- Type
- Roots & Stems
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Season
- Fall
- Sowing
- From seed
Korean ginseng
Panax ginseng
Ginsenosides — a root grown for years under shade frames
Ginseng is the root of a perennial in the aralia family. It is grown in beds under shade frames for four to six years and lifted in autumn. Lifted and untreated it is susam; peeled and dried, baeksam; steamed unpeeled and then dried, hongsam or red ginseng. The triterpene saponins isolated from the root are called ginsenosides, and repeated analyses report that steaming and drying shift their composition. The Donguibogam lists it in the Herb section as 人參 and gives the Korean name as sim, describing a plant of three branches and five leaflets that turns its back to the sun and faces the shade. Flowering is placed in the third and fourth lunar months with seed setting after autumn, and the root is lifted in the second and fourth lunar months and the first ten days of the eighth, scraped with a bamboo knife and sun-dried. A bed that has carried ginseng will not carry it again for many years, so securing the ground in advance is half the work. It is hard to imitate in a kitchen garden, and most people meet it today as a bag of fresh root at the supermarket.
Year-Round Calendar
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Where It Grows
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Main producer
The leading producing region for cultivated ginseng (Panax ginseng). It is spread fairly evenly across inland Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungcheong, North Jeolla and North Gyeongsang. Harvest September, October
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- Main producer The same species is grown in bulk around Changbai Mountain in Jilin Province.
- Wild population Wild plants remain in the forests of Primorsky Krai, but their numbers are small and they are protected.
- Major producer What is grown in Ontario is American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), a different species from Korean ginseng.
- Major producer Wisconsin is the center, and here too it is American ginseng, a different species.
Its native range is the northern temperate forest that stretches across the Korean Peninsula, northeastern China and Primorsky Krai in Russia. American ginseng, grown in North America, overlaps only in name and use and is a different species, so when the two are shaded onto one map the species has to be named and kept apart.
- Optimum
- 20~25℃
- Range
- 10~30℃
- Hardiness
- Hardy
It likes cool ground, so districts with a mean annual temperature of 9~13.5℃ are rated the best sites. Above 30℃ the leaves are damaged, so shade covers are set over the field to cut back sunlight and heat together. The root passes the winter dormant, at around minus 20℃.
Harvested 4–6 years after planting. Seed that has been stratified until the shell splits is sown in October~November, grown for four to six years, then lifted in September~October. The month of sowing and the month of harvest do not fall in the same year. A field that has been lifted once must rest for several years before it can be planted again.
In Korea Nationwide except Jeju · South-coast lowlands
Inland and mountain districts with cool summers are the best sites. Paju and Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi, Hongcheon and Hoengseong in Gangwon, Geumsan in South Chungcheong, Jinan and Muju in North Jeolla, and Punggi in North Gyeongsang are the known ones.
How to grow
- Light
- Direct sun scorches the leaves. Raising a shade frame over the bed to cast a light, broken shade is the foundation of the crop
- Soil and depth
- Free-draining sandy loam at least 30cm deep. Build the beds high so water never sits
- Spacing
- Around 10cm between plants, planted close. Run the rows so air moves along them
- Watering
- Excess moisture is the great enemy. Raise the beds for drainage and water only when the surface dries
- Feeding
- The ground is secured years ahead and its compost allowed to mature; once planted, top-dressing is barely used
- Harvest
- September and October, lifting roots of four to six years. Dig wide so the fine rootlets are not snapped off
What makes the difference. Brush the soil off a lifted root, wrap it in paper and refrigerate. Washed root softens from the wet surface inward, so wash it only just before use
Why this one is harder. A bed that has carried ginseng will not carry it again for many years. The seed also needs a stratification stage before it will germinate, and the shade structure and years of ground preparation make it a heavy undertaking at kitchen-garden scale
Common problems
- Alternaria leaf spot You will see Brown spots settle on leaves and stems, and as they spread the leaves dry and drop What to do It worsens through the rainy season. Take affected leaves out of the bed and do not leave the shade frame pressing down wet for long
- Root rot You will see Foliage yellows, and a lifted root is soft and browned What to do Avoid places where water sits and raise the beds. Lift out affected plants with their soil and do not replant in the same spot
- Grey mould You will see Grey fuzz settles on stem bases and leaves, which then go soft What to do It spreads when damp lingers. Open the shade frame for airflow and cut affected parts away at once
This page describes how a crop is grown and used. It does not claim health effects for any food, nor is it intended to prevent or treat disease. Component and study notes are references only and do not mean the same result occurs in people. Consult a medical professional about health concerns.
Health Benefits
The old record — insam (人參). The Donguibogam lists ginseng in the Herb section as 人參 and gives the Korean name as sim. It records the nature as slightly warm, adding that some call it warm, the taste as sweet with a note that some call it slightly bitter, and no toxicity. It gives 神草 as another name and treats roots shaped like a human figure as remarkable. The plant is described as having three branches and five leaflets, turning its back to the sun and facing the shade, with a single stem rising from the centre, much like a balloon flower. It is said to grow in shaded, damp places deep in the mountains, to flower in the third and fourth lunar months and to set seed after autumn. The root is lifted in the second and fourth lunar months and the first ten days of the eighth, scraped with a bamboo knife and sun-dried; it is prone to insect damage, so sealed tightly in a vessel it keeps beyond a year. The neck was removed before use. This is a historical medical record and differs from how it is judged today.
How the ginsenosides got their name. Triterpene saponins of the dammarane skeleton were isolated from the root and named ginsenosides after Panax ginseng. The same work reports that the profile shifts with plant part, years grown and processing method. This is a compositional analysis.
Composition and steaming. Repeated analyses report that some saponins convert to other forms during the steaming and drying of red ginseng. The result is that fresh and red ginseng differ in composition. This is an analysis of change under processing.
Nutrition
- Ginsenosides (isolated from the root) — triterpene saponins of the dammarane skeleton
- Starch (stored in the root) — the storage polysaccharide that thickens the root over years
- Water (a large share of the fresh root) — why lifted roots do not keep
Ginsenosides Triterpene saponins of the dammarane skeleton were isolated from the ginseng root and named ginsenosides after the plant. Many have since been reported, and the same work notes that the profile shifts with plant part and years grown. This entry stays with the compositional record.
Steaming and composition Analyses report that some saponins convert to other forms during the steaming and drying that make red ginseng. That is why composition tables for fresh and red ginseng differ. It is a record of a compositional change and nothing beyond that.
Fresh root holds a lot of water Freshly lifted root carries a lot of water and does not keep. Even brushed clean, wrapped in paper and refrigerated it rarely lasts ten days, and any root that develops a soft patch should be discarded. For longer keeping it is dried, or steamed and dried.
Years grown and size Ginseng is graded by how many years it was grown. Lifting usually begins in the fourth year and runs to the sixth, and with each year the root thickens and the body and legs take clearer shape. Size alone does not fix the age, though, since ground and cultivar make a large difference.
Pairings
○ Chicken, jujube and glutinous rice — Samgyetang packs a young chicken with glutinous rice, jujubes and fresh ginseng and simmers it long. Put the root in at the start so its aroma runs into the broth; it can be lifted out and eaten separately at the end. Fine rootlets go in for the stock and come out again. Jujube
○ Honey — Sliced fresh root keeps well steeped in honey. Jeonggwa is sliced root simmered in honey or syrup and dried, a preparation from the old banquet table. The bitterness softens enough for children.
○ Pear and milk — Blended with pear, the bitterness of fresh ginseng settles into the fruit's sweetness. A little milk smooths it further. It browns quickly once blended, so drink it straight away.
△ Roots dug on a hillside — Do not decide from appearance alone that a root dug on a hillside is wild ginseng. Cases have been reported of pokeweed root being mistaken for ginseng or bellflower root and eaten, with unpleasant results. Pokeweed has red stems, dark red berries hanging in racemes in autumn, and a thick radish-like root. If you are not certain, do not dig it and do not eat it. Forest produce on private and state land cannot be taken freely.
△ When you are already on medication — Interactions between ginseng and various medicines have been discussed for a long time. If you take anything regularly, anticoagulants included, speak with your doctor or pharmacist first. The same applies before surgery.
△ Soft or mouldy fresh root — Fresh ginseng holds a lot of water and softens easily even refrigerated. Do not cut away a soft patch and use the rest; discard the whole root. The same goes for a bag with condensation inside or white mould on the surface.
Varieties
- Susam (fresh root) (processing) — Ginseng as lifted. Not a cultivar but an untreated state
- Baeksam (white ginseng) (processing) — Peeled and dried. Pale and hard
- Hongsam (red ginseng) (processing) — Steamed unpeeled, then dried. Steaming shifts both colour and composition
- Sanyangsam (woods-grown) (growing method) — Sown on a hillside and left for years before lifting. A different regime from bed cultivation
- Cheonpung and Yeonpung lines (cultivar) — Cultivar lines bred and distributed within Korea
Source: Donguibogam, Herb Section 人參 · Rural Development Administration (Nongsaro)
