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Goji berry

Hi all again ,now has anybody any knowledge about the Goji Berry, i believe its a shrub from China and also called Wolfberry but thats it, they do look a good shrub to grow but i wonder if the fruit is nicley edible or just for jamming,im moving to a new house soon and am trying to plan a fruit plot in a biggish way ,iv already got 7 Fig cuttings doing really well and will have strawbs of course blueberries i know nothing about so im really open to any good advise and will have lots of time to do it all so hard graft is not a problem at all, many thanks avaguden Alan4711

Posts

  • granmagranma Posts: 1,933

    I would suggest a peach or a necterin ,though mine has taken a few years to esablish I am now getting fruit . Last year it paid me back with 4 delicious large fruits . The tree is full this year until the June drop . A kiwi ,is another if you have room to grow near the figs. Also do you have time to wait for an english walnut tree to grow. Fresh walnuts are lovely. I cannot tell you about the goji berry  exept last year 2 were planted in the soft fruit bed. The chinese gooseberry are very nice too if we get a good summer.

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    where are you? what do you like to eat?

    I have a Brown Turkey  fig in the greenhouse, (Nottingham) and it's unreliable at best.

    Blueberrys need acid soil or grow in pots of ericaceous compost. You need more than one variety to cross pollinate.

    I would start by growing what you like to eat.image Add on any  exotics later.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    Someone on here is growing lots of unusual berries Alan - we had a discussion a while back but can't remember who it was. I'd agree with fidget - grow what you actually like eating and what suits your conditions. If your soil's acidic blueberries will grow well but you can grow them in containers anyway. image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • SalinoSalino Posts: 1,609

    ..I don't like Goji berries, at least the dried up ones you get... next season I shall grow Inca berries, , I quite enjoy this aquired taste... and they are easy to grow it seems, like tomatoes... they are wonderful, I think, when dried like raisins... sweet and aromatic...

  • BluebootsBlueboots Posts: 100

    I bought a pack of dried goji berries and after a while I threw them out. They are apparently good for you, but they don't taste good. They aren't sweet - just sort of weird and unappealing - more of a savoury than a sweet taste. I can't imagine making jam out of them any more than eating them straight.

    Maybe I got a bad batch. Try them before you go to all the trouble of raising a goji berry plant.

     

  • Alan4711Alan4711 Posts: 1,657
    looks like good advise,many thanks for that cheers all

    Alan4711
  • BrummieBenBrummieBen Posts: 460

    I was bought a goji by my mum last year. Dutifully I potted it on, then pruned it into a semi-bush like shape. Currently sitting in a 14" pot and buds swelling so leaves imminent. From what I remember of the research I did when I first was given it, they taste horrible, they are supposed to be a 'super' food, full of anti oxidants etc. I believe you add them in your cooking rather than eat by themselves. The major thing I found was the only people getting a crop outside were those in the south, so that led me to believe they need probably a good southfacing sun drenched (all day) sheltered position. I can't say much else after the washout that was last summer, aside from I didn't even wrap it in fleece through the winter and snow, and it's still doing fine now. I may shove it in a corner somewhere and wait and see, Guess I'm lucky because during summer, 90% of the garden sees the sun for at least 10+ hrs a day. Hell to grow shade loving stuff though!!

  • I've got one, not had any fruit though, it's been in a year, and has grown alot but not flowered. I've been told the berries have a slight licorique flavour if that's your thing. I've also got a couple of honey berries, which this year have fruit, will be interesting to see what they taste like image

  • I've had a Goji berry plant for the last 2 yrs, plenty of leaves but no fruit as of yet, someone did mention that it doesn't fruit until it's 3rd year so hopefully next year....As for eating them, I've tried the dried ones mixed in with other dried fruit like cranberries and blueberries and they seem to be ok. Maybe an acquired taste ?

    I have mine in a pot still but might get it planted out in spring to give the roots space to expand. My garden faces East on an end terrace house so gets a decent amount of sunshine. Roll on next summer.

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