Hi all,
Just noticed the post and would like to share this with you (its a bit long). there is a distinct lack of practical information on growing the Goji and I found the instructions from T&M a complete load of twaddle.
GERMINATING, GROWING & PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS
SITE SELECTION
Choose a sunny location, where your Goji Plant will not receive too much shade from building structures, fences, trees, etc. Goji Berries prefer full sun. If you live in a place where summer temperatures get very hot,you might need to give your plant some summer shade if it starts to look stressed, but for the most part, plant your Goji where you would plant any other sun loving garden vegetable or fruit. Remember that the Goji will grow into a large bush about 2.5Metres tall and 2Metres wide if left un-pruned, so plan accordingly.
The Goji will grow in almost any type of soil, from sandy to heavy clay, but it prefers a well drained soil of moderate quality. An average PH of 7.0 is best. DO NOT plant the Goji where it will receive too much water, or where the soil is constantly wet or soggy. They will not grow well.
PLANTING DORMANT & BARE-ROOT PLANTS
If your soil is not workable when you receive your Goji plant, you may plant it in a large pot till planting time. After choosing the appropriate site for your Goji, plant at least 1.5 metres apart. Dig a hole 40 - 60cm deep, build a small mound of dirt in the bottom of this hole so that when you place the plant into the hole, the roots can be spread out over the sides of this dirt mound. This will allow the roots to be spread when the hole is filled and firm the soil around the base. You do not need to add any mulch or fertilizer at this time. Water your Goji Plant immediately after you have finished planting. Use about 8 Litres of water to completely saturate the newly dug ground. This will ensure that the soil is compacted and will get rid of any air pockets.
PLANTING SEEDLINGS
Upon arrival transplant your Goji seedling to at least a 2 Litre container and let them grow, transplant into their final position next Spring. Let them go dormant, the Goji is very hardy provide protection for them from animals, such as ruminants, that love to eat them.
GROWING
Goji plant should begin to sprout leaves when the weather warms up. Remember your year old Goji plant(s) have been shipped to you dormant, and will be much larger as soon as they leaf out. Goji plants are very fast growing once they are established. They need to be well watered for the first 2 months. This is a general rule and will of course depend on your climate. After your Goji has grown an additional 18 inches from when you received it, cut off the tip of the main shoot growing upward. This will force the branch to sprout new side branches. This is where the Goji Flowers and Berries will be produced on. The side branches can also be pruned and kept to a manageable length of about 60cm.
PRUNING
There are two different thoughts of how to prune and maintain Goji plants. The first is to allow the Goji plant to grow as it normally would, into a large bush, but at the same time pruning it back annually to encourage more flowers and fruit. The Goji plant does much better if it is heavily pruned at least once a year.
The second growing method, and one which many commercial growers in Central Asia use, is to prune them into a small tree. The plant is limited to one trunk that is tied to a stake and grown straight up with fruiting branches growing out to the side. These branches are kept about 60 cm feet long. The bottom 60 – 90cm of the base of the Goji tree is continually stripped of its new growth. The new shoots coming up from the ground are eliminated. This method allows for easy picking or shaking of the fruit from the Goji plant but requires much more pruning and is very time consuming.
FERTILIZING
You don’t need to fertilize your Goji plant, but it will grow much faster and produce more berries if you do. Fertilizing does need to be done correctly however. This is important, if you feed in the spring with a high nitrogen fertilizer, your Goji plant will grow very fast, but probably won’t have any flowers or berries in the autumn. On the other hand if you don’t fertilize with nitrogen, your plant will not grow nearly as fast, but will produce some flowers and berries. The trick is to use a fast acting nitrogen fertilizer early in the spring so that you can get some good growth, but have very little nitrogen left in the soil during the summer months.
In mid summer, your Goji plant will benefit from a fertilizer containing no nitrogen, but one that does contain a good source of available phosphorus. This will promote buds, flowers, and berries. You can continue using this fertilizer right on through the fruiting season which is usually into late autumn. Goji berries are not produced all at once, but are produced over an extended period of time, usually August through November or till a hard frost or freeze causes them to go dormant.
Just remember the original home of the Goji is the Himalayas, so if you want your Gojis to be as mineral & vitamin rich as they are in their homeland, you will need to provide them with like organic, mineral rich soil in which to grow.
FINAL TIPS
The Goji is an easily grown plant. It will grow and succeed in most soils (light/sandy,
medium/loam and heavy-clay), flowering and fruiting better in well drained soil of moderate quality and requires a dappled shade to sunny position. It is a sun lover. The Goji Plant has an extensive root system and can be used to stabilize banks.
Do not touch the green berries with your hands or they will oxidise and turn black.
The Goji will not grow in soggy wet soil, it will die. So if you have heavy wet
soil and or soil that does not have good drainage, you can prepare a raised bed in
which to grow your Gojis.
Prune the Goji tree for an ideal height of around 1.5 - 2m, remove any branches above this height.
Keep some clearance between canopy and ground of around 35 cm.
Identify some ineffective branches; they usually grow very fast in the growing season, very straight about 45 degrees and smooth, remove them if they don’t
contribute to your ideal canopy structure.
Deer, goats, rabbits, chickens, birds, horses love Goji leaves & berries, you may need to find a way to protect your Gojis, especially when they are young and are not well established
HARVESTING
In early summer the Goji will begin to bloom. The small white & purple flowers are very delicate and pretty. The flowers do not really have a fragrance, but the bees seem to enjoy them. If you do not have enough pollinating bees & etc. in your area, a beehive would help your berry production. If you have only a few Goji Plants you may hand pollinate your Gojis. This can be done very easily by simply breaking off a stem from your Goji plant that has a group of flowers on it. Take these flowers and brush them against the other flowers on your Goji plant, makin sure some of the pollen transfers between the two groups of flowers.
A 6 year old goji plant should yield about 4 Litres of fresh berries a season.
The Goji produces berries from late summer till a hard frost or freeze. Harvesting is done by picking the Goji Berries by hand, or placing mats on the ground and shaking the branches until the ripe fruit drops off on to the mats, but we have found that this last method does not work as well as hand picking. Fresh Goji Berries are very juicy and mildly sweet. They can be eaten fresh, dried in the shade, frozen for later use, or juiced for a wonderful tasting drink, or used as any other berry. But my favourite way is to enjoy the Goji Berry fresh right off the vine. Goji Berries will keep in the refrigerator for 2 -3 weeks without any sign of spoiling.
GOJIS FROM SEED
The Goji is an easily grown plant from seed. The seeds are best sown in late winter or early spring in a greenhouse or cold frame; the Goji Seed will also germinate other times of the year. Seed from over ripe berries will take longer to germinate, while stored seeds may require cold stratification and should be sown is a cold frame as early in the year as soon as possible. The seeds are subject to damping off, so should be kept well ventilated. We have had Goji Seed that we started in a cold frame take as long as 3 months to germinate, so do not give up on them to soon.
When the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out and transplant into individual pots and grow them in the greenhouse or cold frame. If growth is sufficient, it can be possible to plant them out into their permanent positions in the
Autumn. Generally it is best to leave them in the cold frame for the winter and plant them out in the spring to early summer of the following year when the ground can be worked.
#1 - Pinch out the shoot tips of the young plants when you set them out in order to encourage a bushy growth IF you want to grow them as a large bush.
#2 - Prune away side branches and root shoots leaving one main shoot or trunk and pinch out its top tip when it reaches 90cm high, this will cause it to branch at the top so it can be trained to grow on trellises. The Goji grows very fast and in its second year you may even get a few delicious Goji berries from it in the autumn. It is in the Gojis 4th year that it really begins to produce a good crop of berries.
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December 27, 2009, 20:57