If you can, grow the Asian species (lappa) which has been developed in the orient as a food root. We have grown first year roots 38 inches long and about 1 1/2 in diameter. Grow them in an isolated area if you can as it self-sows readily and grows back (into seed) from any root missed that fall. Its burrs are every bit as annoying as its American cousin too.
Burdock (Arctium lappa)
A food plant for the survival or guerrilla garden, this tough, extremely cold hardy, weed competitive, high yielding food plant is not well recognized in this country as a food plant. This is Asian burdock (known as gobo) A. lappa a much larger, but similar looking, relative of A. minus which is found growing wild throughout much of North America. The wild A. minus is eatable but only slightly so being very bitter comparable to the cultivated A. lappa cultivars.
If not dug for the root, the tops die down in the winter and the second year, being a biennial in zones 3 to 10, new growth sprouts arising from roots in spring and produce numerous purple flowers that quickly turn into rather nasty burrs. If allowed to go to seed, it will self sow readily. The slender roots can grow as long as 4 feet, but are usually harvested at 1 to 2 feet long, at between 0.5 to near 0.9 pounds.
Culture
Burdock will grow in most, loose soils, but it prefers a well drained soil rich in humus. The seeds germinate readily and should be sown 1/2" deep in rows 18 inches apart in the early spring. Thin the seedlings to stand 6 inches apart in the row. Soaking seeds in warm water overnight before planting seems to help germination. Prepare the soil deeply (down to 24 inches) to accommodate the long roots. Keep the soil moist, weed frequently, when plants are young, when older Burdock is a good weed competitor and pest and disease free.
Harvesting
Very young shoots with small roots may be pulled and cooked together like baby beets and greens. Leaves eating raw in salads or tender young stems and leaves can be cooked like spinach or asparagus. The crisp root, when very young, can be peeled and eaten raw like radish but the mature root should be peeled, and cooked in soups and stir fries; similar taste to Jerusalem artichokes or parsnips but sweetly pungent.
Medicinal Uses
The roots of burdock are used as a mild laxative, diuretic, antirheumatic, antibiotic, and to promote sweating. Burdock leaves contain antibacterial substances and are used as a poultice for boils and abscesses.
Burdock root contains up to 45% inulin, a carbohydrate metabolized similarly to soluble dietary fiber, and resists digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract but is fermented by microflora, primarily lactic acid bacteria, in the large intestine. For that reason, it provides the same positive effects of soluble fiber in the diet but, being difficult to digest, often produces gas. The Nez Perce Indians found that after cooking in low, moist for two days in a pit oven, inulin converts to sweet, fructose syrup, which is much easily digested and tasty.
1 Replies
460 Views