Ephedra has only thin stems and no leaves. Its underground roots can be as deep as seven meters, firmly supporting the soil, and they can survive for six months under the condition of zero rainfall as long as they are supplemented with enough water once. Ephedra is a precious Chinese herbal medicine, also known as Ephedra and Ephedra. It is a perennial herb, which grows rapidly on sandy land and Gobi desert. It likes arid desert and Gobi climate and has strong adaptability to drought.

The neutral sandy loam with deep soil layer, good drainage and rich nutrients should be selected for planting ephedra, and it is not suitable for planting ephedra in low-lying and poorly drained clay. Before sowing, turn over the soil deeply to achieve depth, thickness, smoothness, firmness and uniformity, and then make the border. The width of the boundary is about 1.4m, and the length of the boundary depends on the terrain. A small ridge was built around the border to facilitate water diversion and irrigation. The direction of the border should be north and south. Manure or compost 1000 ~ 2000 kg is applied to 667 meters as base fertilizer, and the fertilizer is fully mixed with the border soil before planting.

Ephedra seeds are small, with weak top soil force and slow emergence. Therefore, we should first choose seeds with high purity, high germination rate and full seeds. Secondly, choose the sandy soil or sandy loam plot with sunny leeward, flat terrain and convenient irrigation as the boundary. The plot area is 4m× 6m or 3m× 7m, and farm manure 100kg and diammonium phosphate 0.5kg are applied to each plot. Create a flat, fertile, loose and suitable soil environment through soil preparation, irrigation, fertilization and harrowing. The optimum temperature for seed germination of Ephedra sinica is about 25℃. Therefore, it should be planted from March to May or from late July to early August. The sowing amount is generally 165kg/hm2, and 6 million seedlings can be saved.

Before sowing, the seeds are dried, soaked in liquid medicine or treated with chemicals to kill the germs attached to the seeds. Seeds are usually soaked in 2% formalin solution 10 minute, or in 50% carbendazim solution for 8 ~ 100 hour, or in 0.5%KMnO4 solution and 1% cuso4.5h2o solution1hour. The soaking time should not be too long to avoid phytotoxicity. When sowing, Chinese ephedra seeds are mixed with 20 times fine sand, evenly spread on the border, lightly compacted with stones, and then covered with sand 1 ~ 2 cm. The management of seedbed should focus on watering, weeding and insect prevention, especially irrigation in winter, which should be sufficient and even, but not water and ice. In the next spring or autumn, according to the growth of ephedra seedlings, they can go out of the nursery.