Jerusalem Artichokes!
Several years ago, I was given a start of "Stampede" Jerusalem Artichokes (aka sunchokes). They were said to cook up crisp and not limp or mushy like some I'd had before. When I began to be able to harvest, I discovered that was quite true, and I was happy about that. I used them in place of water chestnuts in casseroles and some of them I used raw: peeled, grated, and combined with grated carrot and chopped onion for a nice little side-salad. I liked this variety better than any other. When we moved, I brought enough with me for a nice start and then I decided where I had planted them was hard to keep watered. They will survive without much care, but they will always be more productive if they are regularly watered and if the weeds are pulled away from them. If they are watered well enough to be healthy enough to bloom in late summer, they grow thickly and are covered in bitty sunflowers. Quite attractive and the goldfinches and other small birds love the tiny seeds. They have some invasive habits though, and the birds also encapsulate some of the seed they eat in little "poop pellets" so you might have chokes coming up in unexpected and unwanted places.
So, I moved the sunchokes to a bed we had dug for a tree and the tree had died. The only problem was, Hubs wasn't on board with that. And unbeknownst to me, he was routinely mowing over this spot. I had been ignoring them as they were where they could mostly fend for themselves had it not been for being mowed over repeatedly, and was feeling very sorrowful about having lost my sunchokes.
Today Hubs came in with a big grin on his face that said, "I am OUT OF THE DOGHOUSE!!!" and shared with me that he had seen sunchokes coming up where they are supposed to be. There are not many left. So I'm going to try growing them in a pot until the population increases Maybe I will like how that works so well that I'll just move them to a bigger pot.
Here's a site that contains more information about sunchokes:
https://www.healwithfood.org/health-benefits/jerusalem-artichokes.php
Comments (7)
jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
5 years agosuzenleigh
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Jerusalem artichoke - Helianthus tuberosus
Comments (1)But I guess when you tell the DW that a new food is also called “fartichoke” ….. The chances of her wanting to actually try it out goes way down. I’ll have to remember that. ==>> yeah.. you probably should .. lol.. hilarious.. thx for todays chuckle ... ken...See MoreJerusalem artichokes are starting to bloom
Comments (3)Glenn, me too, that's why I plant so many edible ornamentals. Beauty, flowers for the pollinators and food -- always a good thing....See MoreIs this Jerusalem Artichoke?
Comments (8)Thanks floral. Leaves of H. rigidus look too narrow. None of the plants had more than 1 bloom - probably down to low light conditions. When I check online, I can only find H. annuus and H. tuberosus listed as being present in Italy. ** See below It surely isn't H. annuus and H. tuberosus just doesn't feel right. Hmmm. Fof Correction & update: I should have said that H.a & H.t were the only species listed in Abruzzo. Another contender is Helianthus x laetiflorus. This though, like H rigidus/pauciflorus, is not listed in Abruzzo. If they are there next year, I'll lift one and check the roots...See MoreJerusalem Artichokes in containers?
Comments (1)I can't claim to have tried this, but these sunflowers are large plants. They will still grow if crowded, they grow like weeds, but you would probably be better off less crowded. Quality might be better, bigger tubers, less stressed plants. Check to see if you can tell how many "eyes" or "buds" are on each tuber. If there are 2 or 3 buds on a tuber, that is enough....See Morerockwhisperer OK zone 6A
5 years agosuzenleigh
5 years agorockwhisperer OK zone 6A
5 years agorockwhisperer OK zone 6A
5 years ago
suzenleigh