Growing Great Gobo (Burdock Root)

solarnoon.aspen
solarnoon.aspen Posts: 219 ✭✭✭
edited October 2020 in Wild Edibles & Medicinals

I always wanted to try it. According to Gaia Herbs, ( https://www.gaiaherbs.com/blogs/herbs/burdock) Burdock is a versatile plant frequently classified by herbalists as an alterative, a plant, which among other things influences the blood and lymph. It has bitter principles, which encourage healthy digestion and appetite. Burdock also supports healthy and vital skin with a clear complexion. One of the ways it functions to do so is by promoting normal liver function and by supporting the detoxification process in the body.

You can eat it cooked, for example stir fries or steamed, or you can dry it and make tea, among other things.

But it meant digging 3' down to harvest those loooong tap roots. Wild Burdock is possible to find just about anywhere, but digging is no fun. Noticing the Japanese version, called Gobo, was cultivated for culinary and health purposes, I found links to growing burdock in a special way that makes it easy to get to the bottom of those roots. They make tall boxes with a removal side, fill it with soil, then sow the seeds.

I had experimented with potato-growing in towers 2'x2' and the towers were standing idle. The Japanese gobo boxes are more like 1 foot square, enough for one plant. So my tower boxes could hold more plants if I partitioned, dividing the towers into four.

And that's what I did. Last year I tried it in one tower and got lots of root - to last the winter. The this year I planted 3 towers. Never too much of a good thing like Burdock root. I will incorporated it much more into my diet this year.

Anyone else had experience growing or using this plant?


Comments

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    I was wondering if growing it this way will keep it contained better. What I mean by that is, will it get away & spread or not if grown within that box...and if you clip the burrs so that it doesn't spread.

    You stumbled onto an interesting piece of information, to be sure, @solarnoon.aspen.

    BTW, the tea & putting the root in soup gives it a wonderful, earthy flavor.

    Cutting the root once harvested is better if it is fresh & young. Using a peeler is much nicer to use & easier to dry than just slicing. I read that for use for colds, using root that has dried over 2 years is best.

    I am looking forward to more discussion on burdock.

  • solarnoon.aspen
    solarnoon.aspen Posts: 219 ✭✭✭
    edited September 2020

    @LaurieLovesLearning

    Good further details on use. It sure does have a beautiful earthy flavour. I like it more and more as I get to know it. I hadn't heard about the two year drying cycle. Amazing.

    And yes, It is almost totally contained, as long as the container is deep enough. Any little ends that get away could potentially start new plants the next year. Re burrs: I believe they flower the second year, so harvesting in year one takes care of seeds. ON the other hand, I don't mind having burdock around. A plant turned up in my garden two or three years ago and pulling it up stopped it from growing again. So, I don't know that it is a difficult character.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    You know you have chickweed growing in that box too? Good stuff!

    Another note on burdock. You want to leave the outer layer on the root when processing. Don't peel it and discard it. Wash it well, though.

    If the dried or freshly harvested root gets damp, it molds pretty fast. It will keep inntje fridge for a short time, however.

    Around here, if people have burdock, they have lots (and don't want it) and I was told by one lady that it takes 15 years to fully eradicate if you are at it constantly. The root can get fairly deep. This and dispersing burrs are what might make the eradication difficult.

    Here is a good blog article on burdock:


  • solarnoon.aspen
    solarnoon.aspen Posts: 219 ✭✭✭

    Ya, chick weed is a friend too. lol

    I found the roots kept a fair time - maybe two months - before I noticed mould starting. That's when I cut and dried it. I think with this year's crop, I'll dry most of it. Maybe share some with my Japanese sister in law. :)

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

    Burdock is a VERY hard root to dig, so that design looks good!

  • Melinda
    Melinda Posts: 123 ✭✭✭

    Wow! I am going to have to try this.

  • Desiree
    Desiree Posts: 255 ✭✭✭

    That is an amazing idea for root herbs that harder to dig up!!!

  • bcabrobin
    bcabrobin Posts: 251 ✭✭✭

    I love this idea, will be trying it for next year as root crops don't do well in our soil. We jokingly say we grow rocks and copperheads around here. For every shovelful , you get 3/4 full of rocks the rest dirt. At about 8-10" you hit clay. We have put so much stuff on the garden but every year we get the same amount of rocks, not sure where they come from, so we can grow really nice rocks. But not root crops. Will be trying this way of doing all them now. Thanks for the ideas.

  • tomandcara
    tomandcara Posts: 712 ✭✭✭✭

    @solarnoon.aspen Thank you for the post and pictures. Started a great discussion :-)

    I am wondering what you used to dived the tower into 4 separate areas?

  • AngelaOston
    AngelaOston Posts: 249 ✭✭✭

    Looks like i could use my potato grow bags to the same affect. Where did you get your burdock from to grow?

  • solarnoon.aspen
    solarnoon.aspen Posts: 219 ✭✭✭
    edited September 2020

    I used plywood to divide the box into four. Had to empty the box - well you do when you harvest anyway - and place the plywood dividers in to make 4 equal compartments, then pour in the compost and soil and whatever else for the seeds to grow in. Those tap roots just want to go DOWN, so you don't really have to worry if there is a little space between the dividers.

  • solarnoon.aspen
    solarnoon.aspen Posts: 219 ✭✭✭
    edited September 2020

    AngelaOston

    I used a Japanese burdock - Takinogawa - although any burdock seed would flourish in these towers. You can purchase the Takinogawa seeds from lots of seed companies.

    Although it isn't necessary, I started them inside and transplanted. However, in the wild, burdock is used to foul weather and makes its own way through nasty stuff. Very easy to grow. Only thing I notice is that the huge leaves prevent water from getting down into the compartments, so I made sure to water periodically.

    I actually planted two in each 1'x1' column. So in each 2'x2' box, divided into four compartments, I ended up with the roots of at least eight burdock plants.



  • tomandcara
    tomandcara Posts: 712 ✭✭✭✭

    @solarnoon.aspen thank you for answering my question about the dividers in the 2X2 box. With 8 plants in the box I can see why you would have to use a drip system or water from below the leaves.

    How deep are your boxes? I am guessing about 3 feet?

  • solarnoon.aspen
    solarnoon.aspen Posts: 219 ✭✭✭

    Yes, the boxes are about 3 feet high And when I filled them in the spring, they were close to the top. What with settling, etc the top of the soil is quite a bit lower. So, less length of roots. Or, possible roots growing into the ground below. IN any case, there will be plenty in each quadrant.