6 videos

Growing forest medicinal and decorative plants as nursery stock for market sale can often be more profitable than selling just the root. We take a look at the process of growing and transplanting seedlings for market sale with Robert Eidus, owner of Eagle Feather Organic Farm, and we review the importance of knowing your market and creating a business plan beforehand.

Provided courtesy of Forest Farming. Find them on YouTube at www.youtube.com/channel/UCA-ZP07pEpCzWuGGeI1veWQ

Robert Eidus explains how to transplant ginseng seedlings with minimum irritation to the plant. These seedlings are sold at the Asheville Herb Festival. Forest grown medicinal herbs can be sold as dry product, seedlings, rootlets, or as value-added products. When sold as a seedling, as pictured in this video, the plant should only be contained in a pot for a month at most. Ginseng seedlings do not fare well if left in plastic pots for too long. The seedlings should be kept moist and in shade.

Provided courtesy of Forest Farming. Find them on YouTube at www.youtube.com/channel/UCA-ZP07pEpCzWuGGeI1veWQ

Raised seed beds beneath the forest canopy can give ginseng seeds an advantage. By constructing the beds to certain dimensions, screens of the same size can be placed over the planted seeds to protect them from turkeys, mice, voles and other forest dwellers who feed on the seeds.

Robert Eidus, owner of Eagle Feather Organic Farm, explains how he plants the seeds, covers them with leaf litter, fits the screen to the raised beds and then finishes by adding another layer of leaves. The screen must be removed in the spring before the seeds sprout. If the screen is left in place, the seedlings will most likely die. The leaves are removed in the spring and straw is put down which allows the ginseng seedlings an easier medium to grow through.

Provided courtesy of Forest Farming. Find them on YouTube at www.youtube.com/channel/UCA-ZP07pEpCzWuGGeI1veWQ