More and more home gardeners are adding goji berries to their backyard patches. But once those bushes start producing, the big question is: how do you actually harvest them the right way? To make sure you get the most out of your crop, I’ve put together some of my favorite tips and tricks for a successful harvest.
When is the best time to harvest goji berries?
Generally, you can expect a bumper crop once your goji berry bush hits its third year. If your bush is still looking a little bare or isn’t blooming at all by then, you might be dealing with one of these common issues:
- Not enough sunlight
- Waterlogged soil (poor drainage)
- You have a wild variety rather than a garden cultivar
- Incorrect pruning habits
The harvest season usually kicks off around mid-August. Here’s a pro tip: the longer you leave those bright orange-red berries on the branch, the sweeter they get, losing some of that natural tartness. Since the fruit ripens at different times, you can keep picking them all the way through September. Just make sure to get the last of them off the bush before the first frost hits!
How do you harvest goji berries?
When it’s time to pick, be gentle! Goji berries are surprisingly delicate and can bruise or squish easily. They also don’t have a very long shelf life once they’re off the branch, so you’ll want to eat them or start processing them pretty quickly. If you want them to stay fresh just a little bit longer, try picking them with the stems still attached—just remember to pop the stems off before you eat them.
How should you eat freshly harvested goji berries?
There are so many delicious ways to use fresh goji berries in the kitchen. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Toss them directly into your morning oatmeal or cereal
- Press them into fresh juice
- Blend them into a smoothie
- Whip up a batch of berry jam
- Use them to add a unique flavor to soups and sauces
- Bake them into breads or cakes
- Mix them into homemade ice cream
If you have a massive harvest and can’t use them all at once, you can preserve them by freezing or drying them. They work just as well as fresh ones! If you’re using dried berries for baking or cooking, I recommend soaking them in lukewarm water for a bit to let them plump back up first.
