Goji berry hedge around the garden also brings extra income, double benefit from planting

Building a garden is easy, but guarding it is hard, and a full perimeter fence takes up space; is there a tree that can both enclose the garden and increase income? Yes. That is the cold-hardy large-fruited goji berry. Through the author's observation, it has the following advantages:

1. Easy to plant and highly resistant. It overwinters without freeze damage at 45°33' N latitude, and is drought-tolerant and poor-soil-tolerant. Seeding, cuttings, and division all readily produce new plants, and apart from occasional aphids, no other pests or diseases have been seen.

2. Fast growth and results in the same year. In the year of planting, goji berry can reach a height of 1.5 m to 2 m, initially providing protection. On vigorous leaf axils there are two sharp thorns 0.5-3 cm long, with varying orientations, but short thorns of 1-1.5 cm give the best protective effect. Every year many root suckers sprout from the root zone, making the thorn hedge denser year by year.

3. Beautifies the environment and increases income. In the year of planting, goji berry can bloom and bear fruit, and its green leaves, purple flowers, and red fruits make the outer edge of the orchard unusually beautiful. Its leaves are used in Chinese medicine; when tender they can be used as a vegetable, and when dried they can be made into a tea drink. Long-term use has the effects of tonifying deficiency and benefiting essence, clearing heat and relieving cough, and dispelling wind and improving vision; the fruit is the Chinese medicine goji berry, a recognized traditional tonic. Modern medical research has found that it contains abundant organic germanium, which can fight cancer and activate T lymphocytes, enhance human immunity, and delay aging. Each hectare of goji berry used for enclosure can harvest about 80 kg of fresh goji berries in the same year, and more than 30 kg of dried leaves, with yields increasing year by year thereafter. At peak age it can harvest 300 kg of fresh fruit and more than 100 kg of dried leaves, and its lifespan can reach 100 years. It can both enclose the garden and generate income, and it shows profit quickly, which enclosure tree species such as elm, willow, and black locust cannot match.

Goji berry belongs to the Solanaceae family as a shrub. Although it grows quickly, its branches are soft, especially when there are many leaves and fruits, often drooping. For this reason, the following methods should be adopted: 1. Wooden stick support method. In spring, plant at a spacing of 30 cm between plants, and pinch the growing tips when new shoots are 30 cm tall to promote secondary branches; in mid-to-late June, firmly insert 1.5 m long wooden sticks into the soil at 2-3 m intervals, then use thin wooden poles or wire to pull two or three horizontal lines, and tie the goji berry branches horizontally or vertically. As the goji berry trunks thicken, after two years they no longer depend on wooden stick support. 2. Fast-growing tree species support method. At the enclosure site, in the first year plant fast-growing tree species such as poplar and willow at 2-3 m spacing, and after autumn cut them back at 1.5 m. The next spring, plant goji berry seedlings and manage them as above, pull horizontal lines and tie them, and promptly remove overly dense branches and leaves of the fast-growing tree species to create a good growing environment for the goji berry. When the goji berry can support itself independently, kill the fast-growing tree species and leave the stumps. 3. Double-row planting and tying method. At the enclosure site, plant two rows of goji berry at 30 x 30 cm spacing between plants and rows. When new shoots are 30 cm tall, select vigorous branches in groups of every 3 plants and tie them together. In the first two years, remove all or most of the fruit and excess upper branches and leaves to promote rapid thickening of the branches and trunks; after three years they can grow naturally.

Using goji berry as an outer fence for a fruit (vegetable) garden is convenient and easy, quick to take effect, good in protection, and can increase income, achieving several benefits at once.