Goji Berries

[Iowaboo]

are you going to sell your goji or what do you plan on doing with so many?

[stevelau1911]

I didn't expect most of the seeds to germinate, but now that I have them, I could sell them if I really wanted to as most people probably wouldn't expect them to be so easy to grow from seed. One thing good about them is that they can hold their own against the weeds around here, and they don't get eaten by the deer.

They can sell for quite a bit after growing them out for a bit.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ten-Plants-1-ga ... 414fc4c56d

[Iowaboo]

Oh, at the link I guess those are a variety used for their leaves more so than fruit. The 2 species I grow both have narrow leaves compared to that pic. I prefer eating fruit over leaves, so probably will never try that one. Also since it is in the nightshade family, might not be the best plant to eat leaves of.

[foxd]

Oh, at the link I guess those are a variety used for their leaves more so than fruit. The 2 species I grow both have narrow leaves compared to that pic. I prefer eating fruit over leaves, so probably will never try that one. Also since it is in the nightshade family, might not be the best plant to eat leaves of.

As a test I've eaten a few of the leaves with no problem. I could see wanting to eat them on a salad. My problem with trying to grow them is that they tended to get completely stripped of leaves until they died. Very annoying.

I'm planning to extend the enclosed area of the garden, perhaps I will try them again. At least it would keep the deer from crushing the cages I had put over them.

[needmore]

Being in the natural foods industry I frequently see products become all the rage and then fade away, Goji berries had their day a few years back and were suddenly added to about everything they could be added to - juice, granola, trail mixes, 'nutrition' bars' - and were also sold as bulk berries for a handsome price. Not sure of the current status but I suspect that there are still some used in various products, pimarily for their anti-oxident qualitites. They have since been replaced by Acai berries but those are old news too now...

[Iowaboo]

What about aronia, new or old news? what is the latest fad miracle fruit?

[Jeff: Igor's Apprentice]

I recently read that antioxidants CAUSE cancer, or so says Watson of Watson and Crick(DNA) fame. Go figure.

[stevelau1911]

I think the anti-oxidents are probably less harmful than most of the stuff in the highly processed foods that we see stocked in grocery stores these days.

After some more observation, I've found that my greenhouse did get a fungus gnat infestation as there are larvae all over the place. I find that they seem to be targeting the transplanted goji seedling as well as the yucca seedlings that have not turned green yet. It seems like plants tend to become immune to them once they reach a certain stage in development where I guess the gnat larvae either can't penetrate the skin anymore or the plant becomes toxic to them.

I know that amaryllis seedlings appear completely immune to the larvae, and moso seedlings are only vulnerable before they have reached their 3rd leave and develop a woody stem. I have tomato seedlings going too, but they are completely protected as I have no idea if they have any immunity to them.


Wheat grass basically grows too fast for fungus gnats to really be an issue as I can get a harvest within a week of soaking the seeds, and with my initial tray, the grass I harvested 4 days ago is already back up to 5 inches tall, getting ready to be harvested again.

[needmore]

What about aronia, new or old news? what is the latest fad miracle fruit?

You've got me on aronia, not familiar with that, it still looks to me like acai berries are all the rage plus anything with coconut milk.

[stevelau1911]

Just an update on the wheat grass.

The 1st batch is back up to 6 inches tall after a harvest 6 days ago however I'm noticing some chlorosis as the nutrients in the soil are either getting exhausted or they are getting root bound. They might be good for a couple of juicings. They really aren't worth photographing. There also appeared to be mold problems in the soil which really messed up a lot of my seedlings. I'm not sure if this is due to malnutrition or if that happened to be bad soil however it hasn't happened yet with my 2nd tray.


On my 2nd tray of wheat grass, I added in a handful or maybe about 1/4 cup op azomite to the soil before laying the seeds on making sure it is an even layer throughout the tray. As far as the rate of height increase goes I am not really noticing any difference however the 2nd tray with azomite appears to be growing a bit greener and noticeably thicker than the 1st tray. On the 1st tray, there were spots with exceptionally slow growing seedlings however this time around, they all appear to be up to par, and very consistent in height.

Here's the 2nd tray, and like many types of vegetables, it looks like azomite does make a noticeable difference.

[stevelau1911]

I just found a video of wheat grass growing outdoors as opposed to in trays which seems to make a lot more sense. The taste of wheat grass is much stronger than just plain soil, but to bring it to the next level, I plan on sowing a few beds of wheat grass outside in the soil.

[stevelau1911]

Just an update on the goji berries. I put them out in partial sunlight, and after only about 10 minutes, all of them got fried because they were not hardy enough as they should have been sprouted outdoors instead. That's not a big deal since many of my yucca seedlings seem to be making the adjustment to full sun just fine. I'm not even that big into yuccas, but that's another plant to mess with.

I've figured out how to get wheat grass to drink on a daily basis, and I'm already starting to get sick of it as it simply doesn't taste good anymore. I'll be growing it outdoors instead after I finish harvesting all the trays I have indoors.

[Iowaboo]

True, doesn't sound very appealing

[stevelau1911]

If you haven't been drinking wheat grass for a long time, it actually tastes pretty good, but you can get sick of it if you have many trays of it growing at the same time, and have easy access to an endless supply. It's too strong tasting. I think I'm better off juicing vegetables.

Getting back to the goji berries in the ground, there are around 100 plants if all of them root out, and take off growing in the goji bed. I did add about 2 inches of manure on top of it all, and after the next rain storm, I think I'll need to tarp the entire bed so the soil and moisture levels won't fluctuate like crazy.

Some of the cuttings/ plants are starting to bud out as shown below, but to get them to root out, instead of swinging around from the upper 20s to the mid 70Fs, I would rather have the temperatures hanging in the 40-50F in that bed. The light will be weakened by around 80% by the tarp, but the tarp can also help keep the entire bed from drying out so easily.

[needmore]

Don't know how much you're drinking but I think usually a shot glass size serving is what folks shoot for.