Fruits

What is the Goji Berry plant?

The scientific name of the Goji Berry plant is the Lycium barbarum, which belongs to the family Solanaceae. The common names of the Goji Berry plant are wolfberry, common Lycium, Kuko, Litchi, etc. This plant is native to China, Russia, Turkey, and Japan. This plant is hardiness in zones 4-8.

Goji Berry plants are grown in zones 3 – 10. The plant grows on shrubs ranging from 10 -13 feet tall and spread about 4 feet. They have purple flowers with thorns and clusters of grey-green leaves. Its foliage is evergreen, and the flower blooms 6 to 7 times a year. They have bright orange-red colored, oval-shaped fruit, which is sour. Goji Berry plant is rich in nutrients such as Vitamin B, Vitamin C, amino acids, protein, Vitamin E, and flavonoids.

Scientific classification of a Goji Berry plant

Kingdom: Plantae

Clade: Tracheophytes

Clade: Angiosperms

Order:  Solanales

Family: Solanaceae

Genus: Lycium

Species: L. barbarum

How to grow a Goji Berry plant?

Goji Berry plant is easy to grow. You can start to grow the Goji Berry plant from seeds or bare rootstock. You can grow the Goji Berry plant at home in a container or the ground. You can buy the plant from the local nursery as well.

If you are thinking of growing the Goji Berry plant through seeds, then use fresh seeds. Start the seeds indoors and plant them outdoor when it is a year old.

How to grow a Goji Berry plant from bare rootstock?

Steps to plant bare-root Goji Berry are:-

1. Soak the bare root of the plant in water for about 30 minutes.
2. Take a container and fill it up with potting soil.
3. Place the bare root at the center of your pot.
4. Fill soil up to the crown of the bare root.
5. Add additional soil to settle it down.
6. Place the container in the area with full sun.
7. Water the plant about an inch or two every week.
8. Keep the plant moist.

You can also transplant your Goji Berry plant in the ground. Firstly, select a spot with full sun and moist soil. Plant them in a distance of 2 feet apart, and water it.

How to care for a Goji Berry plant?

1. The soil should be moist, fertile, and well-drained with a pH value from 6.8 to 8.
2. It thrives full sun, but it can tolerate some shade also.
3. Water the plant regularly.
4. Avoid using peat moss or any fertilizer to the plant.
5. Goji Berry plant naturally creep and sprawl, so you can use stalk to save more space.
6. Remove the branches that grow out of the trunk of the Goji Berry plant.

Uses of a Goji Berry

1. This fruit can be eaten raw or cooked.
2. It is used in juice, wines, herbal teas, and medicines.
3. It also reduces hypertension.
4. Some research shows that drinking Goji Berry juice for a month helps to improve various quality of life measures.
5. Goji Berry plant is used for the treatment of high blood pressure, diabetes, fever.
6. It helps to increase blood cell production and regulates blood pressure.
7. It effectively manages your body weight and better digestion.
8. It protects the skin and eye health.
9. This plant has anti-oxidant properties and anti-aging capabilities.

The side effect of a Goji Berry plant

Goji Berry plant can cause liver damage, allergic reactions, and increase sensitivity to the sunlight. If you consume it in a high amount, it might lower down your blood sugar level.

Where Can I buy Goji Berry Plants?

You can find Goji Berry plants for sale in Amazon. You can also buy from your nearest Plant nursery.

What is Chinese Lantern Plant?

The name “Chinese lantern” was commonly given because the orange pods that look like paper boxes with small candles inside look like Chinese blades. Physalis alkekengi (Chinese Lantern plant) is native to southern Europe, southern Asia, and Japan.

The season of interest occurs for the first time when the plant produces cases of light green fruit in August. These turn into a beautiful orange land in September. The fruit cases remain attractive if left on the plant for 3-4 weeks and they can be dried and retain their color and shape there for several months.

The ripe fruits of Chinese lanterns look like a red-orange version of tomatillo, but be careful, despite their close affinity with tomatillo and groundcherries, like many members of the same family, some Chinese lantern plants are poisonous.

The scientific name of Chinese Lantern Plant

Kingdom: Plantae

Order:   Solanales

Family:  Solanaceae

Genus:   Physalis

Species: P. alkekengi

Varieties of Chinese Lantern Plant

Tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica)

The tomatillo is known as the Mexican husk tomato; it is a plant of the nightshade family that has small spherical and green or green-violet fruits of the same name. The tomatillo arrived in Mexico and was grown in the pre-Columbian era. A staple food of Mexican cuisine, they are eaten raw or cooked in various dishes, especially the green sauce.

Horse Nettle (Solanum carolinense)

The Horse Nettle is a nightshade family, its perennial roots and stems and thorny leaves. Another distinctive feature is the yellow fruit, which changes from fleshy and smooth skin to wrinkles as it matures. New plants are born from seeds and from the spread of underground roots, which generally produce many shoots in dense areas.

Cape Gooseberry (P. peruviana)

Cape gooseberry is a soft, perennial woodland plant, slightly similar to the vine that usually reaches 2 or 3 feet in height. In good condition, it can reach 6 feet but will need support. The branches are purple, capillary, and covered with fine hair. It is locally found in western South America. It has been widely in cultivation in tropical, subtropical, and other temperate areas.

Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)

Sweet and sour belladonna is a vine-like plant found throughout the United States, Canada, and parts of Europe and Asia. It belongs to the same family with tomatoes and eggplants. The STEM as medicine. LEAVES and BERRIES are poisonous.

How to Grow?

Chinese lantern plants are like other members of the nightshade family, such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. It can quickly grow from seeds, bring seeds from the near nursery. Chinese lantern seeds can be a little fuzzy to sprout.

• Start them indoors for head starts in late winter or early spring.
• Sow the seeds in plastic or small containers.
• It requires light to germinate, so place them on the ground and keep the pot in a place with bright but indirect sunlight and temperatures between 70 and 75 F.
• Water twice a week but do not let the seeds rot with overwatering.
• Be patient with this plant, as it takes up to a month for the seedlings to emerge.

How to Care Chinese Lantern Plant?

Once it brought outside in the garden, it requires care. The plants need well-drained soil and full sunlight.

Soil

Grow them in well-drained soil. Once it matures, plants can relatively tolerate poor soils.

Light

Chinese lanterns grow in full sun in cold climates. In a warm climate, plants can grow in partial shade.

Watering

Young plants must keep underwater, the soil should be moist, but not wet. The flower and pod production will improve with regular watering and feeding.

Temperature and humidity

This plant can grow in cold temperatures by avoiding exposure to frost. It has no humidity necessities. The seeds will grow when temperatures are between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fertilizer

After new growth appears, a mild fertilizer can be applied. Keep granular fertilizers away from the crown and foliage of plants to avoid burns. Use low percentages of slow-release manure, as higher rates can favor the roots. Slugs can often be a problem because they can hide under the dense foliage.

Medicinal Uses of Physalis alkekengi

Chinese Lantern Plant has many medicinal applications. It can cure and prevent cough suppressants, fevers, treating malaria, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, bedwetting, and even to promote early labor pain for pregnant women.

Are Chinese Lantern Plant poisonous?

The immature berries and the leaves of Chinese Lantern plants are poisonous, so keep away from children and pets.

Calamondin orange is an economically-important citrus hybrid, belonging to the citrus genus, predominantly native to the Philippines and surrounding areas in Southern China, Taiwan, Borneo, and Sulawesi. It is also renowned as Citrus microcarpa, Citrofortunella microcarpa, Philippine lime, Citrofortunella mitis, and calamansi. Calamondin is a shrub or small tree that grows to 3 to 6 m (9.8 to 19.7 feet). It has more familiar names such as calamansi orange, calamonding, Calamondin orange, bitter-sweets, calamandarin, musk orange, golden lime, Panama orange, Philippine lime,  Chinese orange,  and acid orange.

What is Calamondin orange?

Calamondin is a citrofortunella,  a commercial hybrid between a kumquat and another member of the genus Citrus. People use it in various dishes, marinades, condiments, beverages, preserves, and also used as ingredients in Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines. It is available all-year-round in the Philippines. The plant has wing-like peripheral on the leaf petioles, white or purple flowers, and a small, round lime fruit that is usually 25 to 35 mm (0.98 to 1.38 inches) in diameter but sometimes up to 45mm (1.8 inches). Each fruit contains 8 to 12 seeds whereas, the center pulp and juice are the orange color with a very thin orange peel when ripe.

How to grow a Calamondin plant?

The Philippines is the primary producer of calamondin orange. They produce and export the juice to the United States, Canada, South Korea, Hongkong, Japan, and others. Today, though a small scale, Southeast Asia, Hawaii, India, Central, and North America, the West Indies, and others are starting to cultivate calamondin orange. During the season, the fruits make the plant very attractive. You can grow them as an ornamental plant in gardens, pots, container gardens on the terrace, and outdoors.

Propagate calamondin orange tree from seeds

• You need to create a greenhouse using a gallon pot, right potting mix, and a grocery bag.
• Fill the pot with the soil, put water, and wet the soil thoroughly.
• Plant the seeds about one inch deep, cover them well, and press the soil down over the seeds.
• Pull the bag over the top of your pot and secure it with a rubber band.
• Put your greenhouse indoor in a warm place, and you will observe germination in about two weeks.
• Once the seeds have sprouted, expose your greenhouse to the light area, and remove the bag from the top of your pot.
• Water them in a small amount. Do not overwater them and do not fertilize the little plants.
• When the plants reach a height of about 6 or 8 inches, plant each seedling in a separate pot, fill each with potting mix.
• Transfer each seedling from the previous pot to new ones.
• Plant them as same depth as in the original pot, water well, and place them outdoors or to the south or east indoor locations.
• Place them outdoors in a shady area for the first two weeks and then to the sunny place. When they reach their maturity, pot them again. Fertilize them very lightly twice or thrice a month.

Grow calamondin tree

• First, pot the tree in a large container filled with a mixture of potting soil, organic compost, and perlite or vermiculite, and provide plenty of space to spread out and establish a healthy root system.
• Keep the soil moist by watering the plant. Avoid over water. You need to allow the top inch of the soil to dry out before another watering.
• Plants prefer direct sunlight, so move the plants outdoors for a few hours daily in the spring and keep them indoors in the winter season.
• Fertilize your calamondin plant with a citrus formula or a slow-release formula during the growing season.
• Remove dead or diseased branches from the plant to promote its better growth. Besides, you need to pinch back the water sprouts that grow from the trunk or roots.
• Use proper insecticides and pesticides to avoid infestations.

Tips:

1. You can place the pot on a wheeled pot tray for smooth movement.
2. Avoid cutting the fruit with a sharp knife as it may break the seed.

Uses of Calamondin Orange

• Calamondin orange bears a small citrus fruit that is used to add flavor to foods and drinks.
• Calamondin is rich in vitamin C and can be used to make marmalade.
• The fruit can be frozen and used as ice cubes in beverages like soft drinks, water, and cocktails, and other drinks.
• Calamansi juice is used to season fish, pork, fowl, fish, spring rolls, dumplings, and various savory dishes.
• Many products, such as calamondin cake, coulis, marmalade, and jam, contain calamansi juice as an essential ingredient. During summer Floridians use the liquid in a variation of lemonade or limeade with a sour taste to cut thirst.
• The calamondin has a considerable amount of essential oils, which you can extract through several methods like steam distillation, cold-press method, and centrifugal extraction.

Health benefits of Calamondin Orange

• Oranges help to activate the body’s detoxification process.
• It acts as a natural skin cancer-fighting chemical and protects the skin from free radicals, and keeps away wrinkles.
• It also protects from cancers of the mouth, skin, lungs, breast, stomach, and colon.
• Calamondin orange helps in the reduction of cholesterol levels in human cells.
• Oranges help to prevent congenital disabilities, protect the heart, and keeps the fluid levels.
• It boosts the immune system, improves oral hygiene, helps to lose weight.
• Calamondin orange doesn’t contain any fat and is moderately low in calories.

Possible Side Effects of Calamondin Orange

• If you excessively intake calamondin orange, it might affect your health.
• Due to the lack of fat in orange, it might create a problem in providing energy for exercise, blood clotting, and brain development since dietary fat is necessary to absorb specific vitamins.
• It is relatively low in fiber, protein, amino acid, minerals, and high in sugar, this is beneficial to our health, but sometimes it might cause a problem to some people. Though the oranges do not have additional artificial sugar in it, the fruit itself is high in sugar.