SHADING AND BLIGHT.
In several years experience growing Ginseng, says a well known
grower, I have had no trouble from blight when I shade and mulch
enough to keep the soil properly cool, or below 65 degrees, as you
will find the temperature in the forests, where the wild plants grow
best, even during summer days.
Some years ago I allowed the soil to get too warm, reaching 70
degrees or more. The blight attacked many plants then. This proved to
me that growing the plants under the proper temperature has much to
do with blight.
When fungus diseases get upon wild plants, that is plants growing in
the forest, in most cases it can be traced to openings, forest fires
and the woodman's ax. This allows too much sun to strike the plants
and ground in which they are growing. If those engaged, or about to
engage, in Ginseng growing will study closely the conditions under
which the wild plants flourish best, they can learn much that they
will only find out after years of experimenting.
Mr. L. E. Turner in a recent issue of "Special Crops" says: We cannot
depend on shade alone to keep the temperature of the soil below 65
degrees--the shade would have to be almost total. In order to allow
sufficient light and yet keep the temperature down, we must cover the
ground with a little mulch. The more thoroughly the light is diffused
the better for the plants. Now, when we combine sufficient light with
say one-half inch of clean mulch, we are supplying to the plants
their natural environment, made more perfect in that it is everywhere
alike.
The mulch is as essential to the healthy growth of the Ginseng plant
as clothing is to the comfort and welfare of man; it can thrive
without it no more than corn will grow well with it. These are plants
of opposite nature. Use the mulch and reduce the shade to the proper
density. The mulch is of the first importance, for the plants will do
much better with the mulch and little shade than without mulch and
with plenty of shade.
Ginseng is truly and wholly a savage. We can no more tame it than we
can the partridge. We can lay out a preserve and stock it with
Ginseng as we would with partridges, but who would stock a city park
with partridges and expect them to remain there? We cannot make a
proper Ginseng preserve under conditions halfway between a potato
patch and a wild forest, but this is exactly the trouble with a large
share of Ginseng gardens. They are just a little too much like the
potato patch to be exactly suited to the nature of Ginseng. The plant
cannot thrive and remain perfectly healthy under these conditions; we
may apply emulsions and physic, but we will find it to be just like a
person with an undermined constitution, it will linger along for a
time subject to every disease that is in the air and at last some new
and more subtle malady will, in spite of our efforts, close its
earthly career.
Kind readers, I am in a position to know thoroughly whereof I write,
for I have been intimate for many years with the wild plants and with
every shade of condition under which they manage to exist. I have
found them in the valley and at the hilltop, in the tall timber and
the brambled "slashing," but in each place were the necessary
conditions of shade and mulch. The experienced Ginseng hunter comes
to know by a kind of instinct just where he will find the plant and
he does not waste time searching in unprofitable places. It is
because he understands its environment. It is the environment he
seeks--the Ginseng is then already found. The happy medium of
condition under which it thrives best in the wild state form the
process of healthy culture.
[Illustration: One Year's Growth of Ginseng Under Lattice Shade.]
Mr. Wm E. Mowrer, of Missouri, is evidently not in favor of the cloth
shading. I think if he had thoroughly water-proofed the cloth it
would have withstood the action of the weather much better. It would
have admitted considerably less light and if he had given enough
mulch to keep the soil properly cool and allowed space enough for
ventilation, he would not have found the method so disastrous. We
will not liken his trial to the potato patch, but to the field where
tobacco is started under canvas. A tent is a cool place if it is open
at the sides and has openings in the top and the larger the tent the
cooler it will be. Ginseng does splendidly under a tent if the tent
is built expressly with regard to the requirements of Ginseng.
In point of cheapness a vine shading is yet ahead of the cloth
system. The wild cucumber vine is best for this purpose, for it is
exactly suited by nature to the conditions in a Ginseng garden. It is
a native of moist, shady places, starts early, climbs high and
rapidly. The seeds may be planted five or six in a "hill" in the
middle of the beds, if preferred, at intervals of six or seven feet,
and the vines may be trained up a small pole to the arbor frame.
Wires, strings or boughs may be laid over the arbor frame for the
vines to spread over. If the shade becomes too dense some of the
vines may be clipped off and will soon wither away. Another advantage
of the wild cucumber is that it is very succulent, taking an
abundance of moisture and to a great extent guards against excessive
dampness in the garden. The vines take almost no strength from the
soil. The exceeding cheapness of this method is the great point in
its favor. It is better to plant a few too many seeds than not
enough, for it is easy to reduce the shade if too dense, but
difficult to increase it in the summer if too light.
* * *
This disease threatens seriously to handicap us in the raising of
Ginseng, says a writer in "Special Crops." It does down, but is
giving us trouble all over the country. No section seems to be immune
from it, tho all seem to be spraying more or less. I know of several
good growers whose gardens have gone down during the last season and
this, and they state that they began early and sprayed late, but to
no decided benefit. What are we to do? Some claim to have perfect
success with spraying as their supposed prevention.
Three years ago I began to reason on this subject and in my rambles
in the woods, I have watched carefully for this disease, as well as
others on the wild plant, and while I have now and then noted a wild
plant that was not entirely healthy, I have never seen any evidence
of blight or other real serious disease. The wild plant usually
appears ideally healthy, and while they are smaller than we grow in
our gardens, they are generally strikingly healthful in color and
general appearance. Why is this so? And why do we have such a reverse
of things among our gardens?
I will offer my ideas on the subject and give my theories of the
causes of the various diseases and believe that they are correct and
time will prove it. At least I hope these efforts of mine will be the
means of helping some who are having so much trouble in the
cultivation of Ginseng. The old saw that the "proof of the pudding is
in chewing the bag," may be amply verified by a visit to my gardens
to show how well my theories have worked so far. I will show you
Ginseng growing in its highest state of perfection and not a
scintilla of blight or any species of alternaria in either of them,
while around me I scarcely know of another healthy garden.
To begin with, moisture is our greatest enemy; heat next; the two
combined at the same time forming the chief cause for most diseases
of the plant.
If the soil in our gardens could be kept only slightly moist, as it
is in the woods, and properly shaded, ventilated and mulched, I am
sure such a thing as blight and kindred diseases would never be
known. The reason for this lies in the fact that soil temperature is
kept low and dry. The roots, as is well known, go away down in the
soil, because the temperature lower down is cooler than at the
surface.
Here is where mulch plays so important a part because it protects the
roots from so much heat that finds its way between the plants to the
top of the beds. The mulch acts as a blanket in keeping the heat out
and protecting the roots thereby. If any one doubts this, just try to
raise the plants without mulch, and note how some disease will make
its appearance. The plant will stand considerable sun, however, with
heavy enough mulch. And the more sun it can take without harm, the
better the root growth will be. Too much shade will show in a
spindling top and slender leaves, and invariable smallness of root
growth, for, let it be borne in mind always, that the plant must
derive more or less food from the top, and it is here that the fungi
in numerous forms proceed to attack.
The plant will not grow in any other atmosphere but one surcharged
with all kinds of fungi. This is the natural environment of the plant
and the only reason why the plants do not all become diseased lies in
the plain fact that its vitality is of such a high character that it
can resist the disease, hence the main thing in fighting disease is
to obtain for the plant the best possible hygienic surroundings and
feed it with the best possible food and thus nourish it to the
highest vitality.
I am a firm believer in spraying of the proper kind, but spraying
will not keep a plant free from disease with other important
conditions lacking. Spraying, if heavily applied, is known as a
positive injury to the plant, despite the fact that many claim it is
not, and the pity is we should have to resort to it in self-defense.
The pores of the leaflets are clogged up to a greater or less extent
with the deposited solution and the plant is dependent to this extent
of its power to breathe.
Coat a few plants very heavily with spray early in the season and
keep it on and note how the plants struggle thru the middle of a hot
day to get their breath. Note that they have a sluggish appearance
and are inclined to wilt. These plants are weakened to a great extent
and if an excess of moisture and heat can get to them, they will
perhaps die down. Another thing: Take a plant that is having a hard
time to get along and disturb the root to some extent and in a day or
two notice spots come upon it and the leaves begin to show a wilting.
Vitality disturbed again.
[Illustration: A Healthy Looking Ginseng Garden.]
The finest plants I have ever found in the woods were growing about
old logs and stumps, where the soil was heavily enriched with
decaying wood. A good cool spot, generally, and more or less mulch,
and if not too much shade present. Where the shade was too dense the
roots were always small. I have in some instances found some very
fine roots growing in the midst of an old stump with no other soil
save the partially rotted stump dirt, showing thus that Ginseng likes
decaying wood matter. Upon learning this, I obtained several loads of
old rotten sawdust, preferably white oak or hickory and my bed in my
gardens is covered at least two inches with it under the leaf mulch.
This acts as a mulch and natural food at one and the same time. The
leaves decay next to the soil and thus we supply leaf mold.
This leaf mold is a natural requirement of the plant and feeds it
also constantly. A few more leaves added each fall keep up the
process and in this way we are keeping the plant wild, which we must
do to succeed with it, for Ginseng can not be greatly changed from
its nature without suffering the consequences. This is what is the
matter now with so many of us. Let's go back to nature and stay
there, and disease will not give us so much trouble again.
One more chief item I forgot to mention was the crowding of the
plants together. The smaller plants get down under the larger and
more vigorous and have a hard struggle for existence. The roots do
not make much progress under these conditions, and these plants might
as well not be left in the beds. And also note that under those
conditions the beds are badly ventilated and if any plants are found
to be sickly they will be these kind. I shall plant all my roots
henceforth at least ten inches apart each way and give them more room
for ventilation and nourishment. They get more chance to grow and
will undoubtedly make firm root development and pay largely better in
the end. Corn cannot be successfully cultivated in rows much narrower
than four feet apart and about two stalks to the hill. All farmers
know if the hills are closer and more stalks to the hill the yield
will be much less.
At this point I would digress to call attention to the smallness of
root development in the woods, either wild or cultivated, because the
trees and tree roots sap so much substance from the soil and other
weeds and plants help to do the same thing. The shade is not of the
right sort, too dense or too sparse in places, and the plants do not
make quick growth enough to justify the growing under such
conditions, and while supposed to be better for health of plants,
does not always prove to be the case. I have seen some gardens under
forest shade that blighted as badly as any gardens.
So many speak of removing the leaves and mulch in the spring from the
beds. Now, this is absolutely wrong, because the mulch and leaves
keep the ground from becoming packed by rains, preserves an even
moisture thru the dry part of the season and equalizes the
temperature. Temperature is as important as shade and the plants will
do better with plenty of mulch and leaves on the beds and
considerable sun than with no mulch, dry hard beds and the ideal
shade. Roots make but little growth in dry, hard ground. Pull your
weeds out by hand and protect your garden from the seng digger thru
the summer and that will be your cultivation until September or
October when you must transplant your young roots into permanent
beds, dig and dry the mature roots.