Goja Berry and Blueberry Juice.

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?BXFRZ 17 July 2012 Goja Berry and Blueberry Juice.
Five pounds of Goja berries and ten pounds of Blueberries were made into juice. Both berries were freshly picked. Goja berries cost $30.00 per pound and the five pounds came to $150.00.The blueberries cost 3.40 per pound for a total of $34.00 for ten pounds. Twelve litres of juice was obtained for a cost of $13.80 per litre.The berries were purchasd near Langton, ON http://www.gojiontario.com/index.php
Processing was normal,berries added to pot, and water added to cover the berries, boiling until soft (15 minutes), blending into a slurry (three minutes), straining using a food mill. There was almost no residue, but what was present was put through the Champion Juicer to extract any nutrients.The extracted juice was then pressure canned at 15 PSI. Annotated photographs depict the process. Goja berries are touted to have many nutrients, which I take with a grain of salt. This was the first time that I encountered them in quanity, so decided to give them a try. I have two plants in the garden, and the berries produced are excellent but low in quantity. I ingest mine raw.

 

[GardeNerd]

I grow goji berries. Unlike other berries, they are much better tasting when eaten dried, rather than fresh. Watch out though; they can get to be invasive like mint.

 

[Durgan]

I grow goji berries. Unlike other berries, they are much better tasting when eaten dried, rather than fresh. Watch out though; they can get to be invasive like mint.

Goja grows relatively slowly in my climate. I'm not overly enthusiastic about them, due to the picking process. I eat from my two bushes usually raw. Actually they were grown from seed about four years ago and are excellent.

 

[Mackay]

Glad to find other goji growers.

I have about 30 plants started right now and most are about 3 inches tall, a few 4 inches.

So far, even with freezes down to 26 degrees they have not died for the winter. They are in a protected sun room where its getting up to 45 and 50 in the day. Im wondering if I should put them outside now and let them go fully to sleep for the winter. We are zone three.
Any opinions?

 

[GardeNerd]

Glad to find other goji growers.

I have about 30 plants started right now and most are about 3 inches tall, a few 4 inches.

So far, even with freezes down to 26 degrees they have not died for the winter. They are in a protected sun room where its getting up to 45 and 50 in the day. Im wondering if I should put them outside now and let them go fully to sleep for the winter. We are zone three.
Any opinions?

I wish I know the right answer. Sorry. If it was me, and if they were in the ground for a while, I would let them go to sleep for the winter. Living on the border of zone 10, freeze hasn't been too much of an issue for our gojis or other plants. But I do know a small amount of drought won't kill them. This summer my gojis got no supplemental water and they still did fine.

 

[Durgan]

Glad to find other goji growers.

I have about 30 plants started right now and most are about 3 inches tall, a few 4 inches.

So far, even with freezes down to 26 degrees they have not died for the winter. They are in a protected sun room where its getting up to 45 and 50 in the day. Im wondering if I should put them outside now and let them go fully to sleep for the winter. We are zone three.
Any opinions?

I would keep them indoors for the Winter. In Zone 3 it might be too much of a shock if placed outdoors now. The Chinese railway labourers brought goji about 1885 to Edmonton, and some are still surviving in the wild. This indicates they can withstand very cool climates.

 

[seedcorn]

Please post more about gogi berries. Soil, climate, care, taste, etc.

 

[Durgan]

Please post more about gogi berries. Soil, climate, care, taste, etc.

Well lets put it this way. There are a great number of plant berries to grow which are more productive. They goja bushes take no care and grow easily, but the berries must be picked almost daily and individually. They don't all all ripen at once. I drove out to the area to see the commercial production shown in the first post from curiosity, and to compare the plants to the two that I grow. My plants were identical. For mass production there must be cheap labour available.

 

[seedcorn]

I'm thinking of my own garden. How much space do they require? Care?

 

[GardeNerd]

Please post more about gogi berries. Soil, climate, care, taste, etc.

I grow Lycium barbarum but there is also a similar one lycium chinese
Based on my personal experience...
Gojis like neutral soil or just slightly acidic. My garden soil has been amended with compost every year for the last 15 years, so it is really loamy.
They get to be about 3 to 6 ft tall in sun or slightly taller in partial shade, around 5 to 7.
They have thorns on older shoots
The fresh taste is hard to describe, a bit like a slightly sweet, but also bitter bell pepper. When you eat these, ignore the word berry in goji berry. They taste NOTHING like a berry. Eat them dried and added to things. The closest fruit flavor I can think of is a surinam cherry, but those are sweeter.
The fruit is about an inch in length and narrow.
They can be invasive like mint.
I am unsure on their climate needs, but I think they are okay down to at least zone 7 because folks in the Calif. Central valley can grow them.
Since they are in the nightshade family the foliage is poisonous. My chickens leave the leaves alone, but love the fruit.