Ginseng in Merrill, Wisconsin

In 1904, the four Fromm brothers from the Wisconsin township of Hamburg, near Wausau, Wisconsin, transplanted 100 wild ginseng plants from nearby forests onto a plot of their land and carefully duplicated the natural growth conditions. The perseverance of these early ginseng growers and the ideal growth conditions in Marathon County have made it the ginseng capital of the United States, producing approximately 10% of the world's supply of ginseng root. More than 90% of the cultivated ginseng grown in the United States is grown in Wisconsin, and 90 to 95% of Wisconsin-grown ginseng is produced in Marathon County.

Ginseng beds in Wisconsin are usually cultivated for three years before harvest, unless disease problems mandate earlier harvest.

We are parked this week at my uncle's farm just outside of Merrill, Wisconsin, which is in Marathon County, where we noticed the black mesh covering a section of his field. Ginseng! Of course I had to go online and check it out. I have learned some interesting things about ginseng, including what you have just read in the previous paragraphs.