Wolfberry aka Goji berry

[The Cannarchist]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goji_berry

Touted in todays paper as the "viagra fruit".......

[c-ray]

it's one of the world's most nutritious foods

[caddis]

holy crap what a plant. Lotta big name agencys doing some testing.

Cheap seeds -

http://www.gojiberries.us/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&

[c-ray]

if you get the dried berries there are at least 5 to 10 seeds in each one, I got some from a local store grew about 100 and put the most vigorous plant in the ground, there was huge variation in the vigor dept.

[dpn]

are they hardy enough to grow in the uk?

[c-ray]

I am going to say yes, provided they get big enough in the first year (prolly at least a foot tall) and have enough woody stalk and roots, I read somewhere on the net that a guy was growing them in northern bc

[Genghis Bong]

http://fountainofyouth-gojiseed.com/OnlineCatalog.html
These Goji seeds are not from the Chinese Wolfberry! These Goji Seeds are from the Tibetan Goji Berry, grown in the Himalayan mountains of Tibet, which berries are loaded with nutrients and powerful antioxidants. Start seeds indoors in late winter. The Goji plant is a beautiful hardy, bushy vine with both purple and white small trumpet shaped flowers on the same plant and will grow 10-12 feet long. The Goji will grow in almost any type of soil, light-sandy, Medium-loamy, or heavey-clay, but they tend to flower and fruit better in a well drained soil of moderate quality and can survive winters down to -15 degrees Fahrenheit and hot summers above 100 degrees. They have an extensive root system and are very drought tolerant once established. They prefer full sun to partial shade, so plant them in a sunny location. They do not grow well however, in wet or soggy conditions. The Goji Plant can even be grown as a potted plant if kept pruned. Provide as near as possible the same organic conditions as they have in their native land of the Himalayan mountains and you shall reap the wonderful healthy benefits that our Creator YHWH has blessed us with in the Goji.

PLEASE NOTE: Because the Goji is so new to us here in the USA and else where in the world, it is not known yet if the Goji will adapt to the warmer & tropical climates of the world. The Goji comes from a very cold climate.

[c-ray]

wow their prices are a bit on the insane side

these are the ones I grew
http://www.rawfood.com/cgi-bin/order/index.cgi?id=833165163606&d=single&item_id=0572&c=Raw/Organic_Food&sc=Dried_Fruit&tc=

[Genghis Bong]

you're right. the growing info info seemed pertinent though.

This is interesting from your link.

The famed Li Qing Yuen, who apparently lived to the age of 252 years (1678-1930), consumed Goji berries daily. The life of Li Qing Yuen is the most well-documented case of extreme longevity known.

[dpn]

is that the dude who slept with a virgin every day :newbie:

[caddis]

cray, maybe your vigor issue was due to the drying process used for the dehydration process - They have been randomly tested and proved to have a high germination rate, rather than the typical dried berries processed for human consumption that are typically dried at 120-130 degrees in dehydrators, or dried in direct sunlight.

30 bucks for 250 - 500 seeds seems reasonable. Need to browse and find another seed source anyway.

Anyone reead if they need a certain amount of "chill hours" to fruit?

[c-ray]

the ones I used germinated fine, lots of sprouts, but once they started growing you could really see some take off and others just moved slowly
anyways I paid I think 3 or 4 bucks and got hundreds
I even cloned my best one

[caddis]

goji berry fruit taste test say uhm '09?

[c-ray]

I'm thinking it'll produce fruit next summer

here's my baby bush about 2 feet wide/tall, I took top clones hence the topped look

[caddis]

forgive my daftness, how old?

[c-ray]

sprouted in march I believe

[c-ray]

growing info, plants:

http://www.timpanogosnursery.com

[Genghis Bong]

thanks for the heads up on these berries guys. I'm going to start some this winter. I see full plants are available in cray's link that are two years old and able to fruit the same season as they are planted. they say four year old plants are when they start to yeild heavy.

Anyone know if they are like blueberries and need to have different seed plants nearby to pollenate each other or can a cutting pollinate itself or other same cuttings?

[The Cannarchist]

You'll need at least two GB.

[Genghis Bong]

sounds good

[The Cannarchist]

Goji berry wine......?

[tj_142]

What is it.........? a sweet or sour berry?
I never heard of it

[Tug]

Any chance of one of those cuts ending up in my garden C-Ray?
I would gladly trade a few Highend buds (something you may not have)......

peace - Tug

[The Cannarchist]

Concentrated goodness in a berry.

"Finest kind" as they would say in the North East..

[c-ray]

Any chance of one of those cuts ending up in my garden C-Ray?
I would gladly trade a few Highend buds (something you may not have)......

peace - Tug

sure no prob I need to take a few more cuttings of this one for practice anyways
I noticed they are selling the juice at a local health food store for $30/liter
and hey TC where did you see that 2 plants are needed for pollination?

[Mickey Spliff]

Wolfberry and Gojiberry are likely the same species, the plant was brought down from the high elevations to the lower elevations and adapted. The berries are widely available in Chinese markets under the name fructus lycii, but beware that they are often treated with sulfer dioxide and likely not grown organicly. The "Goji" on the net and in grocery stores are much more expensive, but may be worth the extra price to get organic, non-treated berries.

The berries have five flavors; salty, sweet, sour, bitter, astringent. At least that is what I experience. That alone makes it highly valuable in traditional Chinese medicine.

Also, the plant is self-fertile according to the place in Utah that is growing and selling goji. I will be starting seeds from a few sources before spring.

[c-ray]

that is some key info their Mr. Spliff thank you

here's some updated pics

picture 1 is the seedling that I transplanted in the summer, most vigorous of about 100 seedlings from a batch of Nature's First Law brand goji berries (supposed to be from Tibet), took about 1 month or less to germinate

picture 2 is a clone of that

picture 3 is seedling maybe 3 months old now, from a batch of Ningxia Red brand wolfberries (supposed to be from Ningxia province of China), some seeds that I had pretty much given up on germinated after nearly 3 months

picture 4 is a groups of seedlings same source probably around 3 weeks old

picture 5 is close up of the same showing some dampoff

I have no doubt that they are related since goji berries and wolf berries are both lycium barbarum, there are supposedly many types of lycium berries like these american natives lycium pallidum for instance: http://www.plantsofthesouthwest.com/cgi-bin/plantview.cgi?_recordnum=192

I'm going to collect a few more sources of berries this winter and plant a whole bunch early spring in flats, since they are quite slow growing, also if you notice they are a member of the solanum (nightshade) family

some are more resistant to dampoff then others and they will survive, I wonder though in this coastal climate if the fruit is prone to other tomato problems like blight

[darren]

You can find out more about goji berries and the types at http://wheelersgreenhouseandnursery.com

[caddis]

In its native environment Goji Berry plants begin to fruit when they are 2 years old. Heavy yields can be expected from Goji plants that are 4 to 5 years old. Our experience in Queensland using our growing methods has seen the plants flower and fruit in around 6 months.
Indoor

I don't think Queensland gets that many chill hours, so that shouldn't be an issue.

The quote is from here - http://www.gojipacific.com.au/GrowingGoji.htm

Hey cray, Did you vernalize your seeds?

[c-ray]

all I did was take the seeds out of the dried berries, soak them overnight and plant them in some soil, would that be vernalization?
I wonder where my gojis were actually grown, I've heard that they need chill hours here but they grow at various latitudes so..... there is even a more tropical version call the lycium chinensis
and there is even a version native to north america called lycium pallidum..check it out http://www.plantsofthesouthwest.com/cgi-bin/plantview.cgi?_recordnum=192

[c-ray]

update

[sleeping village]

so, did they produce fruit for you?

it would be really nice to have a little orchard filled with goji, sea buckthorn and a bunch of other not so common fruits and berries.

[islandgrow]

Hey I didn't know you all where so into goji berries, I have 5 plants all set to go into 1-2 gallon pots and I will place em outside in the summer and inside in the winter, They are however not so drought tolerant I may have lost 2 when I took a vacation for 3 days and forgot to water them before I left.