Goji berry plants ordered

[spandit]

Watching some programme on superfoods and although I doubt the claims made about these berries, they look like they'll grow well over here and seem quite hardy, so I've ordered 3 plants to start the new edible hedge planned for the vegetable patch. Hopefully alongside the seaberry, we'll be sorted for vitamin C in the near future

 

[TeeDee]

Interesting. What size plants have your ordered and from where please?

 

[HillBill]

They're hugely spiky (gooseberry on steroids), have very floppy stems which really need looking after, easily wind damaged and you can't pull the fruits off the tree without damaging them..

Have fun!

 

[TeeDee]

I wonder how they pick them successfully enough to sell in packages then??

 

[HillBill]

You've got to tap the stems with sticks, with a net or blanket underneath... only the ripest drop... so its a process you have to repeat many times per plant over a few weeks to get them all. They are too soft to pick, they just burst.

They will have a commercially viable way of doing this where they grow a lot of them. But tbh, i've only ever seen dried gojis for sale. Not seen fresh commercially available yet. So chances are, they can't be transported without drying first, which will they will likely do in situ.

We've had goji's for 4 years.

 

[TeeDee]

We've had goji's for 4 years.

What sort of yield are we talking? I mean are they worth the effort or Not Mark?

 

[HillBill]

Mine ore only 4 years old and pot grown, they're not particularly big yet. Only had 2 crops so far, a few dozen berries really this last time.. The berries grow from last years wood, so you need to prune early to get more fruiting stems. They are ok in wind once they develop some hardier stems, but it takes a couple of years to do that, they are floppy and more fragile while green.

Best grown trained on walls, fences or wires for best crops..as the fruit is protected more by the stems not been blown about. Even handling a fresh goji can turn it black.... funny old things they are.

Are they worth it? Don't know yet.

 

[spandit]

I've ordered 3 little ones from eBay. They'll be planted alongside a wire stock fence so should have some support. If anything the birds will like them!

 

[HillBill]

Morrisons were selling them...1 year old plants £2 each. Thats where we got ours. they've had them in stock for the last three years, but normal only for a few weeks in spring.

 

[Janne]

Sea berries ( sea buckthorn) are delicious to make juice and jam from!

 

[spandit]

Well, the 3 plants arrived, looking an awful lot like 4, which was a nice touch (in 4 separate pots!). I've planted them in a couple of places and they're not going to be short of water for a bit judging by the weather forecast for this week.

Don't know when my sea buckthorn will fruit, they're still pretty tiny (the 2 that made it anyway)

 

[HillBill]

Not sure on the buckthorn as i've never grown them. Goji's though... you should get fruit the year after next.

 

[Barkbat]

Are you the same HillBill who came to the Swift Valley meets? Just tried to message you but i had an error saying you have to delete your messages because you've exceeded your storage on here.

 

[HillBill]

Yes mate. Thats me.