Has anyone grown goji berries?

The photo shows the flower bud on a 2-month old cutting. A cutting usually has 2 or 3 buds. Remove all the lower ones and let the top one to grow. The new growth is just like a branch on the old tree and therefore bear fruit the first year. I use a 2' stick on the pot (shown on the left) to support. When it reaches 4 feet, I cut the tip to force it to grow side branches.

 

I tried 3 propagation methods: (1) grow from seeds. When the seedlings reach 3 to 4", they start to grow really fast (in sunny days, 1" per day with application of water soluble fertilizer). The reason to grow from seeds is to find plants with desirable characteristics. (2) The young plants will send out runners from the root; separate them to become individual plants. (3) Grow from cuttings of matured branches. Cuttings started in the early spring will bear fruit in the summer. This is amazing.

 

My dad has 2 or 3 large goji berry plants, each with literally over a thousand berries. He's been growing it for years and harvests the red berries about a litre at a time (which is a lot considering how small each red-orange Goji berry is). We use it in Chinese cooking and eat it fresh as well.

 

I have found them growing along a fence in NE Calgary, uncared for and growing like crazy. The shrubs are about 15 feet high and loaded with flowers and berries at the same time. Since it's a Zone 3 here, maybe Edmonton is just a bit too north for proper growth.

 

Hi,
I am in Coquitlam and new to this post, after discovered about the goji benefits, I am very interested by the goji plant, is there anyone can send me seeds or cutting.
Please send me a private message.

 

They are readily available all over the lower mainland. Saw them at all of the garden centers (Art Knapps, Garden Works etc...) this past year and even at Costco and Home Depot. They are not that expensive (<$20) so it may be the easier route than seeds or cuttings.

 

A late comment, but I just noticed this thread: Goji berries were enjoyed by the Chinese workers who built the CPR railroad in western Canada in the 1880s and afterwards: they ate goji berries quite often, and spit the seeds out. I can take you around to some places in the Thompson Valley where gojis are now feral, and doing well in some places, 130 years after the railroad was finished. Locations in Walhachin, Savona, and Kamloops.

So they'll do okay here. I have some seeds on my counter and might plant them this spring as part of the 1 billion trees/seeds plant-in on Earth Day, April 22nd.
My friend who lives near Walhachin is, or is planning on, growing some of these- he gave me the seeds I have.

There's a small farming-oriented 'intentional community' in the Robson Valley near McBride which has planted goji berries to see if they can earn some income from those. Which should be easy, since imported ones are said to be dosed with pesticides... I don't have a link to those folks' website at this time, sorry.

I find them extremely bitter, even worse than hoosham- which is saying something.
It would be nice to learn about some much sweeter varieties.


Cheers,

Chris Green.

 

Hi-new here
Live in north Thailand
Have access to many local seeds
Found the Himalayan goji berry's we get here are larger and sweeter than most
Have many on hand at all times-been big part of my diet for years
Willing to send or trade