How to Grow Your Own Organic Goji Berries

Plant the seed. Obtain dried organic goji berries from a health food store. Every berry contains around 20 seeds, so you won't need many for planting. Soak the organic goji berries (or berry!) overnight in water, then press the berry while it's still in the water between your fingers to release the seeds from the berry pulp, allowing the viable seeds to sink to the bottom. Then plant one or two seeds in a two gallon planting pot with drainage holes filled with organic potting soil that has an alkaline pH of 7.6 to 8.2. Ask the nursery or garden center what amendments to add to the organic potting soil for it to have this pH if you don't know how. Goji seedlings don't transplant very well, so you want to put your seeds into a container where they can grow undisturbed for a year. If both sprout, thin to just one.

Nurture for up to a year. Put the pots in a sunny location that gets at least six hours of sun, and nurture by watering regularly (never overwater or let the soil get soggy). Protect the pot from hard frosts and freezing temperatures with a blanket around the pot if you get cold winters. Once in the ground, your established organic goji berries will be stronger and more insulated from cold, but while still young and in pots above the ground, they may need protection.

Plant in the field. Plant your organic goji berries in organic soil in a field in springtime where they will continue to get at least six hours of sun and where they will be very well drained. Make sure you plant at the same depth as the plants were in the container. If planting multiple organic goji berries, remember they grow up to ten feet wide and tall, so consider this when choosing your spacing. Water if natural rainfall is sparse but again, don't overwater. Once or twice a year, mulch with organic compost.