Black goji berries are a prized tonic, but they are expensive. Buy some seeds and grow them yourself. The growing method is very simple.
Black goji berries have been very popular in recent years. Personally, I think this is mainly because people's living standards have improved, and they increasingly love these tonic Chinese herbal medicines. The main benefits of black goji berries are a remarkable anti-aging effect, along with beauty and anti-cancer effects. However, not many gardening enthusiasts grow them as potted plants yet. Below, Xiaonong will share with everyone how to grow black goji berries in pots.
1. The growing habits of black goji berries
The reason black goji berries are relatively precious, besides their unique medicinal value, is that most black goji berries are wild. However, as their growing environment shrinks, the stock of wild black goji berries is decreasing. Black goji berries mostly grow in the northwest region of our country, in areas such as Ningxia, Gansu, and Xinjiang. They like a growing environment with plenty of light, prefer sandy soil with good drainage, are drought-tolerant, have low requirements for soil fertility, and tolerate high heat and severe cold. You could say they are full of resilience.
2. Growing black goji berries
Once you understand the growing habits of black goji berries, you can prepare to plant them. Actually, growing black goji berries is not complicated. Many gardening enthusiasts report that black goji berry tea water (soaked in warm water) that they accidentally poured into flower pots actually grew small seedlings. This shows that the germination rate of black goji berries is still very high.
To grow from seed, you can take out the black goji berry seeds and wash them clean. Then put them in warm water at 30 to 40 degrees and soak them for about a day and a night. Then sow the seeds in a prepared seedling tray. Be careful to sow them shallowly, keep the soil moist, and then cover with plastic film. Generally, when the temperature is warmer, they will sprout in about a week. When the seedlings grow to about 6 to 7 cm, they can be transplanted.
For transplanting, first prepare a flower pot with a diameter of about 20 cm. The flower pot should have good water permeability. The potting soil is best neutral, or slightly alkaline, which can reduce root rot. You can use garden soil, river sand, and plant ash in a ratio of 5 to 4 to 1 to mix the soil. Plant about three plants per pot. After transplanting, water thoroughly and move to a shady place to let the seedlings recover.
If you do not want this trouble, you can directly buy already cultivated black goji berry seedlings online and plant them directly. Generally, they can bear fruit in the same year. While those grown from seed generally need about two years to bear fruit.
3. Daily care of potted black goji berries
Water and light: Black goji berries are relatively drought-tolerant, so do not water too frequently in normal times. In particular, do not let water accumulate in the pot, as this can easily cause the goji berry roots to rot and die. Try to avoid rain exposure. Black goji berries like light, so give them as much light as possible in normal times. It is best to have about six hours of light each day.
Fertilizer: Black goji berries are relatively tolerant of poor soil, so do not apply too much fertilizer, as this can easily cause fertilizer burn. You can apply some decomposed chicken manure or decomposed diluted cake fertilizer to black goji berries about once a month.