Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

My wife is Korean, and she loves the concept of ginseng as a medicine. Fortunatley, so do millions of other Asians and people throughout the world. I want to incorporate this into the concept of aquaponics. This stuff can bring in anywhere from $450 to $1200 per pound, depending on how wild or cultivated the roots are.

So, they are root-based plants, not leafy, so I would have to either do a wicking bed or eb/flow grow beds. The downside...grow beds need to be cleaned (so I've heard) every 3-5 years, but the harvest on ginseng is about 6-8 years in soil.

I'm HOPING that using the AP system, which delivers nutrients to the ginseng, would reduce the time required for harvest, and/or increase my income by growing more in the normal harvest timeline.

Most ginseng grown by farmers goes to dealers in each US state, and it eventually makes its way back to China. Wild American Ginseng is an endangered species, but brings in top dollar. Cultivated (in soil) is readilly available, but bring is significantly less.

When I return to the US in april, I plan on starting a growbed of roots. I will post pics and keep you all informed.

Does one clone the roots, start from seed, or how exactly do plants get going?
I have a hazy memory of looking at a flickr account with the stuff growing in and along streams in Japan

Should grow OK Paul... give it a go.. and let us know...

Interestingly... the Wiki reference... has a photo of a gensing harvest... harvested in Germany....

You cannot clone the roots. You must start from seed, which can be purchased online from ginseng farms. You plant seeds in fall, they sprout in spring, and require about 3-4 years to produce small berries, each of which contain 2-3 seeds.

Harvest the berries when they are red. Then you must age, or stratify, the berries for one year so the seeds can mature. THEN you can plant and wait 5-6 years to harvest....although some wait longer. The older it is the more you can get for it.

I would, however, only do this beside growing other faster-growing plants that could I could sell. A faster nickel beats a slower dime.