Turns out Lycium Barbarum is actually pretty sweet. Where Lycium Chinense is so bad even the birds don’t like em. What varieties are you guys growing?
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Another great video 
Your thoughts of Lycium Chinense was hilarious. If you want to try something else that’s not to common in the garden and actually taste good try goumis (Elaeagnus multiflora) but buy them from a reputable supplier and buy named varieties. I grow 3 different named varieties and when ripe they are one of mine and my families favorite fruits. The longer they are on the bush the better they get and when fully ripe they taste like candy.
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Daniel,
I’m glad you enjoyed it, haha. I’m Ross on F4F-- we talked a few times.
Goumis I heard from actually a lot of members here that it wasn’t that great, so I stayed away! Any named varieties I should try?
Oh yeah I’m remember you from F4F, good to see you on here. I grow 3 different goumis and all 3 are great but again they must be ripe to taste good so I think that’s what gives goumi a bad rep. Just like a fig once they wrinkle a little they are their best. They will look ripe when they turn colors and resemble a small cherry or cornelian cherry but this is not an indication of ripeness. It takes about 3 more weeks after they turn red to be good and sugar sweet. If picked too early they are astringent.
I grow Sweet Scarlet, Red Gem, and Carmine. Red Gem is the sweetest, Sweet scarlet is very good, and Carmine is the largest and has a complex flavor like a sweet raspberry. the seeds are also edible but are in a woody seed coat which is also edible and high in fiber but not tasty. the seed it’s self is high in amino acids and taste like a sweet nut.
I’ll have cuttings of all 3 if you want to swap some plant material later this year. They don’t root too easily from cuttings but it is possible. They do however graft well on autumn olive, and can be layered. I think my photos of Carmine goumi are the only ones on google when you search for them. They are the newest named goumi available in the US. I’m hoping other named varieties are made available soon. I’m such a fan of these plants. They are low maintenance and nitrogen fixers. They are also not invasive like their cousin the autumn olive. They will fruit well in part shade and if grown in full sun the plants will be absolutely loaded with fruit.
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Well… you’ve convinced me Daniel. I need two for pollination, correct?
nope they are self fertile I just have 3 varieties because I like them so much. I actually have 12 plants 7 are grafted on autumn olive. I’d like to have about 40 plants total and use them as under story plants for my larger trees.
Hi Ross,
I had a similar experience with Sweet Life too. It’s indeed horrible. The sad part is I was gullible enough to buy a few of them plus its companion - Big Life. They are equally horrible. I thought whoever brought them to the market was honest when they said these were sweet. I have them for two years now. I don’t know if it is my wishful thinking or not but I think the second year fruits are less horrible. So, I’m going to let them live another year to see if they will taste better. That or I get used to the horrible taste.
Crimson star is the best so far. I started some from seeds that I extracted from store-bought dried goji berries but they haven’t produce anything yet.
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The Lycium Barbarum (Crimson Star) is only getting better. I like them quite a bit right now. Don’t even need to dry them they are sweet right off the plant. I might actually get another 1-2.
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My stupid one is blooming right now…
It’s insane to think that this goji berry consistently blooms for me in mid to late September.
Scott
If you’re first frost is around the end of October (like for me), the stuff blooming now may actually ripen. Mine first bloomed in late July and had the first ripe fruit less than 30 days later. And that is after being planted this spring.
Here are some pics from a week ago.
The berries are smaller than I expected. My Chinese wife buys dried ones for soup (pretty expensive from what she remembers- $6 for a few ounces) and those are about the same sized dried, as these are before drying. I left some on the counter for a while and they dried without issue, so I’m guessing there won’t be many problems with rot.
In terms of taste, they aren’t very good- very mild sweetness, but not something I would want to eat. I may toss a few into smoothies, but I don’t think I’ll ever eat them by the handful.
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I personally am liking them more and more. I’ve let quite a few friends & family taste them now, and they all found them pleasant. And I think that’s what they are… pleasant… nothing that’ll raise your blood sugar, but a nice fresh snack.
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did not want to start a new thread on this subject so I just bump this one.
How do I know when my goji berries are ripe? Right now they are orange.
Most pics I see are red but not sure of my variety so not sure.
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You can wait till they’re red OR if they aren’t turning red then you can wait till they shrivel a little.
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I planted two tiny plants from Home Depot 2017. They are still tiny I guess because of my neglect so they don’t have any fruit but the bright side is that they are alive. I wasn’t hearing anything good about the Goji so I just let them fend for themself. Glad to hear something positive about them.
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We have 3 plants that we got from Raintree. They didn’t start bearing until the third year, but now they are making sweet fruit. I like eating a small amount of them, but somehow never feel like eating gobs because they are a bit cloying or something. Good thing, because it takes awhile to pick very many. I’m glad to have them though.
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Mine are 3 yrs old and I’m getting first good harvest this year. I will wait awhile before picking.
Can berries be frozen fresh?
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I’ve had my Crimson Star for four years and they have never done well. They have grown very slowly and the berries are usually partially rotted. I wonder if they truly are Crimson Star. The one in the ground I discarded. The potted one does not have any berries so far this year.
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My crimson star is loaded and is super vigorous. You could be right… or what I have isn’t Crimson Star.
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We’re did you buy your Goji? I may try again next year with new plants. I bought a male kiwi that grew poorly and died. Same thing with a male Seaberry. I planted a new male kiwi and male Seaberry this year and both are growing vigorously. Sometimes it just a weak individual plant for unknown reason.
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Indiana Berry!
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