Gardening tips, gardening info and heaps of ideas to help gardeners of all experience get more out of their hobby and out of their gardens.

Your Ad Here


Archives





Growing Goji berries

goji berries.jpg
If you've been following the health industry with any interest you would have noticed a product called Himalayan Goji juice being touted as the next big thing in health food supplements. We've seen it all before with mangosteens, acai and even hoodia gordonii and I'm sure goji berries won't be the last.

Each of these so-called 'incredible health supplements' have surpassed each other making mangosteen and acai juice so yesterday! But, for the time being goji berries are the flavour of the month which entitles manufacturers of goji juice to charge a truckload for their products - apparently.

So, I'm not about to argue whether the hype is real or not but for those who are convinced it's the health supplement of the century, let me show you how to grow goji berries.

History of goji berries

Before you race out and buy some goji seed it may pay to read up on it's preferred climate and history.

Firstly, as most overzealous marketers would want you to believe that goji berries are grown in the Tibetan Himalayas according to this report at least, it's most probably not the case. It is far more likely that goji berries come from Lycium barbarum a plant native to China.

Having grown well in the UK since 1730 and now being tested by home gardeners in the US there's reason to believe that goji berries could survive many of our gardens.

Goji berries are not keen on tropical climates but are able to stave off frosts in cold climate gardens.

How to grow goji berries

While many nurseries are now stocking goji plants the easiest, and by far the cheapest, way to start a goji is by planting from seed. If dried goji berries are available in your area then its possible to remove the seeds and germinate as you normally would for any seed propagation.

Once the seedlings have produced 3-4 leaves repot them and continue growing in containers until they are at least 15-20cm tall. When they reach this height they can easily be transplanted to their garden position in late autumn or early spring.

A good dose of slow-release fertiliser around their drip line in spring will help them with fruit set and encourage strong root growth.

How long do goji berries take to mature?

Lycium barbarum will set its flowers in summer to early autumn and the berries will mature by the end of autumn and into early winter. The goji berries start off green and ripen to a dark red and look similar in shape to tamarillos.

Are goji berries edible?

Of course, however they are not usually eaten fresh but are either cooked or dried. They are used extensively in Chinese cooking flavouring rice and wet dishes. However, they can be eaten dried and apparently are similar in taste to a dried tomato with the texture of a raisin.




Comments

Good day!!! I am of Argentina need to buy Lycium Barbarum's seeds you have.... Where I can obtain?
Regards

I bought my goji seeds off ebay,cheap.I am planting them in containers on my balcony in Ohio

Good post! This post is among a few on internet to tell the truth of where goji is really from. I am from Zhongning, China (its nickname is goji hometown for Zhongning is famous for growing goji in the history). Currently I am developing a website attempting to clarify 'tibetan' or 'himalayas' goji misconception. Please visit go-goji.com if you want to know about truth, but here I would like to add something that were omitted by the author of this post:
1. You can buy dried goji berries to extract seeds from it, but you don't know the parent cultivar and may end up with plants poor in yield performance and other important traits like disease tolerance. go-goji.com introduce a super goji cultivar newly developed in China. It is featured with high yield, larger fruit size and better disease tolerance. If you want to save some dollars to use goji berries you have to extract seeds, that's fine but better not to use seeds claimed as 'tibetan goji' because tibetan goji is just a scam.
2. It is very important to prune goji plants once they grow to 3 feet tall, goji plants need to be heaveily pruned every year to ensure good yield. visit go-goji.com for more information
3. Actually you can eat fresh goji and dried goji berries. Fresh goji taste good, very fuicy, mild sweet with a little sour. Growing environment such as sunshine, water and temperature also influence taste of goji berries
Please let me know if you have questions!

I have a friend who started a goji garden from seeds of unknown cultivar she obtained from some online sellers - plants grown from the seeds are different -some have round leaves others have long leaves and fruit size and shape are also different. I think we need better goji cultivars, ideally start from cuttings as mentioned by previous post. It is interesting to know something new from go-goji.com now i know why some goji berries from my friend taste bad.

I am interested in growing a large number of goji berry plants for commercial purposes in the top of the South Island, New Zealand. Recently plants have been released into garden centres nationwide. I am keen to know if the growing conditions for the plants are suitable to the cool winters and hot summers and if I am better to try to cultivate my own plants from seeds.

Melisa,
Goji likes hot summer. How low temperatures can reach during winter in your area? What's the annual rainfall? How about soil? The ideal growing condition for goji is dry climate with irrigation facility available to supply water during growing season. Goji needs some cold days in winter so that it can enter its dormancy. Goji can grow without dormancy but dormancy is needed for best yielding. Soil - ideally sandy loam rich in organic matter. Drainage is essential for success. Come to go-goji.com to learn more.

I am planting seeds from berries which seem just fine- seeds are available wherever berries are sold, usually bulk herb suppliers such as San Francisco Herbs and Natural Foods, or others.
Horizon Herbs sells the seeds. If the seeds come up well and produce hardy plants, we will sell them at Farmers Market.

Thanks for publishing the benefits of the Goji Berry. I have been sharing this information with people ! Wonderful Goji berry!!!!!!!! Create A Great Day!

Post a comment

Verification (needed to reduce spam):



Who's responsible for this...?

Stuart Robinson

Busselton, Western Australia

stuart robinson

Get fresh posts in your Inbox

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner



My Other Blogs




Powered by
Movable Type 5.01


© Copyright 2006-09. Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas. All Rights Reserved.