GROWING GINSENG IN THE FOREST:
(6) Mulch plays a very important role in ginseng growing.

by Hsuan H. Huang

1. Without mulch, ginseng will not grow in many areas. Heavily shaded or extremely moist areas which stay naturally cool will need only small amount of mulch. Drier sloped areas which dry-up rapidly and heat-up faster will need up to two inches of mulch.
   
   
2. Mulch act as a blanket, protecting the seeds from summer heat and winter cold, retaining moisture, inhibiting weeds and serving as a natural fertilizer, preventing seedbeds from packing up tightly.
   
   
3. A new woodland ginseng garden will need to be mulched at least for the first season. On the second season, only patch-up is needed for the areas which are too thin.
   
   
4. Make sure your mulch is ready before planting. I used to shred leaves, branches, rotten wood and different kinds of shredded wood chips. (This process also gives you a chance to clean up the garden at the same time). It works very well if time is not a concern. But this type of mulch disappears too quickly and had to be replaced with additional mulch in the latter years. To prepare mulch is very time consuming and a part-time grower doesn't have that much time to spare.
   
   
5. Now I solely use coarse hardwood sawdust purchased from a sawmill. Sawdust is much easier to apply, transport, and lasts for a long time. It seems to inhibit slugs too.
   
   
6. But the down-side of sawdust is that it will compact and cake after a winters snow. If fresh sawdust is used (and that is usually the case), through the winter, it will start to ferment and fungus mycelium links each piece of sawdust together to form a caked layer. The caking would have to be broken up in the early spring as soon as the snow disappears.
   
   
7. I tried old sawdust once, but never again; weeds, junk, and garbage all come with it for free.
   
   
8. No more than ½ inch is required for the first year, from then on only touch-ups of bare spots are needed.
   
   
9. It took me a long time to realized that fallen leaves will form a multi-layer of mulch on top of the seed beds and becomes compacted by snow. If not removed, not only will the seeds not have enough strength to push through these layers of leaves, but it also harbors slugs. Slugs will feed on newly germinating seedlings under the layers of leaves.