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Lycium barbarum is a perennial member of the Solanaceae family, like so many of our other medicinal herbs. Also called Goji Berry or Duke of Argyll's tea tree. The berries are very important in Chinese Medicine, being used as a general tonic. Consumption of up to 50g of berries a day is recommended. The berries contain amino acids (up to 5%), carotenoids and polysaccharides. The leaves contain withanolide A while the seeds are rich in triterpenes and steroidal triterpenoids.
The berries are currently being marketed as another wonder health product, like Noni, Mangosteen and Hoodia have been recently. It appears they have many health benefits as well as being delicious. One way to beat the high prices of these products is to grow them yourself! Each fruit contain between 5-30 seeds.
Care and cultivation Seeds should be sown in spring, 0.5 to 1cm under the surface of a well drained potting mix, which can include equal parts perlite:potting mix:vermiculite and some sand. Once the seedlings emerge (7 days), they can either be thinned out or left until they are big enough to withstand transplanting. They can also be directly sown into the garden to avoid transplant shock. If signs of wilting occur followed by seedling death, treat with a fungicide such as Fongarid and move to a more sunny location.
Full sun with adequate water. Shrub up to 3 metres with berries up to 2cm long. Likes sandy soil, drought tolerant once established. Plant in full sun for best berry production. Dislikes water logging. Plants begin fruiting once 2 years old and will produce heavy crops in the 4th to 5th year.
25 seeds per packet
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