Rural areas in China have a wide variety of wild vegetables, many of which are edible or medicinal. Today, we would like to recommend a common health vegetable found in rural areas - False Ginseng (also known as soil ginseng).
Image of False Ginseng
【Benefits and Uses of False Ginseng】
1. Treats anemia
The tender leaves of False Ginseng contain ginsenosides, amino acids, and various vitamins. Regular consumption can assist in the treatment of anemia, neurasthenia, sexual dysfunction, and digestive system cancers.
2. Treats spleen deficiency and weakness
The root of False Ginseng can be used to treat spleen deficiency and weakness. When dried and stewed, it can be used to treat malnutrition syndrome. When combined with other Chinese herbs, it can also regulate women's menstrual irregularities.
3. Treats cold and cough
False Ginseng has medicinal properties and is a helpful health supplement. Many rural people use it to make chicken soup when they have a cold, cough, dizziness, or anemia.
4. Treats boils
Fresh leaves of False Ginseng can be applied externally to treat boils and other diseases. It is said that in South America, people crush the stem and leaves to apply externally to disperse blood stasis and reduce swelling. It can also be brewed to treat conjunctivitis and alleviate the condition of people who are mentally depressed.
Image of False Ginseng
【Nutritional Value of False Ginseng】
The root of False Ginseng resembles real ginseng, which is why it is called soil ginseng or ginseng vegetable by farmers.
False Ginseng has both medicinal and edible value, but only the tender stems and leaves or the enlarged fleshy roots of ginseng vegetable are edible. In most cases, the tender stems and leaves are consumed more frequently.
The tender stems and leaves of False Ginseng contain protein, amino acids, vitamin C, calcium, iron, and zinc, which give them the effects of tonifying the middle, nourishing the lungs, promoting lactation, and reducing swelling and pain.
Regular consumption of soil ginseng can also assist in the treatment of symptoms such as qi deficiency and weakness, dry and coughing lungs, and physical weakness. Therefore, in some southern regions, people consider this imported wild vegetable as a health food.
In addition to its root resembling ginseng, False Ginseng is also quite rich in nutritional value. It is known that every 100 grams of edible ginseng vegetable contains 1.56 grams of protein, 0.18 grams of fat, 11.6 grams of vitamin C, 1.33 grams of total amino acids, 28.4 milligrams of iron, 57.17 milligrams of calcium, and 3.19 milligrams of zinc.
Image of False Ginseng
【Cultivation Techniques for False Ginseng】
1. Prepare the soil
When planting False Ginseng, the soil should be prepared into ridges, with a length determined by the terrain and a width of about one meter. Since the seeds are small, the soil should be fine to facilitate better growth.
2. Sowing
Avoid sowing in winter and ensure the temperature is above 15°C. Before sowing, the seeds should be exposed to sunlight for 3 hours and soaked in warm water for about 3 hours. Then, mix the seeds with fine sand, and finally, sow and cover with a layer of fine soil.
3. Transplanting
When the False Ginseng has 5-6 leaves, it should be transplanted to the ridges and attention should be given to moisture retention. After successful transplantation, a sufficient amount of well-rotted manure should be applied, and nitrogen fertilizer should be applied in appropriate amounts after harvesting.
4. Fertilization
False Ginseng likes to grow in warm and humid environments but is afraid of waterlogging and cannot tolerate water accumulation. After transplantation, fertilization should be carried out mainly using manure water or biogas liquid fertilizer. Later on, a proper amount of fast-acting nitrogen fertilizer and potassium fertilizer should be applied.
