ABSTRACT
Wisconsin American ginseng can be recognized by a trademarked seal that ensures the product is of the highest Wisconsin quality. The excitement behind the cultivation of American ginseng began more than 110 years ago with the Fromm brothers in the small community of Hamburg, Wisconsin. Ginseng beds in Wisconsin are usually cultivated for 3 years before harvest, unless disease problems mandate earlier harvest. Ginseng generally prefers a loamy, deep, well-drained soil with a high organic content and a pH near 5.5. Plants from the northern part of the country, particularly Wisconsin and New York, are considered good breeding stock, because they furnish roots of good size, weight, and shape. Wisconsin growers generally do not reuse a ginseng field for succeeding ginseng crops. In Wisconsin, most growers harvest ginseng the third year after planting from seed.
