Ginseng


This wasn't one of the herbs that I was going to include in this publication but I will do it as a tribute to my late sister, Donna.

I have Ginseng growing in my yard only because Donna knew someone who grew it in northern Wisconsin. She and I took a tour of his farm that had acres covered with wooden laths. The reason for this is that Ginseng grows in the woods. Wisconsin used to be all woods until it was ravaged like the rain forest. Ginseng likes shade. The grower told us that if a disease started in his field somewhere, all he had to do was remove some of the laths in that area and where ever the sun shone directly on the plants, they would die out, taking the disease with them. This way he could save most of his field. Every year he would plant a new acre. He always had 7 acres planted but at the end of the seventh year, that acre was harvested, dried, weighed and sold. Asians were the principal buyers.

So with seeds in hand, Donna and I set out to grow them. At first we grew them under some laths too but after a couple of years, they were moved to a wooded area where they still live. We harvested a couple of them a few years ago and made a tincture out of them. The rest is still growing. I like to go out in the late spring and see how many are still surviving. They wait until the trees start to leaf out and then come out of the ground. I have a sign up that says, " Donna's Ginseng."

Every year at least two of the plants put a seed pod out…well, they aren't really seed pods but more like five or six seeds clinging to the same area. When they get bright red I pull them off or they fall off and I bury them. The next year I might find a couple of new plants in the area. The new babies have only three leaves as opposed to the mature plants that have five leaves. I have to be careful that I don't pull up the Strawberry-like plants that look like they don't belong there.

Now let's find out why Ginseng is so wonderful. Some of the things that Ginseng is capable of doing are: being antihistamine, anti-tumor, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and a fungicide. It promotes the health of the liver and the heart along with slowing down coagulation time of the blood. It is also known to lower blood pressure and works as a vasodilator. According the Christopher Hobbs in his book THE GINSENGS – A USER'S GUIDE, Ginseng has the ability to lower blood sugar along with balancing out the adrenal output.

In Asia, Ginseng is used at a tonic for elderly people as it is supposed to increase the energy to major organs in the body. It balances out but also has a mildly sedative effect. One big plus is that it stimulates the brain and most elderly people like that effect.

It is also known that if taken regularly, it will improve vision so as you can see, it is a wonderful thing for the elderly, I think it is wonderful for anyone.

On the down side, it stimulates the uterus so it should be used with caution for pregnant women and women who tend to have excessive menses.

In spite of the coumarin- like effects, in Asia post-surgical patients are treated with a Ginseng mixture and recover faster than those without it.

Most of the Ginseng that is labeled Siberian Ginseng is really grown in Wisconsin but we won't tell anyone that. It is Wisconsin's major export.

Because the fields that have grown this can not be used again for Ginseng, a few years ago farmers were looking for alternative plants to grow. I put out a suggestion that perhaps they could grow Echinacea. They only have to take down the laths as Echinacea likes sun and our cold winters.