The ginseng market is a massive one, with wild growing plants fetching the most money, which is why you may be asking how to grow ginseng in your backyard. Legal growers have to meet fierce competition, and illegal growers fight them as well.
This industry can be fierce, and illegal growers can easily face jail time. But if you’re not growing ginseng for anyone but yourself then you can rest easy.
Before you start growing ginseng, you may want to know what it actually is.
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What is Ginseng?
Ginseng is an easy to grow and incredibly lucrative plant. This plant species has eleven different varieties, all revered for their medicinal properties.
The two main kinds of Ginseng, Asian and American, are both used to reduce stress, promote relaxation, boost energy, and have many other benefits. Though the research on all of these benefits is still in preliminary stages, ginseng is still used in a large variety of energy drinks and is incredibly popular in Asian countries.
It’s used all over the world for different ailments and is in high demand. Making this little plant quite a lucrative addition to your backyard.
Of course, you could always just grow for yourself, or you could decide to turn a profit, which could be a few hundred dollars a pound. Making this one of the more lucrative plants one can buy.
How to Grow Ginseng in Your Backyard
Growing ginseng in your backyard can be both educational and financially lucrative for you depending on your state laws. Pair this with the fact that not many people grow ginseng in their yards and you may have found a unique, and financially pleasing, hobby.
Unfortunately, it does take a little bit of resourcefulness to get this plant to cooperate. You’re going to need to make the right environment, have the right seeds, supplies, and space, and be incredibly patient.
If you can manage to do all that you can grow ginseng in your backyard, both for-profit and personal use. Thankfully, though, once you set this plant in motion, it all but takes care of itself.
Ginseng can be a wonderful plant to have in your backyard, but it isn’t as easy to grow as many native plants, such as wildflowers, and you will have to ensure it has some specific requirements.
Environment
Ginseng grows best in a warm, moist environment, so if you live in a colder area you’re going to have a hard time growing this cash cow of a plant. Thankfully, it’s a hearty plant, so if you install a greenhouse on your lawn, or build a growing room in your home you can easily grow ginseng all year round.
You do need to be careful to ensure you keep the temperature, light, and moisture levels as close as possible to the ideal environment. This helps you ensure maximum yield when it’s time to harvest.
It also helps you make sure that nothing bad is going to happen to your ginseng plants, such as root rot, or fungus infections. If you’re having issues growing ginseng in your backyard you might want to invest in a soil test kit.
Soil is one environmental factor that can make or break your ginseng growing operation, regardless of if it’s for-profit or personal use. So make sure you have good soil, so you can have great plants.
Seeds
If you’re wondering how to grow ginseng in your backyard then you at least know you’ll need ginseng seedlings. Where do you get them, though?
Between online sellers and finding them in a home and garden store, it’s pretty easy to get your hands on the seedlings, but some people make the mistake of popping them in the ground midsummer expecting them to grow.
Ginseng plants need to go through a process called stratification. Essentially, they need to be very cold, for quite some time, before they decide to open up and grow. This makes growing directly in the ground easy if you live in a colder area.
If you’re working in a greenhouse you’ll have to set up the stratification process on your own. You’ll need to plant the seeds up to three inches apart to make sure they have enough room to grow effectively.
Supplies
If you want to learn how to grow ginseng in your backyard you may want to know what kind of supplies you’d need.
If you can’t plant your ginseng directly into the ground you may have to spring for a greenhouse or an indoor growing room. These two options help regulate temperature, light, and nutrients, giving you the ability to grow ginseng in less than pleasurable temperatures.
Greenhouses, depending on the size, usually depend on plastic wrapping around a frame, or a full-scale installation if you’re looking for a more permanent solution. Either one would work to help you keep your ginseng alive and thriving.
The indoor growing room is our favorite. This keeps your ginseng out of the cold, and in your home allowing you to easily grow your ginseng without even having to go outside.
Space
If you can grow your ginseng outside weather-wise we suggest that you do that instead of opting for a greenhouse or growing room. We suggest this because you will have more surface area outside, allowing you to grow more ginseng at once.
This maximizes your yields, which is never a bad thing regardless of if you’re using this ginseng for personal use or selling it outright. Allowing you to enjoy more ginseng, regardless of what you would like to grow it for.
If you don’t have an extra room or space for a greenhouse or a lawn at all you’re going to have a hard time growing ginseng successfully. You should have a dedicated space to set up, even if it’s just a spare bedroom you cleanout.
Security
There isn’t too much to be worried about if you grow ginseng for yourself when it comes to security. Especially if you’re in a first-world country and have your own space to work in. If you sell for profit you’ll need to do more digging around.
You should ensure you’re aware of all the possible dangers of having ginseng, not from the actual plant, but from the people in your area. Some places are very competitive with their ginseng trade, though it’s unlikely you’d find issues inside a first world country.
If you’re in an area that permits ginseng growing, but has high competition you may want to invest in a security system regardless of the reason you’re growing. Most places aren’t going to need this kind of security, but it won’t hurt if you deem it necessary.
Legality
The legality of growing ginseng depends on where you live. Some places you must have a permit to sell ginseng, but most places allow you to grow it for your own personal use without any permits or permissions required.
Regardless of this, you should always check with your local laws to ensure you’re not doing something illegal. Ignorance is no excuse for illegal activities, so be sure to check up on your local laws before you put any plants in the ground.
Ginseng overall though is not an illegal substance. It’s perfectly safe to consume for most people, though there are a few people who can have some nasty side effects such as an allergic reaction.
This is not common though, and growing and consuming the plant isn’t illegal. Just take into account if you’re trying to sell it or not, and what laws would apply to you if you are.
The Downside
If you’re wondering how to grow ginseng in your backyard there is one big downside. Ginseng takes time to grow, a few years to reach maturity, meaning you can’t harvest for several years after you plant.
This large time dedication turns a lot of potential growers away from growing ginseng. It’s a serious dedication that can last quite some time, but the payout would be that of a small fortune.
If you have patience, perseverance, and a green thumb you may be able to make quite a bit of money from this side venture. Unfortunately, it’s going to take time.
How to Sell Ginseng
There are three main ways to do this. Firstly, you can sell to resellers. These people buy ginseng and then resell it to other people for a profit. This can be a very lucrative way to sell, but the people you’re selling to are going to expect to pay a lower price than you may be comfortable with.
The second way is to sell directly to people buying out of state. This means they would purchase from you, and you would ship their ginseng directly to them from your home. This is a great method because then you can set up your own business, and potentially branch out to other lucrative plants as your business grows.
The third option and the most lucrative is to sell directly to wholesale suppliers. This gets you paid upfront, quickly and lets you get to work without having to worry about finding buyers or shipping packages.
This is the most lucrative because though you’ll be paid less than the people in the store are paying you’ll still make a better profit than any other option as the wholesaler could increase the price at the counter. You can sell all of your ginseng at once and walk away with a hefty profit.
How to Know When Ginseng is Ready
Once you harvest the mature plant you’ll need to dry the roots. This takes several weeks to do, but you can tell that you’re ready when your roots make a hard snapping sound when broken in half.
This makes it clear that your ginseng is ready for wholesale purchase, packaging, or reselling. Giving you a solid reputation for selling quality ginseng.
If you try to sell ginseng when it’s not ready, you will have a bad time. Serious buyers know how to tell when ginseng is ready, so they either won’t buy from you if they’re able to see your roots in person or won’t buy from you again if you ship to them.
They may even demand a refund for less than quality ginseng. So make sure your roots are completely dry all the way through before you try to sell them.
What are You Waiting For?
We hope we were able to give you some insight into how to grow ginseng in your backyard! Ginseng, which is a very lucrative and helpful plant, can be a massive moneymaker. Ginseng is an easy plant to grow, it is hearty, and has a wide variety of health benefits. It can be a wonderful addition to your backyard, especially if you want to grow it for personal or profitable use.