Progress report for FNE25-134
Project Information
This project will focus on the following five objectives with the goal of expanding and disseminating knowledge of the growing methods and economic viability of six distinct, economically important Chinese herbs:
i) Determine the economic yield and potency of six commonly used Chinese herbs, schisandra (Schisandra chinensis), codonopsis (Codonopsis pilosula), red sage (Salvia miltiorrhiza), baikal skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis), houttuynia (Houttuynia cordata), and astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus), when grown in the Northeastern US
ii) Identify management challenges for the six selected Chinese medicinal plants, including disease incidence and pest pressure
iii) Create an enterprise budget for each crop to evaluate the economic feasibility of growing Chinese herbs in the Northeast
iv) Quantify changes in soil health after three years for each crop grown in monoculture and following a perennial polyculture mix of three root crops: astragalus, red sage and baikal skullcap
v) Develop six educational videos (one for each crop) for new and existing farmers that will address all aspects of production. Create a Google document with our notes, journal entries, and observations. This document will be shared with farmers once we have it edited for clarity.
We at Blue Crow Botanicals have been producing herbal extracts with Chinese medicinal herbs for over ten years. We have been processing both imported Chinese herbs as well as our own farm grown Chinese herbs into extracts and have become increasingly eager to have the resources to conduct a study on growing Chinese medicinals in the northeast region of the United States. With a growing demand for Chinese medicinals globally, and concerns of over-harvesting and many supply concerns that the climate crisis is bringing forth we see it as essential to develop a body of knowledge about best practices of growing Chinese medicinals in our region. We see the future as being driven by smaller local businesses and folks moving towards community care and access, and we want to understand more about Chinese medicinals and ensure that they can be sustainably grown and medicinally potent when grown in the Northeast. We are curious to know if medicinal herbs could be a feasible avenue for diversification on existing farms, both as a commodity for profit and to create more biodiversity on local farms thus improving their overall sustainability. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is very popular in our region and it is our goal to conduct and disseminate research on the growing of potent, high quality herbs in a sustainable way that has the potential to impact farming trends in our region, improving soil and farm resiliency. We cannot know if we are matching the quality of Chinese herbs grown in their home soils until we study the production of Chinese medicinals in our region, come up with a set of best management practices and evaluate the herbs for potency, comparatively against Asian grown herbs.
At present, the primary commercial producers of medicinal plants in the US are located on the west coast, and many Chinese medicine crops are imported. Yet, there are 80+ farmers growing medicinal herbs in the Northeastern US and the demand for locally produced medicinals is increasing. Optimizing medicinal plant production for the Northeast can enhance economic opportunities for new and existing farmers while contributing to community resiliency and providing an avenue to improve public health. Additionally, the production of Chinese medicine crops can provide ecological benefits to agroecosystems by supporting pollinator habitat and enhancing soil health, thus contributing to the development of resilient farming systems.
A major barrier to the commercial production of medicinals in the Northeast is the lack of grower resources that can provide relevant context for management practices, potential pitfalls, or expected economic returns. Currently, producers interested in medicinal plant cultivation rely primarily on knowledge sharing from experienced farmers and community members and/or resources produced in other regions to make management decisions. Moreover, to our knowledge, there is no readily available yield or market data available for Chinese herbs grown in the Northeast. Collecting ‘baseline’ data and synthesizing the wealth of existing community knowledge via the development of tangible resources is the first step towards optimizing best management practices and identifying/expanding potential markets for medicinal crops in the northeastern US. To begin to address these knowledge gaps, this project will focus on generating data and developing regionally specific resources for six commonly used Chinese medicine crops: schizandra (Schisandra chinensis), codonopsis (Codonopsis pilosula), red sage (Salvia miltiorrhiza), baikal skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis), houttuynia (Houttuynia cordata), and astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus).
Widely utilized in TCM, the retail value for the herbs selected for this project ranges from $17 - 66 per pound of dry weight. Unlike the other perennial herbs included in this project which are cultivated for their roots, houttuynia (in which leaves are harvested) and schizandra (in which berries are harvested) should be grown in permanent beds. An advantage of cultivating long-term perennial herbs is the opportunity for multiple harvests each season, despite relatively low annual labor investment post-establishment. Moreover, in addition to their medicinal value, Houttuynia roots and leaves are widely consumed as a vegetable crop in many Asian cultures, which can offer an additional opportunity to diversify farm markets and reach a wider consumer base. By contrast, root crop perennial herbs should be harvested 2-3 years after establishment. As such, there is potential for medicinal root crops to be incorporated into rotations as dual-purpose crops with the goal of improving soil health and creating pollinator habitat while providing additional commodities to growers. Because they are adapted to thrive in poor conditions, and in fact may produce higher concentrations of medicinal compounds (secondary metabolites) under stress, many medicinal crops can be grown in poor-yielding areas of a field or grown alongside edges where soil quality may be limiting. This can be especially useful for farms located in urban areas, where pollinator corridors are disrupted. Moreover, as perennial crops with robust root systems, the selected Chinese herbs can promote soil health by supporting soil biology via continuous root presence in the soil, minimizing annual soil disturbance, reducing soil erosion, and sequestering atmospheric carbon.
This project will focus on the following five objectives with the goal of expanding and disseminating knowledge of the growing methods and economic viability of six distinct, economically important Chinese herbs:
i) Determine the economic yield and potency of six commonly used Chinese herbs, schisandra (Schisandra chinensis), codonopsis (Codonopsis pilosula), red sage (Salvia miltiorrhiza), baikal skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis), houttuynia (Houttuynia cordata), and astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus), when grown in the Northeastern US
ii) Identify management challenges for the six selected Chinese medicinal plants, including disease incidence and pest pressure
iii) Create an enterprise budget for each crop to evaluate the economic feasibility of growing Chinese herbs in the Northeast
iv) Quantify changes in soil health after three years for each crop grown in monoculture and following a perennial polyculture mix of three root crops: astragalus, red sage and baikal skullcap
v) Develop six educational videos (one for each crop) for new and existing farmers that will address all aspects of production
Cooperators
- - Technical Advisor
Research
To address project objectives, this project combines an on-farm research project and an outreach strategy centered around farmer interviews and development of educational resources (videos and workshops). An overview of methods and updates on progress made are outlined below.
- On-farm research project
1.1 Establishment of field experiment plots (2025, completed)
A replicated field experiment was established at the Blue Crow Botanicals Farm, located on leased acreage at Just Roots Farm in Greenfield, MA, to address Objectives i-iv. The soil at this location is characterized as a Sudbury sandy loam and has been in no-till medicinal crop production for over seven years. Monocultures of red sage (Salvia miltiorrhiza), baikal skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) and astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus), as well as a polyculture of the three species, were planted in experimental plots (2.5’ x 6’) laid out in a randomized complete block design and consisting of three replications. Seedlings were germinated in April and transplanted at the end of May; compost was incorporated into the soil at time of transplanting. All seedlings were spaced 12-18” apart and covered with row cover for one month following transplanting to encourage robust establishment. Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis) and Codonopsis (Codonopsis pilosula) are vining plants that prefer slightly acidic soil, so they were planted on the woodland edge of the property in 20’ rows and trellised. Houttuynia is the only plant that was not be newly established for this project, as a permanent patch is already established at our farm.
1.2 Year 1 Record Keeping and Data Collection (2025, completed)
In the first year, the following data was collected as part of the on-farm research trial:
- Yield (objective i): Fresh yield data was collected and recorded for Houttuynia (harvested 5 times using a harvesting knife) from a dense patch that was already established on our farm (16’ x 10’).
- Identification of management challenges (objective ii): Throughout the season, major management challenges were identified and recorded for each crop; these challenges will serve as the basis for conversations and interviews with other farmers that will be used for the development of educational materials and workshops.
- Enterprise budget (objective iii): A template was created for the development of an enterprise budget for each crop and relevant information recorded and updated throughout the season.
- Baseline soil health assessment (objective iv): Baseline soil tests (CASH Standard Plus Package, Cornell Soil Health Testing Laboratory) were taken from each plot prior to transplanting and compost amendment; this data will serve as a baseline in order to quantify the changes in soil health as impacted by medicinal herb production (monoculture and polyculture). Soil tests were sent to the Cornell Soil Health Testing laboratory for analysis, and testing was carried out using the CASH sampling protocol. Since Houttuynia is already established in a permanent bed at our farm, we did not collect soil health data for this crop.
1.3 Planned Data Collection Year 2 and 3 (to be completed 2026 and 2027)
- Yield (objective i): Fresh and dry yield data will be collected from each perennial crop in 2026 and 2027, at harvest.
- Root harvest (2027): For monocultures, five plants per plot will be harvested for yield analysis, and two plants of each species will be harvested from each of the polyculture perennial plots. After separating the roots from the aerial parts, roots will be carefully washed and weighed to obtain yield. Afterwards, 500 g roots will be finely chopped and dehydrated for 72 hours to determine moisture content. Dry weight yield will be calculated based on fresh weight and percent moisture.
- Fruit Harvest (2026, 2027): Schizandra should produce berries by the third year of production and every year after that. In this project, established plants (2-3 years) were transplanted, so ideally we will able to harvest in the second and third year of the project and collect two years of yield data. We will collect initial yield in the third year by harvesting berries from three, 3’ sections of vine along the trellis, spaced 2.5’ away from the trellis edge and 3’ from each other and weighed to obtain fresh yield. Additionally, 500 g of berries will be dehydrated for 72 hours to determine moisture content. Dry weight yield will be calculated based on fresh weight and percent moisture.
- Potency (objective i): Potency assessments will be made using organoleptic testing, that is, assessment using the senses in a way that is measured and scientifically validated. Criteria such as taste, odor, mouthfeel, appearance, and texture will be used to comparatively assess the potency of the herbs. Potency will be tested in 2027, towards the end of the project cycle.
- Pest and Disease Data (objective ii): Plots will continue to be scouted for pests and diseases. If disease symptoms or signs are observed, samples will be collected and sent to the UMass Plant Disease Diagnostics Laboratory for diagnostic work, and monitored regularly by determining the spread (% of crop affected) and severity of damage (1-5 scale). The same will be done for pest pressure. Any damage, insects or diseases will be documented with photos and videos to be included in outreach materials.
- Enterprise budget (objective iii): Costs associated with production will continue to be recorded and the enterprise budget template updated regularly. The final budget will be calculated in 2027, and will reflect the cost of start-up materials (seed, trellis, compost etc.) for each crop, annual labor budgets, and economic return based on yield data and existing market values.
- Soil Health Data (objective iv): To evaluate the soil health benefits of each crop, soil samples will be taken from each plot again after two years and sent to the Cornell Soil Health Laboratory for analysis (CASH Standard Plus Package). Because of the short duration of the study, we will focus primarily on changes in sensitive soil health indicators, namely POXC, soil respiration, and autoclave-citrate extractable protein (ACE Protein) to determine the potential of the selected Chinese herbs to contribute to soil health. As these indicators can fluctuate over the course of the season, we will sample in the same month both sample years.
- Outreach and Development of Educational Videos (2026-2027)
2.1 Development of Educational Videos (objective v): A major objective of this project is to create 6 educational videos one for each crop included in this project, to share our findings and carefully lay out a set of best practices for growing these crops in the Northeast, based on our findings. The videos will also include farmer interviews with key farms in the US that have been growing Chinese medicinal herbs for a number of years sharing their perspective and expertise.
2.2 Workshops (objective v): We will host two educational on-farm workshops and present at five conferences (2 in 2026) with the aim of contributing to a growing body of knowledge on the subject of Chinese Medicinal plant production and putting the Northeast on the map as a zone of interest, benefiting farmers and their communities.
Key and challenges and observations from the first year of the project (2025) are outlined below.
On-farm research project:
In the first year, detailed management (transplanting date, management-related issues) and economic records (inputs, labor) were kept in order to develop an enterprise budget and form a basis of discussion for conversations and interviews with regional farmers. Additionally, baseline soil health tests (CASH Standard Package) were conducted for each plot, and houttiniya harvest was measured for the first year (68 lb/plot; 18,500 lb/ac per season). While no changes were made from our original methods to date, we encountered several challenges, including:
- Poor germination of astragalus seeds in April. Seeds were re-started in July using an improved scarification process. Based on conversations with other farmers, this is not an uncommon challenge, and could be a priority topic when developing educational materials.
- Issues with slugs and rodents in perennial beds. There was significant slug and rodent pressure in the newly established perennial beds, possibly exacerbated by the use of straw mulch. A potential solution would be the use of wood chips as a mulch in future years.
- Presence of Asian jumping worms. Impacting project implementation in terms of transplantation and establishment of young plants. *See attached video of soil impacted by jumping worm activity.
Additionally, we made the following initial observations:
- Astragalus may prefer less managed conditions. Despite being difficult to germinate during seedling production, astragalus seems to volunteer somewhat readily in field conditions, growing vigorously near established patches, despite less than optimal conditions in some cases (e.g. high-traffic, mulched pathways). This may suggest that establishment of astragalus patches could be a better way of managing (or germinating) this crop rather than transplanting and including as part of a crop rotation plan.
- Increased economic potential of houttuynia. We are curious about the economic potential of houttuynia, as it is an important and well loved tonic in Asia, used in food and taken as a tea as well as added to health and beauty products. We learned this colloquially from speaking with community members who have lived in Japan and Korea and would like to conduct outreach to local asian markets in the greater Massachusetts area to see if there is a market for either fresh or dried houttuynia leaf amongst community members. We would like to approach the conversation not only to assess commercial potential but also to gain a greater understanding of the diverse usage of houttuynia in its native habitat and to make community connections. In our climate, houttuynia is a high-yielding crop that provides multiple harvests per season (up to 5) and is easy to manage once established.
Research progress and methods are described in the sections above.