North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

> From what I have read and what I have bought at the oriental grocery store, 
there isn't much variation in lycium berries (wolfberry, chinese boxthorn, 
etc) and it would be silly to spend a lot of time or money looking for 
cultivars.  The European version I makes somewhat smaller berries, otherwise 
they are considered very similar.  I read an article on germanium that 
claimed that the herbal hall of fame mostly consisted of plants that 
concentrated germanium.  If that's the case, the germanium is in the seeds 
and THAT means that you don't need to bother looking for varieties that make 
more pulp.  The ordinary cheap dried ones from oriental groceries taste 
great the way they are, and the seeds sprout just fine.  My problem is that 
I can't get them to GROW once they are up.  They always die before they get 
an inch high.  It frustrates me no end to read that they are naturalized in 
places in Virginia.  I think they like sandy soil, but even in sand they die 
for me.  What they don't seem to like, at least while small is excessive 
amounts of rain.  They will do fine till we get into a wet spell, and then 
they die every time.  Forest Farm out west sells the plants, and the one I 
got from them lived for 2 years, till I transplanted it out of the woods to 
some better soil, then it died.    Donna