Goji berries: benefits, reproduction, care and harvesting. Spring protection of garden plants from pests and diseases

6 minutes to read

Recently, a novelty has appeared on the domestic market, which has gained great popularity among consumers - goji berries. They contain a large number useful substances. It has been proven that they are a good remedy to fight overweight.

Due to the high popularity, the price of these berries remains very high. more profitable and reliable way get goji berries - growing them on your site. So you can be sure of their quality.

Plant features

Represents deciduous shrub with small leaves and thorny hanging branches, capable of reaching a height of 3 meters. The crown is very dense and can grow significantly in width. Dereza has a powerful root system with numerous root suckers.

Dereza vulgaris

Is different long period flowering is from June to October. The flowers are very small, purple, sometimes brown-violet with a delicate scent.

The plant begins to bear fruit upon reaching 3 years of age in the period from May to September-October, which allows you to harvest up to 13 crops in one year. Depending on the age of the plant, the yield from one shrub can vary from 1 to 10 kg. The berries are predominantly orange or deep red, oblong, up to two centimeters in length. Dried fruits taste like raisins.

With proper cultivation, the plant can become a garden decoration, thanks to the colorful rich colors of the leaves and branches.

Varieties

Miraculous berries have a simple Russian name- Boxthorn. Goji berries are considered the fruits of only two species of this plant - Chinese and ordinary goji (Lucium chinense and Lucium barbarum).

Attention! Many people confuse these berries with barberries (Berberis), so you should be careful when buying seedlings.

The name "goji" has Chinese origin- in one of the dialects, this is the name of dereza. Berries are native to northwestern China.

Dereza Chinese

Dereza vulgaris has similar properties, but is common to much large territories- in Southeast and Central Asia, in Primorye, in Ukraine, in central Russia, in the Kuban and in the Caucasus.

Preparing for landing

You can start a similar shrub on your site in two ways:

• seeds
• shoot tips
• Root offspring
• cuttings

Due to the thin shell, wolfberry seeds do not need pre-sowing treatment, dressing, scarification and are distinguished by good germination.

Seeds must be removed from a ripe fruit and soaked for 2 hours in zircon or epine. It is best to germinate them in a well-drained, medium-loose soil mixture. So, a mixture of crushed peat and loam in a ratio of 1: 2 is perfect.

Germination occurs by surface sowing in moist soil. During the entire period of germination, a constant soil moisture should be maintained.

Important! The air temperature in the room in which the seeds germinate must be constant. The maximum allowable fluctuations are 7-10°C.

The seed container should be placed in a warm place, covered with a film. Planting material should be protected from overheating by heat sources and hypothermia by cold air flows from the window.

Seeds germinate in an average of 14 days. After the appearance of sprouts, the container with them must be transferred to partial shade or to a source of diffused light.

After the appearance of true leaves, the seedlings must be transplanted into deep (up to 7 cm) separate pots. On the stage active growth the top of the seedling is pinched, which will ensure the density of the bush in the future.

Before planting, you can adapt the sprouts by lowering their root system for a couple of days in a nutrient solution.

Planting cuttings of dereza

Dropping the tops of the shoots or the lower branches, you can root them and get a new plant. A rooted plant should be cut off from the parent before frost.

Another way to get goji berries is to grow semi-lignified cuttings with old wood. Mostly hybrid varieties are grown vegetatively.

The optimal length of the cutting is 10 cm. To speed up rooting, the cut must be dipped in the root. July-August planting material planted under a film or in a greenhouse. For rooting cuttings, it is better to provide a cool place. The rooting period lasts from early autumn to early spring. An insulated balcony may be suitable for this purpose.

AT natural conditions shrub reproduction occurs by self-sowing.

The shrub grows well on any soil, but it is most comfortable in slightly acidic-strongly alkaline.

For landing, you need to choose a sunny place.

Landing

It is best to plant shrubs in spring time. After autumn planting, there is a high probability of freezing the bush in winter.

goji berries - flowering

Under the seedling, a pit up to 40 cm deep and up to 60 cm wide should be prepared. When planting several plants, a distance of 1.5-2 meters must be observed between the pits. For planting, you can prepare a special soil mixture. To do this, mix in equal proportions large river sand, peat and garden soil.

It is better to fill seedlings with a special mixture consisting of earth, 10 kg of humus, 200 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium.

When planting seedlings, it is desirable to deepen a little.

Advice! Dereza is a cross-pollinating plant and to ensure bountiful harvest you need to plant at least 2 bushes.

After planting, the bush is watered abundantly. The soil should be mulched with peat or humus.

Further care

In the early years, the shoots are very thin and may fall to the ground. To avoid this, it is necessary to install a trellis or support.

The plants are watered depending on the dryness of the summer, but not more than 2 times a week. Abundant watering the shrub is needed only during the growth of shoots, at the stage of flowering, fruiting and picking berries.

Attention! Dereza reacts poorly to stagnant water.

The shrub responds well to pruning and shearing, even with mechanical devices. New shoots will grow from the old wood.

At low temperatures young plant may freeze. This can be avoided if the shrub is planted in a deep container for the winter and stored until spring in the basement. After the second year of life, dereza is able to withstand temperatures down to -30 ° C.

The shrub exhibits high resistance to pests and diseases and does not need to be treated with pesticides. In extreme cases, there may be problems with powdery mildew and smolder. You can fight them by spraying the plant with an infusion of wormwood.

Few people know this way to get goji berries, how to grow them in own house as indoor plant. In this case, in winter he needs to provide a cool place with an air temperature within + 10 ° C. Due to the long root system, the plant can only be planted in deep containers. When watering it is necessary to avoid overdrying.

Important! Growing dereza indoors, it is necessary to provide it with a lot of light.

Fertilization

Only young plants are fed during the growing season, there is no need to apply fertilizers in the future.

Top dressing is needed only for those plants that grow in the house. It should be fertilized in the same way as other plants with alternating organic matter and mineral fertilizers.

Medicinal properties

Dereza fruits contain a large amount of polysaccharides, B vitamins, vitamin C, more than 20 minerals, 18 amino acids. Thanks to these properties, berries can be used to increase immunity and get rid of chronic fatigue.

Goji berries

Berries contain more protein than grains. Combined with the tonic effect they have on the body, berries can be used as a powerful aphrodisiac.

Important! You can only eat dried ripe berries. Eating unripe fresh fruits can lead to poisoning.

Goji berries have gained great popularity as a means for weight loss, beneficial features which are aimed at accelerating the metabolism.

Advice! Those who have never consumed berries should not start doing it abruptly. In an unprepared body, after abundant consumption of plant parts and wolfberry fruits, severe dehydration and kidney problems can occur.

Goji (Lycium barbarum) - sprawling tall shrub, up to 3.5 m tall. It is common in the Himalayas, found at altitudes up to 3000 m above sea level. China is considered the homeland. You can also find a shrub in southern Europe, Iran, North Africa.

This shrub is also known as Dereza ordinary, Chinese Dereza. It belongs to the genus Dereza, the Solanaceae family. Common names are Chinese wolfberry, red medlar, wolfberry(should not be confused with a common plant in Russia with the same name).

Legends of Goji Berries

The name Goji came from the east. It is found in manuscripts made 650 years BC, in which the berry is called medicinal, which has the properties to purify and rejuvenate the blood. In China, legends call goji berries the fruits of immortality. One legend tells of the times of the Tang Dynasty, when an unusual shrub grew, the fruits of which, after ripening, fell into a spring at the foot of the mountains.

Residents who drank water from this source retained excellent health, strength, and youth. Today, goji berries are actively advertised all over the world as "berries of happiness and longevity."

What does goji look like

Goji is a deciduous shrub with thick, deep roots that produce many offspring. The crown is thick.

Goji twigs are long, rod-shaped, drooping with age, covered with thin spines. Shoots are light yellow. Leaflets on short petioles, alternate, entire, elliptical in shape, fleshy, green above and bluish below. Flowers-bells of lilac or violet-pink. The fruits are red juicy berries of an oblong shape, tasting sweet-bitter or sour.

Fruits from May to September, in other regions until October. During this period, several harvests are harvested, the August harvest is considered the most valuable. Dried berries look like large raisins. The seeds are small, about a millimeter.

Planting, growing and care

Seeds due small size do not require processing, have good germination. Seeds are soaked in zircon or epine for 1-2 hours before planting. Sow in medium loose soil, for example, one part of crushed peat and two parts of loam. It is preferable to use neutral soils.

The seed container should be placed in a bright, warm place, maintaining constant humidity and temperature without large fluctuations. The site does not recommend that the seeds be exposed to jets of cold air from a window or overheating occurs from a battery or a nearby electric heater.

After seed germination, the plants are placed in a bright place with scattered sunlight or penumbra. After the appearance of the first true pair of leaves, they are seated. It is not worth pulling with a transplant, since the roots grow rapidly in depth; for transplantation, they take pots with a depth of at least 7 cm, so that the roots are free. Seedlings are pinched to increase branching.

A pit 40 cm deep is prepared for landing. The earth is mixed with organic and mineral fertilizers. should be slightly deepened, watered well and mulched with peat or humus. During growth, flowering and fruiting, infrequent watering is useful.

Goji is a cross-pollinating plant, for good fruiting, you need to plant at least 2 bushes.

Goji grown from seeds bloom in the second year, and the crop is given in 3-4 years. The berries are harvested by shaking them from the branch to the fabric, as when they come into contact with the skin, they oxidize it, and the skin then turns black. Dry the berries in the shade.

The main harvest is given by last year's shoots, so older branches are cut off so that the crown is not very dense.

Goji can also be planted with cuttings, root offspring, shoot tips, tilting them to the ground for rooting.

Goji - unpretentious plant. The shrub is resistant to weather changes, as in the homeland, in mountainous areas, there are droughts and frosts, prolonged downpours, storm winds. Therefore, there are no special requirements for care, it is advisable only to plant in neutral fertilized soils, it grows somewhat worse on acidic soils.

The shrub is resistant to urban conditions, tolerates light shading and shearing well. It grows quickly, in dry years it needs watering. Of the pests, aphids can also be affected.

Perhaps grow goji as a houseplant. Then you should arrange wintering in a cool place - about 10 0C. The plant is planted in a deep container, watered regularly, preventing the soil from drying out. Be sure to keep the plant in a well-lit area.

Question about the medicinal properties of goji

AT modern world goji berries are advertised as a source of a unique set of natural ingredients, a large number vitamin C, 4 rare polysaccharides not found in other foods. In the North American market, it is called the "cure for all diseases".

Japanese scientist H. Wu published a study stating that goji juice is able to restore the structure of DNA molecules due to the presence of biologically active substances in it. Evidence is given that one Chinese native of the Himalayas, who daily consumed goji, lived for 252 years.

Studies have been conducted in China, Japan, Switzerland, Mongolia, Tibet, the results of which prove the effectiveness of goji in the treatment and prevention of cancer. The antioxidant effect of berries, according to scientists, delays aging.

Goji berries, juice from them and decoctions are used to treat hypertension, lumbago, diabetes, dizziness, they are used to improve vision, potency, tonic, antitumor agent. The bark and roots are used in the treatment of fever, cough, to lower blood cholesterol levels, as a diuretic, laxative.

At the same time, a consumer advocacy study conducted by CBC at the Sloane-Ketterin Memorial Cancer Center in New York states that the claim that drinking juice prevents breast cancer is not true. Earl Mindella says dried berries do not contain the amount of vitamin C claimed by other scientists. One red apple contains the same amount of antioxidants as 13 servings of goji berry juice.

Use and storage of goji berries

Goji berries are used in the preparation of desserts, yogurt, tea, juice, wine, cocktails, fruit puree. Berries are added to cereals, soups, pastries. Fresh fruits have a sweet taste with a nightshade flavor, which disappears after drying or freezing. The berries become sweet, reminiscent of dried apricots. Oil is produced from the seeds. The shoots and leaves are also used to make tea.

Berries are stored in a dry, dark place; infusions from berries are stored for no more than 2 days in a cool place.

Thanks to long flowering and fruiting bright color fruit, goji is a magnificent ornamental shrub.

Recently, goji berries have been widely spoken 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 useful they are, 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 areas, with the exception of the northern ones. AT 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 vagaries, as it comes from mountainous regions, where there are droughts and frosts, storm winds, and prolonged downpours.

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. The goji berry bush bears fruit, depending on the region, in July - October or May - September. The most valuable harvest is considered to be August.

Why grow goji berries?

The plant is quite unpretentious, not demanding on soil composition and decorative. It blooms for a long time with purple-pink bell-shaped flowers, decorating gardens.

Its ripened fruits resemble an enlarged copy of sea buckthorn berries, but they are oblong, 1.2 cm long and Orange color more saturated. The branches of the goji bush, like those of the sea buckthorn, are covered with thin thorns.

An 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 to divide suburban area to zones. Goji tolerates shearing well, so you can give the plant the desired shape.

Apart from 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 in which the fruits of goji berries are taken, with:

• anemia;
• back pain;
• violation of potency;
• diabetes mellitus;
• elevated 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. 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 they are loved by Hollywood stars (read the review about). And athletes for the fact that berries help restore strength and increase endurance.

Attention! Do not eat fresh goji berries, as they contain toxic substances. They must be dried first. How to do this and how to collect berries will be described below.

Video about the benefits of goji berries:

Propagate a plant to plant in your household plot, you can not only cuttings, but also 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 harvest mass crops in 4-5 years. Seeds are located 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.

They are easier to extract if you put the fruit of the plant for an hour in warm water. The removed seeds are placed on a moistened 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 well-drained soil of medium looseness, preferably neutral reaction. A mixture of loam and peat in a ratio of 2: 1 is suitable.

Goji berry seeds should be sown on the surface, deepening into moist soil by only 2-3 mm, so that thin sprouts make their way out unhindered.

Goji seeds germinate at +20 - +25°C. It is important that the soil is moist, so the container is covered with a film or glass. Under such conditions, evaporation is slower.

When the seeds germinate, slightly open the film from the side of the room. If the soil is dry, spray it with water from a spray bottle, making a scattered stream so as not to damage the seedlings. Remove the entire film after a week.

Goji seedlings dive when the second or third pair of leaves appears on them. Then plant 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 plants in the garden. If you want to grow further in room 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 home plant humus, a weak solution of mineral fertilizers.

Planting seedlings

If you want to grow goji berries with seedlings, then you need to prepare pits with a diameter of 40 and a width and depth of 50 cm 2 weeks before planting. You can plant purchased goji seedlings or those that you have grown from seeds. AT southern regions it is better to do this in the fall, and in cooler ones - in the spring, so that the plant is strong enough and endures frosts well.

Coarse-grained sand is poured into the bottom of the landing pit, then it is half filled fertile soil and humus (8 kg each), add: 150 g of double superphosphate, 30 g of potassium sulfate or a glass wood ash, mix thoroughly with a shovel. After that, they put a seedling, raising the root collar to ground level, sprinkle it with fertile soil and water it. trunk circle mulch with peat or humus. Seedlings should be placed at least 2 meters apart.

How to propagate goji berry cuttings

In July-August or at the end of April, carefully cut 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 their cut in Kornevin and plant them in the greenhouse. Plant rooted seedlings on permanent place, covering them for the winter with spruce branches.

In the first months, the plant develops slowly and resembles a tomato bush. small size. Then the goji grows more intensively, its branches are covered with long leaves, at the 2-3rd year of its life the bush blooms.

How to care for goji berries

Pay special attention to 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 is easier to pick berries from a low bush. But on this goji fruit will be larger. Therefore, trim the branches so that the plant is not too tall.

This question interests many. The fact is that the juice of fresh fruits can cause skin irritation, like pineapple juice. Therefore, goji berries must be collected in this way: spread a cloth under a bush and knock down the berries. In this case, it is better to wear gloves on your hands.

It is important to let goji berries ripen well on the bush, they should turn bright red, as eating unripe fresh berries can cause poisoning.

The collected berries are dried in the shade, without using an oven, and then they are separated from the stalk. For them to buy medicinal properties fruits must be well dried. This process is complete when the skin of the goji berries begins to peel off.

Video about growing goji berries at home and care:

Recently, it has become fashionable unusual berries goji. Someone says that this is a 100% weight loss remedy. Others believe that these miraculous berries are a storehouse of useful and vital trace elements.

Recently, unusual goji berries have come into fashion. Someone says that this is a 100% weight loss remedy. Others believe that these miraculous berries are a storehouse of useful and vital trace elements. In this article, we will learn not only about why this plant is so useful and valuable, but also about how to grow goji berries in our country house.

Mysterious goji berries in Russian and scientifically called "dereza". Actually, only the fruits of Chinese dereza can be considered goji berries - Lycium chinense, or dereza ordinary (barbarian) - Lycium barbarum. Among the people, dereza is also called wolfberry (but this name is given to a number of different plants, including non-poisonous ones, like dereza), lure. You can often hear the name " Tibetan barberry", however dereza and barberry ( Berberis) - completely different plants from different families - do not confuse! You can slip barberry seedlings under the guise of goji. The name is "goji" ( goji) came to English language from Chinese dialects - this is how dereza is called in China .

Dereza Chinese comes from the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on the eastern outskirts of the Tibetan Plateau, in northwestern China. It was she who gave rise to so many legends and rumors about long-lived monks.

Common dereza is practically not inferior to the commodity in terms of properties, but its distribution area is wider - you can find this berry in the east and in the center of China, throughout Southeast Asia, and here too: in Central Asia, in the Kuban, in Primorye , in the Caucasus, in Ukraine, in central Russia.

Dereza belongs to the nightshade family, it is a deciduous shrub reaching 3 meters in height, with dangling prickly branches and small leaves. The crown can reach up to 6 m in diameter. root system powerful with deep strong roots, forming many root offspring.

The plant, if cultivated, is quite decorative: the branches are of a pleasant light yellow color, the color of the leaves is light green above, bluish below.

It will begin to bloom in June and will please the eye until October. Pink, purple, sometimes even brown-violet flowers have a soft pleasant smell.

The berries are oblong, orange, crimson-red, up to 2 cm long, like a scattering envelop the shoot. Will begin to bear fruit from 3 years after planting, sometimes earlier.

goji breeding

• seeds- well propagated by seeds. They are sown in a greenhouse without stratification in the spring and left for the winter. When the seedlings begin to grow, pinch the top of the shoot for the density of the bush.

Vegetatively- can be propagated by semi-lignified cuttings about 10 cm long, but care should be taken to ensure that there is old wood on the shoot. To do this, dip part of the cut with root and in July-August plant in a greenhouse or under a film. When propagated by lignified cuttings, it takes root faster. You can root in a cool place or a cool but insulated balcony from autumn to the end of winter.

In the Caucasus, dereza often propagates by self-sowing.
planting goji

For common wolfberry, the soil reaction can be weakly acidic-strongly alkaline, but in principle it can grow on any soil composition. For landing, preference should be given sunny places. Dereza does not like stagnant water. The best time for planting - spring. In autumn, goji is rarely planted, it is akin to extreme gardening, because it can most often freeze out in winter. But there are also favorable outcomes autumn planting in warmer regions. The tests were carried out on the breeding grounds of St. Petersburg. With shelter in cold winter frozen to the level of the root collar or to the end of the snow cover. It can tolerate cold down to -15 ° C. Many sources (German nurseries) say that even down to -25 ° C, but in the middle lane it is extremely risky. In the south of Russia it can winter without shelter.

Under the goji seedling we prepare a hole 50-60 cm wide and about 40 cm deep. We place the pits for several plants at a distance of 1.5-2 meters from each other. Add 150-200 g of superphosphate, 8-10 kg of compost (humus, peat), 30-40 g of potassium sulfate or wood ash to the ground for backfilling and mix thoroughly. Seedlings need to be deepened a little. After planting, water well and mulch with peat or humus.

goji care

Watering: You can water the dereza only after planting and not even more than 2 times a week, depending on the dryness of the summer.

top dressing: Dereza grows even on poor soils, but the best quality fruit is observed on soils with medium fertility. You can feed young plants during the growing season, they do not need further feeding.

pruning: Goji tolerates shearing and pruning well. New shoots will grow from the old wood. In ornamental horticulture, it tolerates shearing well, even with special mechanical devices.

Shelter for the winter: In winter, goji can freeze to be safe, many gardeners plant the plant in deep containers and store it in basements until spring. But there are also such gardeners in whom the dereza does not freeze out and, covered only with spruce branches and snow, winters until spring.

Medicinal properties goji berries

It is believed that goji berries contain vitamin C, many different minerals and polysaccharides, B vitamins, as well as essential fatty acid. In addition, they contain great amount proteins, thus overtaking even grain crops. A decoction of goji berries tones the body, perhaps due to its tonic properties in combination with proteins, in Chinese traditional medicine used as a strong natural aphrodisiac. Conducted Scientific research really confirmed the increase in blood testosterone. Due to the high content of zinc and iron, they are often used for anemia. In combination with other herbs, they can be used as a remedy for chronic fatigue and to increase immunity. Useful as a means of combating hypertension. AT modern medicine antitumor properties of goji have not been confirmed. But it has been scientifically proven that a special polysaccharide has been isolated from common wolfberry, which helps with initial stages diabetes.

What parts of the plant should be used?

1. Goji Berries are usually used in dried form. You should not pick the berries with your bare hands, as the fresh juice of dereza berries can irritate the skin (like, for example, juice fresh pineapple). It is better to spread a cloth under the bush and knock the berries from the branches. The fruits should be harvested when they turn bright red and have reached full ripeness. Unripe fresh berries can be poisonous. No wonder one of their names is wolfberry.
First you need to dry the berries, then separate from the stalk. In order for the raw material to acquire medicinal properties, the berries must be dried until the skin begins to peel off. Drying can only be done naturally, without the use of ovens and preservatives.

2. Goji root bark - It is used for coughs, fever, lowers blood cholesterol, and is also used as a diuretic and laxative. To obtain raw materials, it is necessary to dig up the roots, rinse, remove the bark and dry thoroughly in the sun. Then make decoctions from the bark.

3. from goji leaves make invigorating teas.

Keep in mind that the body of a Russian person, unlike the Chinese or Tibetans, is not characterized by a large consumption of goji berries. Our body is not able to immediately adapt to a high consumption of fruits and other parts. this plant. In this regard, people who are very fond of wolfberry may experience kidney problems and severe dehydration.

Varieties of goji berries

Most famous nowadays ornamental variety"New Big" (NEW BIG) - the brainchild of the Polish selection. The fruits are round, large and sweet. An excellent honey plant and has good resistance to urban conditions (wind, heat, smoke).

The other two varieties suitable for growing under conditions middle lane, these are "Goji Lhasa" (Goji Lhasa) and "Chinese Goji" (Goji Lyciet). "Chinese Goji" has high yield, mid-season. "Goji Lhasa" begins to bear fruit early - already in the second year after planting, unlike other varieties that bring crops in the 3rd-4th year. This is an early ripe variety with large berries.

There are also many for sale today. hybrid varieties(signs of which are mostly transmitted only when vegetative reproduction, and not through seeds), for example, "NR1 Lifeberry" - cold hardy and resistant to diseases and pests.

Probably everyone has heard about the miraculous remedy for weight loss - goji berries. However, not everyone knows that these berries are not at all exotic for Russia, and many domestic gardeners successfully grow them on their plots.

And when proper care everyone can get real goji, no worse than in advertising!

A little about Goji culture

The scientific name of goji is common dereza (nightshade family), and in a simple way - wolfberry, or Tibetan barberry. Just do not confuse with a real barberry, as these are completely different plants! And do not be afraid of the name wolfberry - many shrubs are popularly called them. The fruits of some of them are poisonous, but goji berries are quite edible. Dereza grows in Central Asia, Southern Europe, Ukraine and Russia (mainly in the Caucasus, Primorye and Kuban). But for some reason, the berries are mainly exported by the Chinese, who call them goji. Under this name they are advertised with us.

Features of growing goji

The culture is propagated by seeds. They are sown in autumn or spring in open ground under film cover. Bred dereza and cuttings. To do this, in July or August, cut lignified twigs 10 cm each, dip the cuts in a nutrient solution, and then stick the cuttings into moist soil. Leave up to 2 m between bushes. landing pit 50x60x40 cm in size, fill in compost mixed with 30 g of potassium sulfate and 150 g of superphosphate. After planting, mulch the ground under the seedlings with humus. By autumn, the branches should take root. The easiest way to grow goji is from root shoots, which are always in abundance in adult bushes.

Young plants begin to bear fruit in 2-3 years. Seedlings a year later. To keep young plants warm, dig them up in the fall and store them in a cool place. Plant them back in the ground in the spring. The culture is able to tolerate frosts down to -25 °, but requires good winter shelter with spruce branches or nonwoven fabric. Light freezing for bushes is not dangerous, they are quickly restored due to young growths.

What are goji berries?

Dereza is a perennial deciduous shrub. It grows up to 3 m in height, and spreads up to 6 m in width. The twigs are prickly, drooping, with small leaves. The culture blooms from June to October. The aroma of the plant is not strong, but pleasant. Oblong berries ripen throughout the season orange red up to 2 cm in size. It tastes sweet with a slight sourness, there are a lot of small seeds. When harvesting, they are knocked down with a stick on a cloth spread under a bush, and then dried. It is not recommended to pick wolfberry fruits with your hands because of the caustic juice, which can cause skin irritation.

Goji care

Water the goji sparingly. Feed only during the growing season. When the fruits begin to ripen, stop feeding. Pinch off the tops of young seedlings so that the plant bushes better. Subsequently, regularly carry out shaping and sanitary pruning. It is advisable to leave the bushes low, so that it is easier to cover them for the winter. Wintering wolfberry is perhaps the only difficulty in growing it in medium and northern latitudes: Russia. But the heat-loving culture also requires little care.

Goji: useful properties

In folk Chinese medicine, a decoction of the bark of a shrub is used as a laxative and diuretic, to relieve fever, with bronchitis, to remove cholesterol. The leaves are brewed and drunk as a tonic. However, in domestic medicine, the benefits of dereza are still controversial. So before using goji for treatment, be sure to consult a specialist.

About growing goji - personal experience

Let's start with appearance. Goji is evergreen shrub up to 3 m high, in which branches hang down under the weight of fruits. Therefore, at the "youthful" age, they need to be tied to pegs so that they do not creep along the ground. Goji have thorns, but they are small and not scary at all. I think that many confuse this plant with barberry, that's who has thorns so thorns. Over time, goji grows as violently as raspberries. Well, we will not give up raspberries because of this, will we?

Now about the most important thing - about the poison. It is a myth. For example, the Chinese use not only goji berries, but also its leaves, bark and roots (they are dried and added to herbal preparations and tea). There, this plant is considered, so to speak, waste-free. Yes, green goji berries should not be eaten. And what other unripe fruits are possible? The same unripe blackcurrant can also be poisoned for a sweet soul. Then what's with the goji?

And harvesting from the bushes is quite simple - lay some material under the plant so that the berries do not fall to the ground and do not get dirty, and you will be happy. Many summer residents even spread a film under the gooseberry for this purpose. And the fact that the hands turn black during the collection of goji is so unseen: from the same blackcurrant or mushrooms, the skin on the palms also darkens. And what, from poison it? No, from organic acids

And what's so difficult about drying goji fruits? He brought it home, laid it out on a mat, and let it lie, dry out. Of course, accelerated way do the same - in an electric dryer or oven - but this is already an amateur. By the way, slightly dried goji berries can already be eaten, and they are even much tastier in this form. And dry berries have their advantages: long term storage, their volume and weight are reduced, which is convenient for transportation. Of these, you can cook jam or jam if you wish, but doctors do not recommend doing this, because when heat treatment useful substances are destroyed in fruits.

In one of the rooms, I remember reading how one summer resident complained that she took only three kilos of fruit from one goji bush. But is this really not enough? One would like to ask: how much do you collect from a currant bush? It’s just that they plant it sra-jy in several bushes, so it seems that its yield is huge.

And I want one more thing important point remember, goji is medicinal plant. And where is it seen that drugs are used without the slightest idea of ​​the dosage? After all, even infusions medicinal herbs you can't drink as much as you like. And no one does it - everyone is afraid of poisoning. And why is there a different attitude towards goji then? Where is the logic? Therefore, I want to write about how to properly use these berries. Well, first of all, you need to know that children under three years of age should not be given them (if a child picks one or two ripe berries, then there will be nothing to worry about).

But for children from three to seven years old, the norm is 1 tsp. per day in the morning.

Adults can also use 1 tbsp. l. in a day. But who definitely shouldn’t eat goji in any case, it’s hypotensive (berries reduce blood pressure) and those who suffer from food allergies.