Chiko Burdock (Gobo), Heirloom Seeds

Chiko Burdock (Gobo), Heirloom Seeds — The Nutritive Japanese Root Used by Native American Tribes for Centuries

Chiko Burdock (Arctium lappa) — known as gobo in Japan — is an incredibly nutritive food and medicine with a history spanning continents. In Japan it is a culinary staple; in North America, Native American tribes including the Malecite, Micmac, Ojibwa, Menominee, and Iroquois used burdock root for skin health, nutrition, and winter food storage — the Iroquois drying the root to eat through the winter months. Long, slender, uniform roots grow 1–2 feet with light-brown skin and rhubarb-like leaves. Young roots are eaten raw or prepared like parsnips; mature roots cook like carrots and are delicious in hearty soups and bean stews. Nutritious stalks cook like celery. Can be overwintered in soil like parsnips. 75 days.

Why Grow Chiko Burdock?

• Centuries of use across cultures — Japanese culinary staple and Native American food and medicine
• Incredibly nutritive — used for skin health, nutrition, and winter food storage
• Long 1–2-foot uniform roots — light-brown skin, slender and flavorful
• Versatile in the kitchen — raw, roasted, soups, stews, and cooked like carrots
• Edible stalks and leaves — stalks cook like celery, young leaves are nutritious
• Open-pollinated heirloom — save seed year after year

Growing Notes

Sow in spring or summer. Seeds need light to germinate — barely cover with soil and keep moist. Thin to 6–8 inches in deep, loose, well-draining soil — deep soil is essential for long, straight roots. Full sun. Roots mature in 75 days and can be harvested through winter. Can be overwintered in soil like parsnips. Note: burdock can spread — choose garden placement carefully.

Packed and shipped by Box Garden Seeds LLC — heirloom seeds grown without GMOs, selected for flavor, resilience, and your garden’s success.