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Lycium barbarum

Goji berry

Common names: Common hawthorn, Wolfberry

Goji berry

This description was machine-translated.

Description

The Goji berry is a hardy, trailing shrub that produces bright orange‑red berries with a mild tart flavor from late summer onward. The dried fruit has long been prized in traditional East Asian cuisine. The shrub is low‑maintenance, very frost‑tolerant, and copes well with dry soils.

Care instructions

Plant the hawthorn in full sun on well‑drained, somewhat sandy soil, too rich a soil encourages foliage over fruit. Plant in spring (April, week 15) and provide a trellis or prune bushy. Water sparingly and harvest the berries from August by gently brushing or placing a cloth beneath the plant.

Soil & site

Soil pH

4.0pH 6–88.0

Soil type

sandy, loamy, well-drained, lime-loving, lean

LightFull sun
HardinessHardy
Water needLow

Feeding

Light feeder

Companion planting

Good neighbors

asparagus family (Asparagaceae)

particularly well established

Asparagus and tomato benefit from each other. The tomato keeps the asparagus beetle away, and the asparagus repels threadworms that harm the tomato.

For example AsparagusFunkieBluebellMuscariHyacinthAmerican Agave

Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)

mint family (Lamiaceae)

particularly well established

You will find that basil next to tomato and pepper improves taste and keeps whiteflies and aphids away.

For example LavenderThymeBasilRosemarySageHyssop and 31 more species in the catalogue

Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)

borage family (Boraginaceae)

Borage attracts pollinators and is supposed to keep tomato pests away from the nightshade family.

For example BoragoCommon comfreyPhaceliaForget-me-notNatternkopfSwamp Forget-Me-Not and one more species in the catalogue

Source: organic greenhouse companion planting practice

Rather not

amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae)

Onions slow down the growth of nightshade family plants next to potatoes and tomatoes; the classic crop-rotation rule also applies in the bed side by side.

For example GarlicOnionLeekChivesDaffodilRocambole and 12 more species in the catalogue

Source: basic crop-rotation rule

daisy family (Asteraceae)

Sunflowers release substances into the soil that inhibit potato tuber growth, and they also compete for water and nutrients.

For example Head lettuceTagetes patulaCalendulaSunflowerCommon coneflowerFall Aster and 57 more species in the catalogue

Source: basic crop-rotation rule

gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)

You should avoid planting potato and cucumber together because they share disease pathogens such as leaf and brown rot and stand in each other's way as strong feeders.

For example CucumberPumpkinCourgettepickling cucumberButternutHokkaido and 14 more species in the catalogue

Source: basic crop-rotation rule

Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.

Some of these explanations were machine-translated.

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