In gardens where slugs laid eggs last year the young have hatched. The mild winter conditions have allowed a high survival rate. Cutworms are still active. Both cutworms and slugs can chew on the stems as they emerge, and on the leaves as they begin to unfold. In older gardens it is now time to consider deflowering.
Most gardens are about a week ahead of normal development.
As soon as the leaves unfold, the buds will begin to elongate. The earlier that the bud is removed, the sooner energy can go into the development of the root. Ginseng roots do most of their growing after the seeds have set, from about mid July onward. This has been the ginseng AgriPhone for May 18th. The next AgriPhone will be May 23rd.