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Goji Berry (Lycium
Wolfrum)
Goji Berries come from the colder parts
of Asia and are a wild growing plant in their nature. They are,
perhaps best grown as a rough fruit hedge, although heavy pruning in
the Spring will improve the shape of the bushes and also encourage
better cropping. Be aware when pruning though, that some stems do have
an occasional thorn on them. Growing up to 10 feet, they can easily be
trained and treated as as if they are a climber. Each plant can
produce up to 1 Kg of fruit each year and even though they need a
little watering to get established, Goji bushes are very drought
resistant. Another big bonus for British gardeners is that they will
quite happily survive temperatures down to minus 15C, which we don't
get very often!
Goji bushes flower from the late spring and on in to the summer,
producing bright red berries about 2cm or 3/4in long. Flowering and
berry production will continue right up until the first frosts.
Most people in the UK have only seen dried Goji berries that can be
used in much the same way as dried Cranberries or Raisins would in
cooking. Fresh Goji Berries are much more versatile and as different
to dried, as fresh figs are to dried figs. As with most fresh fruit
the berries are excellent for making nourishing "Smoothies"
or simply mixing into fresh fruit salads.
Goji Berries are a relative of the Potato and as such are susceptible
to potato blight should there be any around. Unfortunately one of the
UK TV gardening programs did say that there had been a problem with
some wild grown imported bushes that were infected. All imported
plants are supposed to have a "Plant Health Passport," much
as you need animals to be certified healthy to move them around the
World, so I don't understand how this can have happened. However, if
you buy a packet of dried Goji berries from any health food store, and
soak a few berries in water overnight, they will soften to such an
extent that a very gentle squeeze will result in dozens of tiny seeds
squirting out. From experience, these seeds will germinate very easily
in a few days to produce a pot full of tiny seedlings that you can
grow on, plant out, and make a cheap fruit hedge out of. As with most
soft fruit bushes Goji Berry plants are very easy to root from
cuttings. Simply tidy up decent lengths of stem after pruning when the
plant is dormant and push them in soil to a depth of 6 inches or more
and they will readily root over-winter.
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