This week I was out Harvesting Goji Berry and that I’d put together a How to Harvest Goji Berry Lycium barbarum post for you. I’m a little late, but did have some berries left. Normally I’m harvesting from July until first frost, but this year I have been tied up with the business and they have not produced quite as well as usual due to a drought.
How to Harvest Goji Berry Lycium barbarum
The Basics
Before I get into how to go about harvesting goji berry, let’s discuss some basics of goji berry. The goji berry has a scientific name of Lycium barbarum, and is also called the wolfberry. It is a shrub that has purple flowers in the spring and early summer followed by bright orange-red berries in the late summer into fall. They are native to China and are part of the nightshade family, which also includes potato, peppers, tomato, and eggplant.
Growth Habitat
Goji is woody perennial in zones 5-9 that is deciduous and grows three to five feet in height, with long arching stems. The flowers are a purple to lavender color with 5 to 6 lobes. After flowering, green berries grow that turn bright orange-red when ripe. The fruit has 10 to 60 small yellow seeds and ripens from June to October.
How to Harvest Goji Berry Lycium barbarum
Vitamins and Minerals
Goji berries are high in iron and fiber as well as vitamins A and C, low in calories and high in dietary protein. Studies have cited the high level of antioxidants in goji berries, especially zeaxanthin.
Picking
You want to pick berries that are a fire engine red color. To pick goji berries, just grab the berry between your index finger and thumb and pull down. They usually leave the stems behind.
Process
You can dehydrate the berries, eat them fresh, or make a number of recipes with them. I have washed my berries and will put them in sandwich baggies and eat them with lunch this week. They have a bit of a strange taste when eaten right out of hand. The taste is almost soap like to me. I do like the taste a little better when they are dried, but won’t go through the trouble of drying this few berries.
Other Uses
Dried goji berries are cooked and added to several dishes including; rice congee, almond jelly, and Chinese tonic soups and is said to go well with pork, chicken and vegetable stir fries. Goji berries can also be used in herbal teas. You can also eat the young shoots and leaves as well as using the berries for the production of wine.
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The Video
Check out the video for Harvesting Goji Berry | Wolfberry | Lycium barbarum below.
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