The Goji berry or Wolfberry a highly nutritious plant where everything is edible. There is no waste in this very healthy food; both the berry and the leaves can be eaten raw, cooked or brewed as a tea. The berries can be eaten fresh or dehydrated. The berries and leaves are an excellent source of nutrition for humans, exotic pets that are herbivores or omnivores. The Goji is also great for birds. The Goji berry is a Lycium fruit. The newer leaves and tender shoots make a wonderful salad, more nutritious than any other green you can grow or buy.
Goji Berry Blossom
The Goji has been a huge part of traditional Asian medicine since ancient times. The Chinese call it gouqizi. The first known publications were as early as 100 A.D. The Goji is also known as the wolfberry, matrimony vine, Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree or Lycium barbarum.
I began experimenting with the Goji plants at the beginning of this growing season. They are easily ten feet high and are branching out all over the place. Though I hadn't expected berries until early fall, it began fruiting a couple of months ago. It is a beautiful plant. My concern at this point will be overwintering in South Dakota. I am hoping it survives that harsh winter and fruits next year. I will be supplying both dehydrated berries and leaves next year if the little fellows survive the winter. I would love to be picking and dehydrating this year except I can't bend or twist because of my very recent spine surgery.
The Goji berry is over 15% protein, has 21 essential minerals and 18 amino acids as well as Lycium barbarum polysaccharides as well as more antioxidants carotenoids than found in any other food.
They have essential fatty acids, carotenoids, six essential vitamins including a very high amount of vitamin C, calcium, riboflavin, potassium, selenium, Beta Carotene, and many other nutritional values. Lycii Fructus or Lycium fruit is the pharmacological name or reference.
Do inform your doctor if you eat Goji berries or plant it can interact with some medications. Especially vitamin K and blood thinners, for example, Coumadin or warfarin.
For those watching or restricting their salt or sodium intake, the Goji only has 75 milligrams in 28 grams of dried goji, and it is a natural salt like a tomato would have.
One concern is the high amount of iron, please use in moderation especially for birds. Don't go overboard with the iron content. But, as with most anything moderation is the key. Nine mg of iron per 100 grams of dried berries.
Humans can add the berries and leaves to most anything. They taste wonderful, and the nutritional quality is beyond anything else. Consider loads of protein for a plant type food!!!
The taste of the fresh berry is said to be a cross between a strawberry, raspberry, and cranberry. I personally haven't decided what it tastes like yet, though it does taste good! It is not overly sweet (not a ton of natural sugar like many fruits) so blends well with most anything.
Add it to your bird or parrots food as well as your herbivores or omnivores exotic pets. I will supply links to buy the Goji's, but I will be supplying it myself (I hope) next year. Don't wait, this diet boost is through the roof.
Keep the Veterinarian and the doctor away! Get your immune system ready for winter.
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Update on the Goji Berry Planting
I promised an update on my Goji Berry, Goji berry plant, and Goji berries experimentation. At first, I became interested in the Goji berry for my own health. In the last two years, I have had most of my spine rebuilt. Healing from this massive amount of surgery was very hard on my body and mental health. The last two surgeries were in the late winter, so I am still in massive healing mode. Also, I am not impressed with commercial foods for pets. Any pet food especially exotic pets and birds. So I am always looking for better ways to improve and supplement their diet.
The Goji berry is also called the wolfberry (Chinese Lycium)
The Goji berry is a super food for humans, many exotic pets, and of course birds. I doubt if there is a single food that is more pack full of nutrition than this incredible - edible berry! The cool part. Both the berry and the foliage are edible!
Goji berries are pack full of nutrients, not only antioxidants like other berries. One example of a berry high in antioxidants would be the blueberry. Other nutritional qualities would be 21 essential minerals, 15% protein (very high for any plant food), and 18 amino acids. They are also very high in iron!
Many studies have been done on the Goji berry or Wolfberry (Chinese Lycium ), they give you a feeling of well-being, helps with a feeling of calmness, enhances the quality of sleep, immune system protection, prevent heart disease, protects against cancer, protects against Alzheimer's and other diseases related to age. In fact, they do slow down the actual aging process. They protect or help vision. These berries have a high vitamin A content and also phytonutrient anti-oxidants lutein and zeaxanthin all of which helps with healthy eyes. These same nutrients aid in a healthy nervous system They also have more vitamin C than any other food. They contain other major vitamins B1, B2, B6, and vitamin E. You hear a lot nowadays about probiotics which keep a natural balance of organisms (microflora) in the intestines. The Goji has Lycium barbarum polysaccharides provide an excellent food source for these good intestinal bacteria.
The Goji is the only food that helps stimulate human growth hormones (HGH) because the Goji has high levels of sesquiterpenoids. Add a little exercise and ta-da a new body!
There is little evidence that the supplements being sold have the same benefits as the Goji berry and foliage.
Goji's can interact with some blood thinners like warfarin, these berries will thin the blood. I had been on warfarin after I got a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) a blood clot in my inner thigh after one of my back surgeries. I no longer take a blood thinner just because of expense, so now I use Goji berries to thin my blood somewhat as a preventative measure against blood clots.
Last year I planted two Goji bushes. Since I live in South Dakota, I was concerned that I would have trouble growing them here. They grow into beautiful plants producing quite a few berries the first year. I used the berries and the foliage in our food and our pets food. The big test was going to be the plant surviving our harsh winters, and this was one seriously harsh winter. In fact, just last week we had sleet, rain, snow, hail, ice pellets, and freezing rain all in one day and then the sun came out. We had a couple of days of 70-degree weather and had snow in the forecast again today. But, darn it missed us by one county and is heading to Minnesota and east.
I was out weeding yesterday around the berry bushes and found leaf buds on the Goji berry bushes. Many of the buds were already leafing out. I also noticed new bushes forming a foot or two away from the plant. So that answers my question if the original two plants would spread increasing my berry yields.
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