Alternative Herbal Medicine Net

The Ginseng Page How to grow, harvest, and sell your ginseng; wild ginseng laws, conservation and ethical ginseng suppliers.   For questions about Ginseng Please click here

by Karen Bergeron  Copyright 2001 -2009

    I have added this page to be helpful to my readers, and also to encourage conservation of our wild ginseng. There is much you can do to help save wild Ginseng from extinction. You can learn to grow your own ginseng in any place that it grows wild and preserve your future in ginseng harvesting. You can also insist that the ginseng you buy is cultivated, woods grown, or at least  not harvested from the wild unless more is planted than what is taken and only ethical wildcrafting is taking place. A large amount of wild ginseng is harvested illegally, often from state parks and national forests.  I have been in a lot of woods here in Tennessee and have yet to run across a healthy stand of ginseng. Yes, you can find 3 and four prong plants but they are few and far between. 

    I am attempting to present a well rounded guide to everything I can find on the net about Ginseng, with hopes that it will inspire at least a few to buy and scatter some seeds in the woods and also give cultivated herbs a try. Cultivated ginseng is about 1/5 the price of wild harvested ginseng. Some people say the wild ginseng is better, but it is debatable that it could be so much better as to be worth the difference.

    Dealers are listed for those of you who have woods grown ginseng.  I have gone through these links thoroughly to make sure they are live ones and have good information.

Ginseng Regulations and Dealer Applications

• State laws for Ginseng Harvesting and Selling
• Alabama Ginseng Monitoring Program
• Indiana Ginseng Hunting Rules
• New York Ginseng Program
• Wisconsin Wild Ginseng Regulations

The main reason  I do not buy wild ginseng is  that I do not want to contribute to the extinction of the ginseng population so I only buy from those who practice conservation methods, such as replanting much more seed than what is harvested. I prefer woods grown ginseng to wild any day, without pesticides please. 

Growing Ginseng

• How to grow Ginseng and other Rare Woodland Herbs
  Jim Shrum in Chattanooga offers growing and other valuable ginseng information as well as roots for other herbs. He also sells ginseng seed in season.
• Over 4,000 ginseng plants planted in KY woods! 
  Efforts to sustain the future of Ginseng. Article published in the 
  _Adair Progress_ May 8, 1997
• Growing Ginseng for Profit  Information and list of seed and root dealers
• Producing and Marketing Wild Simulated Ginseng in Forest and  (U.VT)
• Agroforestry Systems : Virginia Ag Extension site
• Michigan State University

• Growing Ginseng and Goldenseal in Your Forest (NY gov)

• Care and Planting of Ginseng Seed and Roots (NCSU)
• Commercial Production of Ginseng and Goldenseal (Purdue U)
• West Virginia Woods Grown Ginseng Guide
• Ginseng and Herbs, a Comprehensive Site (ON gov)
• Herb links - Canada gov

Ginseng Books

• American Ginseng: Green Gold, by Scott Persons
• Booklets - How to Grow Goldenseal, Ginseng  
• Books - Ginseng & other  

Seed Sources
Seedsetc.
 

To be listed here email karen@altnature.com and tell me about your business!

Ginseng Conservation

• Endangered Plants : Ginseng
  Good educational site for kids as well as adults
• Ginseng Poaching in the Smokies
  Efforts to stop the poaching of ginseng and other wild herbs
• American Ginseng Exports, a Moratorium?

Ginseng Dealers and Buyers
You need a license or permit to sell Wild Ginseng out-of-state. For information about Wild Ginseng Buyers in your state or province, contact your state ginseng office. Links to many states are found on Seedsetc.

• Alabama May be out of  date

Ginseng Fact Sheets

• American Ginseng Manual Very nice site!
• Ginseng Description, Ginseng Photo and Ginseng Uses

• Ginseng Wisdom

• The Ginseng Business
• Ginseng - Botanical.com
• The Canadian Ginseng Industry