I recently bought a packet of dried Goji Berries on a very special offer. (Much too over priced otherwise
)
Naturally I ate most but I also soaked about 6 dried berries in warm water for about an hour. I was then able to split open the fuit and take out the many tiny seeds that each fuit contained. I placed them in some kitchen role to dry out. This is most important or they will have difficulty in germinating.
Treating the seeds like tomatos I grew them in a seed tray containing a free draining soil. Ordinary growing compost mixed with sand. A 50.50 mix. This was in October this year.
I have about 20 sprouting plants now. Interestingly, the few I transplanted into individual pots and brought into the warm house did'nt like it and shrivelled up.
The rest, of which three of the strongest have been potted, I've left in the seed tray in a cold grenhouse. All these are gowing very well. As these plants come from the cold Hymalayas in China and Tibet that seems to make sense.
It will take two years before the plants fruit, but even so, they make a very intersting plant to look at until harvest time. 2yrs on and they will fruit in abundance.
The many health benefits of Goji Berries is well documented on the web.
I'm afraid until the
'rich trendies' stop buying them,or as more and more people get on the
'band wagon' the price of these dried berries will remain artificialy high. In actual fact they are as
'common as muck' in China and Tibet. They also grow wild in parts of Norfolk where the soil is sandy and free draining.
NOTE:- If you do grow Goji's don't over water. They suffer from wilt when in the seedling stage. Remember, in the Hymalayas the weather is dry and cold.
Happy gardening. ( Or
window boxing mac. LOL!)
geoff
Forum 
