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Has anyone grown Goji Berries? - I've just been given a plant but it didn't come with instructions. It's only about 20cm (8") tall - can I plant it outside right now? Do you eat the fruit raw? i gather they're the latest healthy thing!

Hi
I know goji berry by its european name as wolf berry it is cultivated in northern china and is used for a multitude of things from drinking to medicinal. Do you know the history of your plant ! did the person who gave it to you use the mother plant or did you buy it from a garden centre, as the plant is closely related to the deadly nightshade sorry to be dramatic but there is a thin line between and
i still would wait till after the fear of frosts has gone then plant safely so it can get its feet down for next year, coming from a mountain region it should cope pretty well.
all the best
Russ

Thanks! My friend bought several for gifts by mail order so should be pukka!
It's not in any of my gardening books so I googled it - can grow HUGE apparently.
Still don't know what to do with the fruit if and when I get any - will keep researching.
Thanks again, Terry

Apparently you should put paper down underneath the plant and shake the berries off and let them dry. I have heard that they turn black if you touch them whilst fresh - but I dont know how true this it. I'm thinking of growing some my self, so I would be interested to hear how you do.

repotted the Goji bush to a 2 litre pot when it arrived and it's thriving - 2 ft + tall and lots of long side shoots.

Have been putting it outside during the day to harden it off.

old tree man wrote:Hi
I know goji berry by its european name as wolf berry it is cultivated in northern china and is used for a multitude of things from drinking to medicinal. Do you know the history of your plant ! did the person who gave it to you use the mother plant or did you buy it from a garden centre, as the plant is closely related to the deadly nightshade sorry to be dramatic but there is a thin line between and
i still would wait till after the fear of frosts has gone then plant safely so it can get its feet down for next year, coming from a mountain region it should cope pretty well.
all the best
Russ

I want one!

Can I get one in NZ do you think?

I've got some on order via the internet. Can't wait. I wonder if they need much sun?

Zoe

As it happens, I saw someone talking about these on t'telly today ... full sun or semi-shade is what he said.

Sky wrote: I want one!

Can I get one in NZ do you think?

Try "Incredible Edibles" - google it, im pretty sure they stock them

Julian Graves have a stand of organic seed including - you guessed it goji berries! As they can grow 10ft tall I don't think I need more though

A few things that I've heard about the goji, firstly they do grow big, and wide so space can be a problem.
They do have a large amount of vit C, but as vit C or ascorbic acid is....acidic they taste especially fresh a bit tart. THis is why they dry them out.
I've heard two people say they are like chewing tart cardboard....it's put me off so I planted a dwarf cherry tree instead! It may have cost 3 times as much, but I know I LUUUUVVV cherries.

I heard that DEFRA say goji berries imported from china and surronding countries can carry a virus that will spread to other plants

where as ones from europe are fine.

Best to check where yours comes from. Particularly if you are on an allotment, could make you very unpopular!

Glad I read back a few pages, I didn't want to start a new topic on this if there was already one around :-)
I've been wanting to grow goji berries for a while, and after watching 'Grow Your Own Drugs' a few nights ago, I want to grow them all the more! Does anyone know of any (UK) garden centres that may have them? Young plants or seed, I don't mind which. I'm not fond of the idea of mail-order, I've had some bad experiences with mail-order plants in the past.
I've been adding them to most everything lately, so a plant of my own would be a boon ;-)

Ok...so, following a spillage of goji berries whilst pouring them into a jar I decided to try planting the fallen, as an experiment ;-) I'v got two pots with 5 berries in each. It seemed easier than trying to get the seeds from inside...
They're UK grown, so no virus worries :-)
Wish me luck!

2 years on (where did the time go? ) The goji berry has grown 10' tall whippy stems that lallop over it's neighbours. No fruit yet how long should I wait? Should I prune it and or feed it - tomato food/potash maybe?