🥦 Burdock (Gobo)

Arctium lappa
vegetables biennial
Burdock (Gobo) plant photo
☀️ Sun
full sun to partial shade
💧 Water
moderate
🗺️ Zones
[3,4,5,6,7,8,9]
🧪 Soil pH
5.5-7.5
🪴 Soil Type
deep, loose, sandy
📏 Spacing
6-8 inches
📐 Height
3-5 ft
⏱️ Maturity
120-150 days (first year root harvest)
Key:🤝 Grows well together❌ Keep apart☀️ Sun needs💧 Water🗺️ Hardiness zone

🤝 Companions (4)

Different root depths; burdock mines deep minerals for shallower carrots
Deep-rooted companions mining different soil layers
Corn provides light shade; burdock mines deep nutrients
🤝 daikon
Both deep-rooted soil busters; complementary flavors in the kitchen

⚠️ Keep Apart (0)

No known enemies listed.

📝 Growing Notes

The vegetable you've probably pulled as a weed. Gobo (Japanese burdock root) is a prized vegetable in Japan , earthy, sweet, with a texture between carrot and parsnip. The deep taproot mines minerals. Harvest first year for eating (second year the root turns woody as the plant flowers and dies).

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