Does anyone have any experience of growing Liquorice

[Digeroo]

Advice required.  Love licquorice but it always has wheat added.

[Digeroo]

[Mrs Gumboot]

We have some liquorice plants growing in the walled garden at work. They seem to have come through the winter fine, but we've only had them in since last summer. Not tried cropping them yet so not really sure how it goes. Will make enquiries tomorrow of more experienced staff & report back.

No doubt someone on here will beat me to it. You lot are a mine of information  ;D

[Digeroo]

Many thanks I have no idea what you do when you get the roots.

[gwynleg]

Ooh - thats a fantastic coincidence! A young person recently told me about liquorice vodka and I fancy having a go. Now if I could grow my own that would be even better (also like chewing the roots too). Looking forward to more answers on this thread!

[saddad]

I grew a plant from seed but didn't manage to over winter it...  :-[

[lottiedolly]

Oooh liquorice vodka, hmmm  nice!!!!!!

[pigeonseed]

ooh sounds lovely - you've made me want liquorice now!

[Mrs Gumboot]

Okay then. I managed to get the low down according to my supervisor who claims to know everything.   ::)

Apparently it's around five years before you can harvest it in this country. You have to dig up the whole plant and then you get left with the knobbly 'crown' bit which you can reuse for stock plants, and the three - four foot long roots which are the actual liquorice bit. Better grow it in sandy soil because otherwise you'll need a mini-digger to extract the long roots since they go down as well as along.

What you do to it then is anyone's guess. I know when we had them in pots in the greenhouse I tried chewing one of the roots. Quite tasty, but not sure how you would then process it into anything that resembled the stuff you buy in the shops.

Have I put you all off yet  ;D

[goodlife]

well then..after the roots been dug up, washed..in industry they boil them to to make syrup and it is that, that is used in condiments etc. ;)
As for liquorice vodka....stuff  half full bottle vodka full of your favourite liquorice..put it in diswasher into 50 degree wash..remember to put cap on..and after the wash the liquorice should have melted into the vodka ....enjoy ;)
In Finland youngsters are doing that with allsort of sweets ::)

[Digeroo]

Thank you for the replies.  I had not every thought about what to do with it.  I have read it needs frost protection so if it takes five years to produce a suitable root this sound like a bit of a problem. 

There must be an easier way of finding wheat free liquorice. 

[.]

http://www.liquorice-withatwist.co.uk/index.php/shop/c44/

  :)

[jennym]

Would like to have a go, and reading the link I show below, I don't think the frost can be a problem, if liquorice was grown in Pontefract & surrounding areas.
It says you need deep, rich soil as the roots can go down very deep. I guess this is why the roots are protected, it also says they used to spread a good thick layer of muck over them in autumn.
http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/l/liquor32.html

[Mrs Gumboot]

Ours have just come through that last winter unscathed. Even allowing for the fact that they're grown in a slightly sheltered site, I'd think if they can survive that, then they can probably survive anything! We normally cover everything in cow muck or compost, but there was a lot of redevelopment going on and I'm fairly certain they didn't get mulched until the spring this year so wouldn't have had that extra protection either.

[Digeroo]

Like us Pontefract is a long way from the sea so we get some very bad frosts. 

I am not sure what is below allotment on reclaimed land, but if the plant has long enough roots the water table is within reach, the blackberries make it. 

I think I might get some seeds plants are expensive but seeds quite cheap and so if they die I have not lost much except it will take several years to get a crop. 

Thanks for the link to the gluten free stuff that is great.  Will be ordering soonest.

[skintnbitter]

As the crow fly's I live a couple of miles away from the 'Pontefract Cake' factory, if the wind is blowing in the right direction you can smell liquorice - it's devine.

[GrannieAnnie]

This post points directly to an ugly problem with this forum which is it suckers people ( like me) into the temptation of attempting the nearly impossible  crop when we're already failing with more commonly grown plants like Brussels sprouts. Naughty, naughty.
shame on you.