Goji or Tibetan barberry is a fairly well-known plant all over the world. The pleasant-tasting berries of this shrub are considered almost a universal remedy for most diseases. Their obscenely high cost does not stop people who want to improve their health or join a healthy lifestyle.
The great similarity between goji and ordinary barberry suggests that it is possible, after all, to try to grow these berries here. Tibetan barberry is a very hardy and unpretentious plant. It easily tolerates all the vagaries of the weather - heat, drought, rain, frost. It does not require special care, practically does not suffer from diseases and pests, and can bring a large harvest even in the northern regions.
The biggest and only problem is to grow good seedlings and plant them in accordance with all the rules and recommendations. A seedling grown from seeds with your own hands is much more reliable than those that can be purchased in any nursery.
Growing goji berries from seeds
Freshly picked seeds (from fresh berries) are ideal, but not realistic in our area. Therefore, for planting goji, you will have to use seeds from dried berries. This will not significantly affect their germination. Before planting, the seeds must be kept for at least a couple of hours in one of the preparations or infusions that stimulate the growth of future plants. For this, Epin, Zircon or infusions based on folk recipes using ash, aloe, honey, potato juice and onion husks are suitable.
The soil mixture for planting seeds should consist of ordinary soil (sixty percent), peat (thirty percent) and ash (ten percent). It is poured into a container, grooves are made and seeds are sown. Top with a half-centimeter peat layer and cover with a transparent film. The box should be kept in a warm and dark place until the first shoots appear.
Immediately after the first shoots appear, the container must be transferred to a room with good lighting or put on a windowsill. Tender young seedlings need constant moisture maintenance. Spraying with a fine spray will help with this.
A pick is carried out only after the appearance of a full fourth leaf. Each young plant must be transplanted into a separate deep pot or glass (at least 500 milliliters in volume), since the plant has long roots. This must be taken into account when transplanting and use only the transshipment method, do not separate the earthen ball from the root system.
Tibetan barberry is planted in open ground in early summer, when the soil is already well warmed up and there is no danger of night frosts.
Goji planting
The site for planting goji must be chosen sunny and without the danger of stagnant water, that is, somewhere on a small hill or hill. Any soil is suitable for the plant, but alkaline and stony soil will be preferable.
It is necessary to leave a distance of at least one and a half meters between the seedlings. The depth of each hole is 20 centimeters.Before planting a seedling, a small amount of ash-humus mixture must be poured into each hole.
When planting large goji seedlings purchased in the nursery, the holes should be twice as deep (at least 40 centimeters) and a larger amount of the nutrient mixture is poured. For each plant, you will need one bucket of peat and compost, as well as wood ash (about one liter jar). If you wish, you can add superphosphate (200 grams) to the soil.
Immediately after planting young shrubs, abundant watering is carried out, the soil is mulched near the seedling and a support is installed for tying the branches.
Goji care rules
Watering and feeding
Top dressing for the Tibetan barberry is not required, and watering is carried out only in very hot weather and a long absence of precipitation - no more than twice every seven days. Watering is not necessary at other times.
Pruning and shaping the bush
Pruning is carried out in the fall. Most often, the formation of a bush occurs in two ways: in the form of a tree or in the classical way.
Classic pruning starts from the first year of the plant's life. During the first three years (every year), it is necessary to carefully examine the entire plant and choose the strongest and longest branches (there may be about five of them), and all the rest are cut off without hesitation. After three years, on each such branch, you need to leave one (or two) shoots with an average length of 30-40 centimeters. In the next season, these shoots will release new fruit branches, three of which (the strongest) should be left, and the rest should be cut off.
Further, each year, the pruning of fruit branches continues, keeping at least one bud on each of them. Such regular pruning promotes the emergence of young shoots, which will give the expected harvest.
You can form a bush and one stem. This method is used from the second year of the plant's life. Absolutely all branches are subject to pruning, except for one - the strongest and longest. Such pruning is carried out regularly (every year) until the only branch grows up to one and a half meters in height. To support this branch, you need to take care of the support and the garter.
All further pruning is carried out according to the scenario of the classical method in order to form fruit branches.
Do not forget about "health-improving" scraps. It is necessary to rid the plant of damaged and dried branches in time. The shrub does not need branches located at a height of up to 40 centimeters from the ground, as well as branches that do not bear fruit.
Shelter for the winter
Goji is a frost-resistant plant, but at temperatures below 15 degrees below zero it can die. To prevent this from happening, you must use any suitable covering material (for example, vegetable tops, spruce branches, or others).
Goji breeding
The method of propagation by shoots has proven itself excellent. In summer, young goji twigs can be buried in a separate container, and by autumn they can already take root. Such shoots can be replanted at the end of next spring.
