Grow Your Own--Red Korean Ginseng Plants

There are a number of claims to the benefits of drinking ginseng tea (made from the root, stems and leaves) or for other applications and uses--everything from stimulating the libido to enhancing longevity. In the following article I will show you how I am growing Red Korean Ginseng plants from the seeds that I harvested. My wife received a mature (ten year old) plant from a Shaolin Kung Fu Master (who wishes to remain nameless) and when it seeded, she asked me to harvest the tiny black seeds. These seeds are encased inside tiny pods that grow along the thin stems along with the flowers. It takes about two years (we were told) for a plant to start producing its own seeds.
Each tiny black seed (about the size of a grain of sand) has the potential for growing into a mature, seed producing Red Korean Ginseng Plant. Once established, these plants are hearty and yield thousands of seeds each year. If you don’t want to have them spread throughout your garden, it is recommended that you keep them in a pot with enough room for the prized roots to reach down into the soil (at least 10 inches). Your mature plant will be ready to harvest in about two years, which will include a 5 inch or longer root that looks like a (male) human, with arms, legs, and head and gender organ. The whole plant (pretty pink flowers, seeds, stems, leaves and root) are edible for tea, food seasoning etc. and the plant is fun to grow and beautiful to watch develop.
Here is a video of plants that were grown from seeds within the past two months.



Directions for germinating Korean Ginseng Seeds:

1. Take several seeds and place them “just below the surface” of some fine potting soil. If you use a larger pot, you can plant two or more “piles” of seed in one container. You can transplant each seedling into a smaller pot at a later time (see specifics below) or space them in a large pot. Depending on how many seeds you start with, it is possible you may have to thin the bunch to only one to three plants in a single pot, or transplant the plants to individual pots, later. You decide how many plants you want to grow/keep.

2. Make sure that you germinate the seeds in a protected area (a window box or greenhouse is ideal) so that you don’t accidentally grow other species of plants and get them confused with your ginseng seedlings. If there are seeds and pollens falling all around, then you will complicate the germination process.

3. The germinating pot should be at least one gallon, so that the seeds don’t “cook” in the sun. You can transplant the seeds safely after the tiny seedlings have two levels of leaves on them. They will be about one inch high at this time.

4. USE A SPRAY BOTTLE to keep the soil moist turning the germination process. This is the hardest part. You don’t want to wash away your seeds or bury them so deeply that they cannot sprout. In about two weeks you should see tiny broadleaf plants (all the same, in the exact places where you put your seeds).

5. When seedlings appear, you can thin out the patch, keeping only the healthiest looking plants and/or transplant each (or a few each) into larger pots with enough spacing that the roots can have room to spread.

You will know that you have ginseng plants growing because they are very sun-sensitive. They “track” the sun during the day and close up (as if sleeping) at night. If you see “different” behaviors from some of your seedlings, they are probably NOT ginseng.
Here is an update of the seedlings you saw above (six months later):


If you are interested in reading more about the benefits and claims pertaining to Red Korean Ginseng, CLICK HERE.