Growing Goji Berries

Goji berries are easy to get started, and easy to grow the first season — if it’s in a container or a well fenced, guarded spot. I had over a dozen going in various parts of the yard, but by the end of July, they’d all disappeared. Eaten overnight by some type of nocturnal creature.

Because immature goji plants are so well loved by small wildlife, I’m likely to be planting a few every year in containers, and bringing them indoors to winter over. I think once they get into their second year, they might be able to fend for themselves. I’ve seen pictures while doing my research on this, that suggests that.

That said, if I leave them out this fall, I’ll be putting a good fence or cage around them, and lots of straw for the weather here. Just in case…

Starting Goji Berries From Seed

These seeds are easy to start. Put some damp seed starting soil (or finer than regular) in a small plant pot or container of your choice. Don’t use soil containing peat moss, because it’s PH level is lower (more acidic). Cover lightly, the seeds are very small. 

Keep them evenly moist, but not soggy. They should germinate in a week or two if you have a spot that’s about 20-25 degrees Celsius. If you don’t have a warm enough spot don’t worry, it’ll just take a little longer to germinate.  Look at them at least a couple of times each day.

Don’t put them in direct sunny light until seedlings appear, then gradually give them more light. Shelter them from the wind when you put the seedlings outside.  They like full sun, but they’re okay with some partial shade.

If you’re planting your seedlings in a permanent spot outside, space about 3 or 4 feet apart. 

What’s the Best Soil for Goji Berries?

Goji berry plants don’t like acidic soil. Aim for a PH level of 6.8 to 7.5 or even a bit higher. My tap water is 7.9 and my one living goji seems to be thriving. I’ll get a better grasp on what “thriving” is when I grow another healthy one. If you’re growing your goji berry in a container, you’ll find it easier to adjust the PH, by adding PH up, to your water. 

If you don’t want to buy expensive PH formulas for raising (or lowering), baking soda raises PH levels, and lemon juice will lower it. Once you’ve done all the initial testing on your water source, you won’t have to test each time. I only test once a season now. I have well water, and it hasn’t changed in 8 years.

There are PH test strips, and testers you just stick into the water. Ask your friendly local garden centre about how to use these products.

If you’re using store bought soil, check to make sure it doesn’t have any peat moss in it. This is great for many things, but it’ll bring the PH levels down too low. If you can find a nice sandy loam, your gojis will love you for it. 

Drainage should be good. Most plants that are drought tolerant, don’t like soggy roots.

Once your gojis are well established, they’re drought tolerant. Until they’re at least a couple of years old, I’d make sure they get a good watering at least once a week, or more during the hotter months, depending on your soil. Especially for good berry growth. Harvest is between August and October, depending on your seasons.

What Is The Hardiness Growing Zone For Goji Berries?

Goji berries are fairly cold tolerant. Their hardiness planting zone is 4 – 10. This is why I think once you get them past their first year or two, with fences or cages and straw, they’re probably going to live for a long time. 

I’m in hardiness zone 3 here, so I have to have their final outside planting spot somewhere well protected from the wind and cold, and I’ll be covering them with straw over the winter months.

My recommendation for cold or frosty winters, would be to cover with a layer of straw. The more I research about these berries, the more varied the growing advice is. It does sound like the red berries are more cold tolerant down to zone 3 (maybe), but the black berries are the sweeter variety, so they’re worth giving extra attention to. 

Do I Have To Worry About Insects?

Yes, unfortunately. Everything seems to like them. I planted quite a few black goji berry seeds last summer, and I only have 2 plants left, which I had brought into the house. I put a few out in different areas, and they all were entirely eaten within a month. Mice? Rabbits? Insects|? Don’t know. I should put up a garden camera…can you imagine what comes out while we sleep? I know I have lots of small wildlife. Insects too.

The two that I brought into the house had the first in-house infestation of aphids that I’ve ever seen. They weren’t on my other indoor plants, and they were extremely hard to get rid of. I tried the gentle way first – lightly soapy water with a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide in a litre sized spray bottle, then I went to a store-bought soapy water insecticide, and moved up to a stronger version of yet another insecticide… 

I had some food grade diatomaceous earth around, which is harmful to any insect, so be careful what you use it on. It’s a sprinkle-on dusty powder , DO NOT INHALE, even a little. It’s really bad for your lungs, or your pets lungs. It’s actually edible in small amounts, so you can use it on herbs without danger of toxicity, but most herbs don’t get bugs. At least I don’t think they do.

I had almost killed one of the gojis, using the strong insecticide, so it’s good that I was finally able to rid the poor plant of its bugs. A dusting of the diatomaceous earth, and its insect free. 

But it’s still not right, poor thing…I’m not sure if it’s a survivor yet..

On the plus side, if you have pests, you’ll likely find them early if you just keep an eye on your indoor goji berry plant. 

How Nutritious are Goji Berries?

Some of the nutrients that make blueberries and grape seeds so healthy are found in high levels in the black goji berry.

Both the black and the red goji contain vitamins C and B12, and have small amounts of magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, and copper. 

It has been discovered that the purple pigment in many dark fruits and vegetables contains higher amounts of phytochemicals, flavonoids, including resveratrol, and anthocyanins that help to boost immunity and help keep blood pressure under control.

Sometimes healthier is another way to say that they’re more “nutrient dense”, but it doesn’t mean you can eat all you want. Eat too much of any fruit or berry, and you’ll be spending your time on the crapper. Just like if you sit down and eat a couple of pounds of cherries. You will still be healthy and full of antioxidants and such, but you could end up in a bit of distress for a couple of hours.

The ones I’m growing are the black variety. As well as using the dried berries in oatmeal, or anywhere you’d use a currant or raisin, the black variety of gojis make a nice steeped tea. It’s a nice blue color, if you add a couple of drops of lemon juice, it will turn a pinkish or purple color.

What’s the Difference Between Black or Red Goji Berries?

The black gojis are both sweeter and healthier than the red gojis, but they are both superfoods. 

The red goji berries are slightly more tolerant of the cold, they are okay in zone 3. 

What Do Goji Berries Taste Like?

Apparently, according to my internet research,  the dried red ones taste like a cross between a tomato, cherry, and a cranberry, and are sort of sweet.   The black ones are sweeter. The fresh ones are bitter or tart.

As with most berries, there are dried versions, and fresh ones. I have never seen, in any grocery store, a fresh goji berry, in Canada. I’ve previously seen dried ones, I wish I had tried them. You need to go to a health food store (that carries them) to find dried ones. 

So sorry folks, I can’t tell you from personal experience what either color of goji berry tastes like yet. If I can find dried ones, I will come back with an update!

As I’m going into my second year of trying to grow these from seed, I think I’ve got a couple more years to go before I get to taste a fresh one. I’d better get my hands on some seeds or seedlings of red goji berries, so I have both varieties. They’re likely completely different from each other, and you cannot have too many berries growing on an acreage. 

What Ways Can I Consume Goji Berries?

Both the leaves and the berries of both colors of goji berries are edible. They can be steeped into tea, berries and leaves, and you can eat the berries once the tea has been drunk. From what I’ve read, I would rather try the black gojis in a tea, they sound sweeter. 

When the black gojis are steeped in tea the tea is blue. If you add a couple of drops of lemon, the tea will turn pink or purple.

The berries are better tasting when dried, these can be treated like raisins, and put in muffins, cookies, and cereals. 

As I mentioned above, eat or drink in moderation until you know how your digestive system works with them.

Are There Reasons To Avoid Goji Berries?

There are certain foods that can interact with certain medications. Goji berries are one of those. Blood thinners, heart, diabetes, blood pressure meds all have some food interactions. Sometimes it’s just a matter of limiting the consumption of those foods, sometimes you have to avoid it completely. Grapefruit, ginger, garlic are some others that might interfere with some medications, so always check your medication and talk to your pharmacist to make sure you don’t have to avoid certain foods. 

Pregnant women may also have to limit consumption until safety is studied more. Just to be sure. It would be a good discussion with your doctor. I thought this was worth mentioning because people say red raspberry leaf tea can affect pregnancy, but there’s not enough research to know. If something as mild as raspberry can affect this, I’d eat or drink only small amounts of any superfood daily.