Recently, goji berries have been widely talked about, recommending them not only as a way to lose weight, but also to treat various diseases. How to grow this natural Tibetan healer in the country, how to collect fruits, how they are useful, you will learn right now. For the first time, shrub-type trees called goji berries appeared in Tibet. Gradually, the plant spread far beyond its homeland. It can be grown in our country in many regions, with the exception of the northern ones. In the southern regions, and having the same temperatures as in the middle latitudes, the shrub will grow well, so it tolerates frosts up to 30 ° C well. The plant is resistant to weather whims, as it comes from mountainous regions, where there are droughts and frosts, stormy winds, lingering downpours.
Goji is a fruit plant belonging to the Solanaceae family, to the genus Dereza. Culturally grows in Tibet, the Himalayas, in China - in the Ningxia region. Sometimes found in Australia, Asia, America, North Africa. Goji berry bush bears fruit, depending on the region, in July - October or May - September. The most valuable harvest is the August harvest.
Why Grow Goji Berries?
The plant is quite unpretentious, not demanding on the soil composition and decorative. It blooms for a long time with purple-pink bell-shaped flowers, decorating gardens.
Its ripe fruits resemble an enlarged copy of sea buckthorn berries, but they are oblong, 1, 2 cm long and the orange color is more intense. The branches of the goji bush, like those of the sea buckthorn, are covered with thin thorns.
Unformed shrub grows up to 3.5 meters. It can be planted along the fence and used as a hedge not only here, but also for dividing the suburban area into zones. Goji tolerates a haircut well, so you can give the plant the desired shape.
In addition to decorative qualities, this representative of the Tibetan flora is a natural healer. No wonder it is called a cure for 1000 diseases. Here are just some of the ailments for which goji berries are taken, with:
- anemia;
- back pain;
- violation of potency;
- diabetes mellitus;
- high cholesterol levels;
- visual impairment;
- insomnia;
- adenoids, diseases of the nasopharynx;
- obesity.
Berries are used to improve the condition of the spinal cord and brain, lymph nodes. It is used as an anti-stress agent, to strengthen sleep and rejuvenate the body. Berries have an anti-aging effect, help fight premature aging, for which Hollywood stars love them. And athletes for the fact that berries help to restore strength and increase endurance.
Attention! You cannot eat fresh goji berries, as they contain toxic substances. They must be dried beforehand. How to do this and how to pick berries will be described below. Video about the benefits of goji berries:
Growing goji berries
You can propagate a plant in order to plant it in your backyard farm, not only by cuttings, but also by seeds. The second method is suitable for those who do not have seedlings, but have berries.
A plant grown in this way will bloom in the second year, and you will begin to collect massive harvests in 4-5 years. The seeds are found directly in the berry in an amount of up to 30 pieces.
If the berry was dried at a temperature not higher than + 50 ° C, then its seeds are viable. If you have fresh berries in front of you, use gloves to work with them, as the juice can burn your hands.
It is easier to extract them if you put the fruit of the plant in warm water for an hour. The removed seeds are placed on a damp cloth overnight. For better germination, it is better to soak them for 4 hours in one of the growth stimulants.
Then they are sown in a well-drained soil of medium looseness, preferably neutral reaction. A mixture of loam and peat in a 2: 1 ratio is suitable.
Goji berry seeds should be sown on the surface, burying only 2 × 3 mm into moist soil so that thin sprouts can freely break through.
Goji seeds germinate at +20 - + 25 ° C. It is important that the soil is moist, so the container is covered with foil or glass. Under these conditions, evaporation is slower. When the seeds germinate, peel the plastic open from the side of the room. If the soil is dry, spray it with water from a spray bottle, making a diffused stream so as not to damage the seedlings. Remove the entire film in a week.
Goji seedlings dive when the second or third pair of leaves appears on them. Then put each in a separate pot. It should be at least 7 cm deep. If you germinate seeds in January-March, then in mid-May you can plant the plants in the garden. If you want to grow further in indoor conditions, then you need to provide the goji bush with enough light, plant it in a large container, and keep it cool in winter - at a temperature of + 10 ° C degrees. Feed the house plant with humus, a weak solution of mineral fertilizers.
Planting seedlings
If you want to grow a goji berry as seedlings, then 2 weeks before planting, you need to prepare pits with a diameter of 40 and a width and depth of 50 cm. You can plant purchased goji seedlings or those that you have grown from seeds in these. In the southern regions, it is better to do this in the fall, and in cooler regions - in the spring, so that the plant is strong enough and tolerates frost well.
Coarse sand is poured at the bottom of the planting pit, then it is half filled with fertile soil and humus (8 kg each), add: 150 g of double superphosphate, 30 g of potassium sulfate or a glass of wood ash, mix thoroughly with a shovel. After that, a seedling is placed, raising the root collar to ground level, sprinkled with fertile soil and watered. The trunk circle is mulched with peat or humus. Saplings should be placed at least 2 meters apart.
How to propagate goji berry by cuttings
If you do not have seeds and seedlings, but there are neighbors in the country or acquaintances who are ready to share the cuttings, use this opportunity.
In July-August or at the end of April, carefully cut the goji cuttings 10 cm long, so that 1? 2 cm of old wood remains on them. Moisten the bottom of the cuttings in water and dip them in Kornevin and plant them in the greenhouse. Plant the rooted seedlings in a permanent place, covering them with spruce branches for the winter.
In the first months, the plant develops slowly and resembles a small tomato bush. Then goji grows more intensively, its branches are covered with long leaves, the bush blooms for 2–3 years of its life.
How to care for a goji berry
Pay special attention to the care in the first year of the plant's life. It needs to be watered infrequently, if there is no rain, periodically fertilize, weed out, loosen the soil around the trunk.
It's easier to pick berries from a short bush. But on such a goji fruit will be larger. Therefore, prune the branches so that the plant is not too tall.
How to collect and dry goji berries
This question is of interest to many. The fact is that the juice of fresh fruits can irritate the skin, like pineapple juice. Therefore, goji berries need to be picked in this way: spread a cloth under the bush and beat the berries. In this case, it is better to put gloves on your hands.
It is important to let the goji berries ripen well on the bush, they should turn bright red, as eating unripe fresh berries can cause poisoning.
The harvested berries are dried in the shade, without using an oven, and then separated from the stalk. For them to acquire medicinal properties, the fruits must be well dried. This process is complete when the skin of the goji berry begins to exfoliate.
Video about growing goji berries at home and care:
