University to study growth habits of ginseng and promote the idea of growing it as an agroforestry crop.
Sylvan Botanicals Catskill Mountain Ginseng
http://www.catskillginseng.com