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Return To Ginseng Article Archive   Search the Article Archives Ginseng: A Gift From Heaven By Jamie Huang Ginseng may be harvested as leaf, stem, seed, or root. Ginseng leaves and stems contain ginsenosides, the chemical ingredients that give ginseng many of its medicinal effects, and thus can be used as a green tea. The tea market has existed in ginseng growing areas for centuries, but a slow and primitive transport system did not allow it to acquire the popularity of the root. Health food stores and gourmet cooking circles are now discovering this tea, however, and with effort and promotion, you can expect sales to these outlets to increase in the coming decades. For products like ginseng that are often promoted as energy boosters, there is concern that undeclared caffeine may be added to enhance the effect. The seed is of great value to the grower because it can be collected and processed through 'stratification,' then sown to expand your growing area or can simply be used to enhance the thickness of the current crop. Wild ginseng seed is also valuable especially if you want to sell or give it to others growing ginseng in your local area. The red berries of the mature ginseng plant are a sure sign that mid- summer has arrived for the grower. Most VWG growers gather and use their own seed for a number of years, or even for several succeeding generations of plants. Centuries ago, the Chinese believed that ginseng was a gift sent from the heavens to humankind. According to legend, it could not be cultivated, nor would the seed sprout unless 'touched by the divine' or ‘purified by the divine bird’ of Chinese legend. The fact that the seeds take an extraordinarily long time to germinate - some eighteen months or more - was not well understood at the time. It was not until about 700 A.D. when Koreans discovered that moist seeds or berries placed in a given spot in the ground would produce a ginseng plant after the prescribed waiting period. One of the most popular methods of seed stratifying used by commercial growers involves placing depulped seed in damp sand until it is sold the following summer. Another method that better imitates natures way is to put the entire raw berry in damp sand until the middle of the next summer then use it to seed the patch. Growers find that the pulp enhances maturation during the incubation process. About the Author: Jamie Huang has an interest in Chinese Culture related subjects. If you are interesting in finding out more information on Chinese Culture, please visit this successful Chinese Medicine site: http://ChineseMedicine.smartreviewguide.com Asian Ginseng

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