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How to Grow Goldenseal
Site selection is the most important factor for producing
healthy goldenseal. It must be grown in an area that has
sufficient winter cold to meet the dormancy
requirements of the rhizomes. Goldenseal likes moisture and
rich soil, so it can definitely be grown in much of the
Northeast, mid-Atlantic, upper Midwest, and Pacific
Northwest.
If you want to grow in the forest, look for a site where
other woodland herbs are growing such as mayapple, trillium,
bloodroot, or black cohosh. A site with deeply rooted,
mixed hardwoods is preferred; goldenseal plantings
established under oak, poplar, walnut, and basswood have
been successful.
Providing Shade
Goldenseal needs to be grown in the shade. Natural forest
canopy can provide this; you will want a mixed forest with
high canopy and deep rooted trees, which allows good airflow
which is important for foliage. The shade level should be
approximately 75%.
Site Preparation
Remove small undesirable trees, tree roots, weeds and other
undergrowth. Once the land is cleared, till or turn the
soil and if you are going to add aged manure or compost.
Build raised beds or dig trenches between your beds to allow
water drainage. Leave space between beds to allow easy
walking and kneeling for weeding and picking fruit.
Goldenseal will grow in a wide range of soil pH, but at a
low pH (4.5) goldenseal grows very slowly, but the root
alkaloid levels are high. At a high pH (›6.8) goldenseal
grows very quickly, but root alkaloid levels are low and the
plants appear to be more susceptible to disease.
Storage
If you need to store the roots (rhizomes with roots, root
pieces or transplants) pack them in burlap sacks or
cardboard boxes. Do not store in sealed plastic bags.
Keep the roots damp but not too wet. The roots must be
kept cool in storage (maintaining a temperature of around
38-40 degrees.
Propagation by Transplants, Rhizome Pieces, or Root Cuttings
The easiest reliable method for propagating goldenseal are
transplanting or planting pieces of the rhizome.
Transplants come ready to plant and whole rhizomes need to
be cut into one half inch or larger pieces. Each piece
should have healthy fibrous roots and a bud. The larger the
piece you plant, the faster you will have a harvestable size
root. Plant the transplants or rhizome pieces in narrow
trenches between 1”-2” deep with the bud facing up. Do not
leave the bud exposed, cover with several inches of organic
mulch.
Another method involves using root cuttings and a process
called layering. Look for strong, fibrous roots with buds
or large swellings that look like they might turn into
buds. Cut the fibrous roots into 1”-2” sections, with the
bud or swelling in the middle, and layer them under 1” or 2”
of soil in a nursery bed in late fall or early spring.
Cover with several inches of mulch. The fibrous root pieces
that you planted should form small tops or large buds during
the summer. These little plants can then be planted into
production beds the following autumn.
You can also grow goldenseal from seed. To produce roots
large enough to harvest, it usually takes from three to five
years from rhizome pieces, three to six years from
transplants, four to six years from root cuttings and five
to seven years from seed.
Seed Propagation
Storing goldenseal seed in a cooler or a stratification box
buried in the soil can result in a delay in germination by a
year compared to fresh seed that is sown immediately after
it is collected from the plant. Generally, most seed that
has been stored will germinate the second spring after seed
harvest. In contrast, seed that is sown after harvest from
the plant will often have a 75% or higher germination rate
the first spring after planting. Like ginseng, goldenseal
seed has very specific temperature requirements for
germination.
Planting and Spacing
Goldenseal can be planted in the fall or in the spring.
Fall planting of transplants, rhizome pieces and root
cuttings have been successful in all growing areas. Spring
planting of root cuttings should also be successful. Plant
goldenseal on a 6”x6” spacing; any closer tends to crowd the
plants, making them more susceptible to disease and
decreasing root weight.
Mulching
Goldenseal should be mulched to hold in soil moisture,
reduce weed growth, moderate temperatures and provide winter
protection. The mulch layer should be several inches deep
and consist of whole or shredded leaves, hardwood bark
chips, hardwood bark and sawdust mixture or straw however
slugs have caused significantly more damage in straw mulched
plots than in any other mulch treatment.
Pests
Under natural conditions goldenseal suffers few attacks from
diseases or insects. The major problem is slugs. Slugs can
quickly devour an entire bed of seedlings and slug control
can be difficult so you may want to apply commercial slug
and snail bait. Moles and voles may also damage the beds
and should be controlled with traps or by bordering the beds
with wire mesh set 8”-12” deep in the soil.
(Insert pictures of pests)
Seed Collection
To collect seed from goldenseal, harvest fruit when fully
ripe (dark red) once your plants are mature enough to
produce fruit. Put the fruit in a bucket and add water to
about twice the depth of the fruit. Mash the fruit by
kneading with your hands being careful not to crush the
seed. This starts the process of releasing the seed from
the fruit. Cover lightly with a damp cloth and let the
berry and water mix sit and ferment at room temperature
until the flesh can be easily removed from the seed which
usually takes several days. Pour off the dirty water and
rinse with fresh water until the seeds are clean. Fill the
container again with water and remove the seeds that float.
The viable seeds will be the “sinkers”.
Storage
Goldenseal seeds are small, round, black and hard. Like
ginseng seed, they should never be allowed to dry out. If
the seed will not be sewn immediately, mix it with fine,
clean damp sand and place it in a wooden box with a screen
top and bottom. Bury the container in a shaded, well
drained area exposed to natural rain. Check the seeds
periodically to ensure the sand is damp and not
waterlogged. Keep the seed buried until ready to plant in
late fall or in very early spring.
Planting Seeds
Goldenseal seeds are most commonly sown in the fall in a
nursery bed and grown out for a year or two before moving to
production beds. Cover the seed with about 1/2” of soil and
tamp down lightly with a rake or hoe; then cover the area
with an inch of mulch to prevent the soil from drying out.
Harvest
When goldenseal plants have fully occupied the beds (usually
after three to five years), either harvest the roots or
divide the plants. The best time to dig the roots is in the
fall through early winter after the tops have died down.
Dig the roots carefully, trying to keep the many fibrous
roots intact and gently shaking off excess soil before
gathering the roots into picking buckets or sacks. It is
important to keep them moist at this point.
Washing and Drying Roots
This is no easy task!
Goldenseal’s fibrous mass of roots hold soil and pieces of
mulch much more than a ginseng root. Carefully wash the
roots by spreading them over a screen outdoors and spraying
with water from a garden hose. Work the roots between your
hands being careful to get the pieces of mud that get caught
against the rhizome.
Do not use a brush!
Spread the clean roots on screens and dry in a
well-ventilated area in the shade. Keep temperatures
between 85-100° and provide good air flow around the roots.
If the roots are dried too hot and fast, the outside of the
root dries first, leaving the inside of the root moist thus
making it difficult to extract moisture from the interior of
the root. The quality of the root is destroyed and will
bring a lower price than properly dried roots. Roots will
lose about 70% of their weight during drying.
(Add Goldenseal pictures)
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