Goji, or common wolfberry

Goji (Tibetan barberry)

Not so long ago, the name of a new culture for Russia - goji - appeared on everyone's lips. They say that its fruits are literally miraculous and help against all diseases. In Russia, however, goji was known before, called the common wolfberry, but in the end they completely forgot and now call it nothing other than Tibetan barberry, drilling nurseries and calling institutes in search of seedlings.

In appearance, Tibetan barberry is an unremarkable plant - a small bush with prickly, barberry-like and weeping shoots, lanceolate gray-green leaves and five-lobed purple flowers. The berries are oval, like those of barberry, scarlet-red, and are usually about 1.5 centimeters long.

Goji is native to China, although plants are found in the wild in Asia, Australia, northern Africa and America. Goji is also grown in our country for decorative purposes. This plant is unusual and looks good on the site. Gojdi tolerates pruning, so it can be used to create hedges, among other things, but in fact such use is blasphemous, if we take into account the rich biochemical composition of the fruits of this plant.

It is thanks to the composition of the fruit that the popularity of goji is growing literally by leaps and bounds, and interest in the propagation of Tibetan barberry and the technology of its cultivation has increased. The composition of the fruits is truly impressive, there are more than two dozen mineral compounds, among which the leaders are zinc, iodine, iron, the fruits contain amino acids, the amount of which exceeds that in the famous royal pollen of bees. There are already eighteen amino acids, and eight of them are essential, that is, those that are not synthesized by the human body. The fruit contains a lot of vitamins with a predominance of B, and the content of vitamin C is hundreds of times higher than that in an orange. The fruits also contain polysaccharides, the presence of which is excluded in ordinary food products.

Goji berries taste like a mixture of barberries, raisins and dried cherries. At the same time, goji can grow and produce good yields even in the northern regions, but in Siberian conditions, where it is very cold, goji can be grown at home by installing additional lighting lamps.

The easiest option is to get goji at home by sowing seeds. The seedling will bloom in just a couple of years, and after another couple it will be possible to harvest the first small harvest of valuable fruits. A plant that does well in mountainous areas, climbing to heights of up to 1000 meters above sea level, will cope with any vagaries of the weather. Goji is not afraid of either frost or drought, and the bush is not afraid of gusts of wind and excessive moisture.

To get seedlings, you need to acquire fresh fruits, after which they should be soaked in water for a quarter of an hour, only then can the seeds be removed. They are not large and there can be up to one and a half dozen of them in a berry, of which about a third will sprout. In order for the maximum number of seeds to sprout, you should place the pot with the seeds in a warm place (23-25°C) and keep the soil moist. Light is not needed for seed germination, but for good growth of seedlings it is simply necessary. As soon as the first sprouts appear, the pot with seeds must be placed on the south side of the window on the windowsill, or provided with additional light by installing a backlight lamp.

It’s great if you build a small greenhouse for the seedlings; to do this, you can take a fairly deep container and cover it on top with film or a glass jar. This way, you will avoid the need for too frequent watering, because the moisture will evaporate much more slowly.

If you have extracted seeds from berries that have been stored for several days, then before sowing you should soak them in a solution of a growth stimulator - IMC, zircon, epin. The ideal soil for sowing goji seeds will be well-drained and permeable, loose, with a neutral composition. Sometimes a mixture of loamy soil with non-acidic peat is used in a two to one ratio.

The seeds are directly sown on the soil surface in small grooves made with the head of a match, after which they are sprinkled with a layer of non-acidic peat no more than half a centimeter thick. This will allow the sprouts to freely break through to the surface of the soil. During this period, it is very important to monitor the soil moisture; if it dries out, the seedlings may die. You also need to monitor the temperature, avoiding its sharp fluctuations. You should not place bowls with seeds on a windowsill, under which there is a heating radiator breathing heat, or where a draft can form, or a stream of cold air can blow over the seeds, for example, from a slightly open window; all this will be detrimental to the seedlings.

As soon as the seeds germinate and the first shoots appear, the film can be removed during the daytime and the seedlings can be covered at night. It is important to ensure that the film is located at a sufficient height and does not interfere with the seedlings. For watering at this important time, you should use a spray bottle; it will prevent the formation of large drops, but will effectively maintain soil moisture. Only after the plants have formed a second pair of true leaves can they be transplanted into separate containers.

Pots for replanting should be taken deep, at least ten centimeters, because the root system of goji grows more actively in depth rather than in breadth. The same must be taken into account when transplanting seedlings, try to pick up the roots along with a lump of earth, which can be done with a teaspoon.

Goji should be planted on the site as soon as the danger of return frosts disappears. In the southern regions this is mid-May, but in the center it is early June. It is better to transplant together with a lump of earth, so when replanting, make sure that the pot can be removed without damaging the roots or destroying the lump of earth.

Tibetan barberry is not demanding in terms of care and soil composition, but it may not tolerate frosts below 33°C. Therefore, in the fall, plants should be covered with covering material and ensure that there is always a lot of snow on top. Goji has not yet accumulated any diseases or pests, but sometimes aphids taste the tips of young leaves, and in particularly wet years powdery mildew attacks, but they do not cause much harm.

N. Khromov , Candidate of Biological Sciences

Source: http://www.gazetasadovod.ru

Goji, or common wolfberry

My craving for plants began in childhood. For as long as I can remember, I always, if possible, brought various flower shoots from everywhere into the house. I took it from relatives, friends, and brought it from school. I liked to watch the process itself, how a beautiful flowering plant or simply a decorative foliage plant grew from a tiny shoot. This passion, or rather one might say my life, without which I cannot imagine myself, has not left me to this day. True, this hobby has long gone beyond the apartment into my favorite garden, in which I plant various flowers and plants.

I love to grow not only some beautiful flowers, without which, of course, it is impossible, because... they are always pleasing to the eye, from early spring to late autumn, but I also like to plant various useful plants. One of these plants, which is both decorative and useful, appeared in my garden 4 years ago; it is Lycium, wolfberry, or the well-known name goji. The name goji is a Russian transliteration of the English goji, or a commercial name that was invented by the Chinese, which has nothing to do with the true name of the plant.

There are about 100 species of lycium (wolfberry), which grow in tropical, subtropical, and partly in temperate zones of both hemispheres, mainly in South America. In nature, you can find lycium in the steppes, lowland and mountain deserts and semi-deserts, along desert river valleys, in southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, in China.

Several types of wolfberry are grown in Russia, these are Chinese wolfberry and common wolfberry. The latter is considered the most unpretentious species.

Common wolfberry is a perennial shrub of the Solanaceae family. It can reach a height of up to 3.5 meters. The branches are covered with thin spines. The leaves are oblong, up to 7 cm. The flowers are lilac or purple, very small. It bears fruit in different regions, from May to September or from July to October. The fruit is a small coral-red berry, 1-2 cm in size. Each berry contains 10-60 tiny yellow seeds.

This is exactly the type, i.e. Dereza vulgare, I purchased by mail as a small seedling. After examining the roots, which were in good condition, I began planting. Since the plant is unpretentious, I did not make any special soil; I planted it in the soil that predominates on my site, which is loamy chernozem. I watered it a little and tied the stem to a support, because... branches tend to bend. My seedling grew very quickly, as evidenced by the appearance of new young shoots.

Caring for wolfberry is minimal and very simple. It doesn’t require much watering; I water it only in dry summers; I also don’t add any special fertilizers. There is also no need to cover it for the winter; even if the branches freeze, they quickly grow back over the summer. The main thing to do is to shape the bush by pruning. If this is not done, then a bush that is too dense will produce few berries.

As for the propagation of common wolfberry, everything is simple here too. It can be propagated in several ways. This is seed propagation, layering, cuttings or root suckers. When propagating from seeds, I do the following. First, I soak the dried berries in warm water. When they soften, I take out the seeds and sow them on the surface of the moistened soil, lightly sprinkling them with soil. During germination, you need to monitor soil moisture. It is better to sow several seeds in one container, because... small seedlings will support each other better and their root system will be stronger and more developed. Then the seedlings need to be planted in separate cups. Dereza can also be propagated by layering; to do this, you just need to dig a twig from a large bush and tie the top to a peg so that the shoot is vertical. After the roots appear, the plant is separated and planted. There is also a method of cuttings, but I have not propagated wolfberry this way, so I can’t say anything. My common wolfberry reproduces very well by root suckers. They sometimes grow at a distance of 30-50 cm from an adult bush.

As you can see, this plant is unpretentious, easy to propagate, and also very decorative, especially when in the fall it is strewn with red-orange berries, which undoubtedly decorate the autumn garden. On my site, wolfberry (goji) berries reach full maturity around mid-September - early October.

I pick berries directly from the bush, although many fly around on their own and fall to the ground. They taste sweet-salty or sour. After picking the berries, I dry them in a dry and dark place, and then put them in storage. It is better to store in a dry place. They can be consumed as dried fruits, but not more than 20-30 g per day for an adult. Many berries are brewed into tea, added to porridges and soups.

Also, wolfberry (goji) berries have a number of beneficial properties. They improve metabolism and blood circulation, increase immunity, stabilize blood pressure, reduce the risk of developing cancer, enrich the intestinal microflora, stabilize the psychological state, promote the process of losing weight, etc.

From all this we can conclude that the common wolfberry is an unpretentious, ornamental and useful plant. I advise everyone to have such a plant on their site.

Pavel Konstantinovich Zimin , Sarov

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My Family Garden - Help

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In the additional window that appears, you must select the list to which you would like to add the current product. You can select New List by giving it a name. After selecting the list, you must click on the “Ok” link.

My Family Garden
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Create lists on various topics. Examples of names can be very different: “My future summer flowerbed”, “For the dacha”, “Apple orchard” and many others. Do you know exactly what fruit and berry seedlings you will order? So call the list “Delicious”, adding your favorite varieties there. And when the time comes, order the entire list in just a few steps.

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Goji Shambhala (Tibetan barberry). Goji berry. Lycium barbarum. Dereza vulgare.

Goji – it's not just a sensation, it's a true miracle given to man by nature, a real storehouse of vitality, health and longevity. Cause popularity of these berries– in a unique set of natural components. Contains 21 minerals (such as iron, zinc, iodine, etc.), 18 amino acids (this is more than in royal bee pollen), eight of which the human body does not produce, vitamins B1, B2, B6, E and C, 4 essential polysaccharides that are no longer found in any food product. Goji has 15 times more iron than spinach and 500 times more than in citrus fruits. In addition, there is a large amount of germanium, known for its anti-cancer activity. The berries have a pronounced antioxidant effect and delay aging. Among people who have a healthy lifestyle, these berries are very popular.

Tibetan barberry Goji- a spreading perennial shrub up to 2.5-3 m in height, with soft, slightly climbing stems covered with elliptical leaves. The flowers are purple, growing in the axils of the leaves in several pieces, bell-shaped. Goji bears fruit from summer to autumn. Red oblong and very juicy berries have a sweet-sourish, less often with a slight bitterness tasty When dried and frozen, this flavor is lost and the berries become very tasty. When dried, Goji berries resemble very large raisins. , dried apricots, but sweeter. The plant is unpretentious, quite resistant to the vagaries of the weather, since it comes from a mountainous area where frosts, droughts, and prolonged downpours with stormy winds are common, not demanding on soil composition and care, light-loving, but easily tolerates light shading. X tolerates haircuts well. In the first year, it is recommended to mulch the young plant for the winter. It may bloom in the first year, but bears fruit from 2-3 years after planting. Not affected by pests and diseases; in dry summers it requires additional watering . You can grow this wonderful plant not only in the garden, but also at home in a pot. In this case, the plant needs a deep container, since the root grows deep and is very powerful. Not only are the berries valuable in this plant, but also the leaves and young shoots, which are brewed and taken as tea.

Available: seedlings and seeds

Only the lazy don’t know about goji now. Sweet and sour red berries, rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, are loved by many, especially people seeking a healthy lifestyle.

One problem is that the price of goji berries is obscenely high. After all, they are adored by Hollywood stars, are presented as a panacea for a whole bunch of diseases and are grown in distant China.

Should I try growing goji berries in my dacha? Ordinary barberry grows well and winters in our area, so why not grow Tibetan barberry? Let's find out how to grow goji from seeds yourself and achieve good harvests of this miracle berry...

In fact, the Tibetan barberry bush can grow and bear fruit even in the northern regions, and even more so in the middle zone. In nature, goji is found mainly in mountainous areas; it is completely unpretentious and very hardy. Drought or rain, frost or heat - this plant doesn’t care about anything. Therefore, goji berries practically do not require special conditions and special agricultural technology. It has few pests and diseases.

The only, but, let's be honest, small difficulty in growing goji is getting seedlings and planting them correctly. Of course, you can search through nurseries and buy a ready-made young plant, but it is much safer to grow seedlings yourself from seeds.

Ideally, for planting, you need to take seeds from fresh berries, which is not feasible in our realities. It’s not scary, seeds from dried berries also germinate well, especially if you soak them for an hour in one of the growth stimulants before planting: epine, zircon, or any of them.

The soil for planting seeds is prepared from two parts earth and one part peat. You can add a small amount of ash to the soil mixture.

First, the seeds are sown in one box, in shallow grooves and covered with a half-centimeter layer of peat. It is recommended to cover the box with film and place it in a warm, dark place until the first shoots appear. Then the container with the seedlings is placed on a bright windowsill. Soil moisture is maintained using a sprayer, as goji seedlings are very flimsy at the beginning.

After the appearance of the fourth true leaf, the plants are planted in individual containers. It is better to take deep cups of 500 milliliters, because the root system of goji develops mostly in depth. Therefore, when replanting, it is important to pick up the seedling as deeply as possible and replant it together with a clod of earth.

As soon as the threat of frost has passed (in May-June), young goji plants can be planted in open ground.

As a permanent residence for the Tibetan barberry bush, it is better to choose a sunny area, a hillock - in general, a place where the snow melts quickly in the spring and the water does not stagnate. Goji can grow in any soil, but prefers alkaline and rocky soils, so when planting a seedling in a hole, be sure to add ash. Future bushes are placed at a distance of 1.5-2 meters from each other.

For small seedlings grown from seeds, it is enough to make holes 20 centimeters deep, fill them halfway with a mixture of humus and ash, and then plant the plants.

For larger seedlings from the nursery, you will need holes half a meter in diameter and 40 centimeters deep. A bucket of compost, peat or humus and a liter jar of ash are poured into the bottom of such a pit. If you are not opposed to mineral fertilizers, you can add 150-200 grams of superphosphate to the soil mixture.

After planting, goji seedlings need to be well watered, mulched and a support or trellis installed - the branches of young bushes often bend towards the ground, so it is recommended to tie them up immediately.

Further care for goji: pruning, shelter, reproduction

Caring for goji barberry comes down to forming a bush by pruning and covering the plant for the winter. Watering and fertilizing in this case are not necessary (unless in very dry summers you will need to water the bushes no more than twice a week).

Goji can be formed in the classic way or in one stem. Pruning is best done in the fall.

With classic pruning, in the first three years, three to five of the strongest and longest branches are selected, and the rest are cut out. In the fourth year, one or two shoots 20-50 centimeters long are left on each skeletal branch. These shoots will become a kind of fruiting shoulders. The next year, 3-4 strong fruiting branches are left on the fruiting shoulders. In the future, the fruit branches of the current year are pruned annually, leaving 1-4 buds on each. Such severe pruning stimulates the growth of young shoots, on which the harvest is formed.

When forming a goji bush in the form of a tree, from the second year after planting, all branches except one of the longest and most powerful are cut out. She is immediately tied to a high peg. In the future, they continue to cut out all excess shoots until the main stem reaches a height of 1.5 meters. Then, as in the classic version of pruning, fruiting shoulders and branches are formed.

In addition, do not forget to cut out weak, thin, dry branches, branches that did not have berries, and lower branches (lower than 40 centimeters from the ground).

In general, the technology for pruning goji is in many ways similar to pruning grapes. If you grow grapes at your dacha, then you don’t need to invent anything new; feel free to follow the usual pattern.

Goji can withstand temperature drops down to -15°C, but in severe frosts it can still freeze. So it’s better not to take risks and cover the bushes in the fall with spruce branches, tops or covering material.

Tibetan barberry reproduces well vegetatively - by shoots. To do this, in mid-June, take a young branch, bend it to the ground, place it in a small plastic container and dig it into the ground. If necessary, the shoot is watered. By autumn it will give its own roots, and next spring it is separated from the mother bush and replanted.


Finally, I would like to note that with the proper light conditions (with additional lighting in winter), goji berries can be grown and bear fruit even at home, in a bowl.

We wish you success and great harvests!

Every year people are starting to think more and more about their health, as well as their appearance. In this regard, they begin to look for certain sources to accomplish this. However, not long ago, berries such as Tibetan barberry became famous on the world market. Despite this, in Tibet and China, they have been known for quite a long time, and people used them in folk medicine. With all this, a large number of different studies were carried out, as a result of which scientists were dumbfounded at what a wonderful set of components such berries possess. In this article we will tell you more about the Tibetan barberry. These berries have quite a lot of names, for example, wolfberry, goji berries, barberry, etc.

In terms of external characteristics, the berry may resemble a raisin, but in appearance it has a reddish-orange color, and in shape it is slightly larger in size. The plant belongs to the nightshade family and is a creeping shrub in appearance. The berries, as mentioned earlier, contain a rather surprising amount of useful substances, which include polysaccharides, amino acids, and only 21 minerals were found, which is extremely important. You can also give an example that Tibetan barberry contains 500 times more vitamin C than citrus fruits, and the iron content is approximately 15 times higher than spinach. These berries contain 4 unique polysaccharides, which are no longer found in any plant, these include: LBP 1, 2,3 and 4, as well as a chemical element such as germanium.

I would like to note that this plant has a fairly large number of varieties, which, for example, you can find in our country, but the most miraculous properties are contained only in those that grow in Tibet and the Himalayas at an altitude of one thousand meters.

Beneficial properties of Tibetan barberry

Being a fairly powerful antioxidant, Tibetan barberry is able to prolong life, neutralizes the effects of radicals, keeps the human body youthful, and therefore they are also called “berries of longevity.” With proper consumption of such berries, you thereby preserve the youth of your internal organs. These berries also have the following properties: increase human sexual activity, reduce sugar and cholesterol levels, normalize sleep, normalize kidney function, improve human memory, strengthen the heart and vascular walls.

Goji can stimulate the activity of immune cells, contribute to increased body resistance to certain diseases, and activate the body's defenses. One of the most popular uses of these berries in Chinese folk medicine is to eliminate vision problems by consuming such berries.

It is important that goji can also prevent the appearance of tumors, which is facilitated by a mineral such as germanium, which is contained in these berries. Many studies have been conducted in which it has been proven that barberry is able to inhibit the growth of tumors, and also promotes recovery after operations.