Ashwagandha

(Withania somnifera)

Ashwagandha, also known as Indian Ginseng or Winter Cherry, is a revered herb in Ayurvedic medicine. I have read that in Sanskrit Ashwagandha means “horse root” or “smells like horse” and it does.  Or maybe the name comes from the belief that “Ashwagandha can help make an old man feel like a young horse”. This herb originates from the dry regions of India, the Middle East, and parts of Africa but with care it grows very well in the midwest too.  Ashwagandha is one of our favorite herbs to grow for tea at Sacred Blossom Farm, and that's why it deserves to be one of the main components in Tiger.

Benefits of Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is considered an adaptogen - it supports the adrenal system, potentially boosting low energy or mellowing frazzled energy.  It may help improve concentration, combat stress, support muscle growth, virility and fertility, and help with weight loss.  Ashwagandha supports numerous health benefits! Modern research highlights its potential in enhancing mental health, sleep quality, and physical performance*

Ashwagandha contains various constituents that contribute to its benefits, including:

Withanolides (steroidal lactones),  which are unique to Ashwagandha and known to be a neuroprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory.

Alkaloids, which are naturally occurring chemical compositions composed of mostly basic nitrogen atoms. Alkaloids in Ashwagandha include isopelletierine, anaferine, cuscohygrine, anahygrine. Shown to support immunomodulatory actions.*

Saponins, are a subclass of terpenoids that are bitter tasting historically used for soap making and indigenous fish hunting. This is what gives Ashwagandha its kick.

How to Grow Ashwagandha

Starting Ashwagandha from seed / germination:  A healthy Ashwagandha plant will produce around 100 “cherries”, each containing about 25 seeds.  We save our own seeds.  They are a bit of a hassle to clean (separate from the cherry) but not too bad.  Originally we purchased our seed from Strictly Medicinal Seeds. 

Ashwagandha takes our entire Wisconsin growing season to mature, so we must start them early in our greenhouse and transplant them.  Direct seeded Ashwagandha would be preferable because the taproots quickly reach the bottom of our trays and unnaturally splay out.  We help compensate for this by using proptek 238 deep trays.   

Around April 7th we sow two to three seeds per cell and then diligently thin to one plant per cell. If there is more than 1 plant yield decreases and the roots will be very difficult to clean.  Ashwagandha likes it warm (70 degrees +) and doesn’t need light to germinate so we start them in our germination chamber.  

It takes 6 weeks from seeding for the little Ashwagandhas to fill out their small propagation trays.  At this point they are ready to harden off and plant out after frost.   A home gardener should up pot and let them get bigger before setting out.  I have tried starting them in 72 cell deep trays; the yield was equal, the risk was less, but they took 3X the greenhouse space..

Planting Ashwagandha:  Ashwagandha are extremely frost sensitive and they won’t even grow in cold, wet spring conditions. It is important that the soil has warmed up before planting.  Using our water wheel transplanter, we plant Ashwagandha 18 inches between plants and 30 inches between rows.  We sneak a row of transplanted beets in between the rows.  The beets are harvested about 75 days later, just as the Ashwagandha is starting to shade the beets out.

Caring for Ashwagandha Plants:   Ashwagandha seedlings are tricky but we have never had a crop failure.  Cucumber beetles munch on them and as a nightshade plant, they are a tasty treat for colorado potato beetles.  We set out very small plants and if all the leaves get chewed off, they will die.  Left unchecked, Colorado potato beetles will destroy the crop.

To control the potato beetles we plant a trap crop of potatoes.  First thing each spring I start 6 potato plants in pots so they are nice sized to plant out when we plant the Ashwagandha. Getting them started super early gets the potato beetles started early, which gets the potato beetle predators started early - exactly what we need.  Then, when we plant the Ashwagandha we also plant a row of potatoes.  Every 4 days through the first half of the summer I will come along with a tennis racket and whack each potato plant, knocking the beetles into a bin.  Some of the beetles don’t get captured, but it doesn’t matter.  If you get ½ of them each time, it keeps them at bay.  After a while, we have so many predators that the colorado potato beetles are naturally kept in check.

Once the Ashwagandha have been in the ground for two months they are home free.  They get big, shade out weeds and seem unstoppable (except by frost).  They tolerate dry soil very well.

I don’t think Ashwagandha would be worth growing if I had clay soil.  Our sandy soil warms up quickly in the spring and also makes the plants easy to dig and wash.

Harvesting Ashwagandha: Ashwagandha needs our entire season to mature so we harvest them first thing after frost.  This works out well for us since there are so many things that need to be harvested right before the first frost.  The tops of the plants will die back with frost and it is important to get them right after this or they will re-sprout, taking vitality from the root.  The whole plant has medicinal constituents but the deep taproots are what we are after.  We first mow the field about 2 inches from the ground then hit the rows with a plow (which digs deeper than a potato digger) and tosses each of the plants right in a perfect upside down row.  We then pick them up by hand, place them right into the truck and bring them to wash.

Drying Ashwagandha is surprisingly easy considering the roots are hard and can be an inch in diameter.  We process the roots through a wood chipper, then sift.  The big pieces get chipped a second time.  I have chipped the roots both before and after drying.  There are pros and cons to each and I’m not sure which I like better.  

Uses and Preparations
My favorite way to consume Ashwagandha is to keep some on the dashboard of my car, then chew on some of the smaller roots whenever I drive.  Fresh Ashwagandha root makes my favorite tincture. Cut and sifted or powdered Ashwagandha root can be used in teas or capsules. It is often recommended for nightly consumption to aid sleep and reduce stress or in the morning to boost energy.* Consult a healthcare provider for appropriate dosages and potential interactions with other medications.

For more information on this wonderful herb please visit the American Botanical Council.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.