Anyone grow ginseng as a cash crop?

[NWPilgrim]

Watching the cable program about ginseng diggers and it selling for $300-$600/lb got me to wondering why this plant is not more widely grown as a crop.

Anyone here familiar with the ginseng market, cultivation or digging? I live in NW Oregon and wonder if it could be grown here under cultivation. I understand it takes 7 years to get a harvest. If I planted a section every year then after seven years could I not keep a rotation going?

How many plants does it take to make a pound? Looks like it could be fifty or so?

[Scoby]

I too saw the show you are referring to, Appalachian Outlaws. I was curious myself on how this may be cultivated.

As a aside, my wife's mother is from the Appalachians. She said that her brothers used to hunt ginseng when in season and the stuff really did cause folks to think outside the boundaries of the law to acquire it.

[GH41]

This is one of the ideas that if easy everyone would be doing it. http://www.ncgoldenseal.com/info/ginseng.html GH