How to Grow Goji Berries? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Planting Methods

The goji berry fruit is the ripe fruit of the goji berry, a small shrub in the Solanaceae family. Its history as both food and medicine is extremely long, and it is one of China's traditional precious Chinese medicinal herbs. It is rich in various amino acids and has excellent health benefits, so how should goji berries be planted? Do you know? Let's take a look at the detailed introduction below.

1. Site Selection and Orchard Establishment

Choose a sandy loam soil with deep soil layers and good aeration to establish the planting orchard. The soil should ideally be rich in organic matter, with the groundwater level below 1 m. When establishing the orchard, sound drainage and irrigation fine soil is required, along with drainage ditches, so that water can be supplied during drought and drained during the rainy season. In addition, the area around the planting site should ideally have convenient transportation.

2. Sowing

When planting, seed propagation and cutting propagation can both be used, but in production, seed propagation is generally chosen in order to cultivate seedlings on a large scale. From June to November each year, harvest the ripe fruits and extract the seeds by soaking and rubbing them in warm water. Apart from winter, goji berries can be sown in the other three seasons. For spring sowing, late March is the suitable time. First, open furrows in the seedling bed at a row spacing of 25 cm, spread the seeds evenly into the furrows, then cover with a layer of shallow soil after sowing and press lightly. Cover the bed surface with grass to keep it warm and moist, which helps emergence; plastic film mulch can also be used.

3. Seedling Stage Management

After the seeds germinate, promptly remove the covering grass and ground cover to avoid excessively high temperatures scorching the young seedlings. When the seedlings grow to about 30 cm, carry out the first loosening of the soil and weeding; the weeds must be removed completely. When lateral branches grow from the base of the young seedlings, remove these lateral branches promptly to prevent them from competing for soil and nutrients and hindering the growth of the main branch. In May, apply a top dressing once to promote root growth. At this time, the top dressing should be mainly phosphate fertilizer, supplemented by nitrogen fertilizer. Per mu, 10 kg of ammonium phosphate and 5 kg of urea can be applied; simply mix them and broadcast them beside the plants. During the seedling stage, do a good job of pest and disease control, and also provide protection during overwintering so that the plants overwinter safely and are ready for field planting the following spring.

4. Field Planting

The field planting time is generally in mid-to-late March in spring. When lifting the seedlings, keep the main root intact and minimize damage to the lateral roots. After lifting, place the seedlings in a cool place; if they cannot be planted immediately, plant them in a temporary planting trench. Before field planting, prune the seedlings once: trim flat the roots damaged during lifting, cut off the branches and trunks that died over winter, then soak them in diluted naphthaleneacetic acid for 24 hours before planting. When planting, control the plant and row spacing at 1.5×2 m. Apply base fertilizer at the bottom of the planting hole, cover with a layer of topsoil, then place the seedling, cover with soil and firm it by stepping on it, and water thoroughly once.

The above is an introduction to goji berry planting methods. We hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.