Jerusalem Artichokes are with you for life once planted (unless you move house or keep attacking every shoot with herbicide for a few decades).
Despite that they are great producers. I like growing them because they are an incredible famine food so I look at them as my security blanket.
They keep well if washed sliced and dried in a dehydrator, otherwise leave them in the ground until needed during the winter.
Mine are in 50-50 sun and shade. They do well.
Wind will be with you as long as they are eaten. My family have threatened to leave home if I ever eat them again.

Glenn: Well. We are a vegan, gluten-free household with high-level legume consumption. No doubt we will survive the ensuing gale.

Thanks for your tips, they sound like a good thing to plant in one of the many useless/forgotten corners of my so-big-and-shaded-it's-ridiculous backyard.

Slashy, if you have never eaten one, I would suggest you try them first. Some folks like them some don't. I don't, to me they taste like an Irish potato marinated in Iodine. They are very difficult to get rid of once established.

Slashy - JA are in a league of their own in the flatulence stakes. Way ahead of any pulse you can mention. But they are delicious and completely foolproof. Not sure if the housemates would stay around though. How about buying some and trying them out before you commit to a lifetime of long solitary walks in the countryside after meals?

Hi Slashy,
I have had Jerusalem artichoke growing in the backyard now for 6 or 8 years and they have been contained in a bed surrounded by cinderblocks. I think the flowers are cool and the stature of the plant is impressive. I have not yet eaten any of the rhizomes. Don't know why, just never got around to it. Here is a quote describing the crepitatious nature of the the rhizomes:
Gerard's Herbal, printed in 1621, quotes the English planter John Goodyer on Jerusalem artichokes:

"which way soever they be dressed and eaten, they stir and cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body, thereby causing the belly to be pained and tormented, and are a meat more fit for swine than men."

So, if you don't want to add to the peril of greenhouse gases, perhaps you are forewarned to partake of this vegetable in moderation as it probably affects some people more adversely than others. For instance, the lowly frijol or pinto bean has been the victim of vile and foul rumors as to its formation of vile winds within the human body. Now, that may be true amongst some people and I know my mother had a difficult time with beans so much that we were tempted to beg of her not to eat beans in our presence. I, on the other hand, seldom notice any adverse affects however, it does depend upon the quantity of beans eaten. If I go on a big chips and bean-dip orgy, I'll be tootin' up a storm for 10 or 12 hours. But, that's an extreme. So, try it in moderation. If the Hazmat Team shows up at your house, you'll know this isn't the veggie for you. G'day mate!

I have been growing/eating them for several years. Red and yellow varieties. Never had gas from them.
AND... I've read all about them and this thread is the first I've ever noticed even suggesting gas! So go ahead and plant them! I suggest planting them in the middle of your lawn, and just cut the grass around them so that they will never escape.

Have to side with dirtslinger. Had Jerusalem Artichokes for many years now, though I don't eat them that often. This is the first I've heard about any vaporous odors. They will spread from the rhizomes, though, so you may have to corral them or pull the ones that try to move too far, which is fairly easy.

If you haven't tasted them, though, they remind me of eating a potato mixed with sunflower seeds. There is a definite sunflowery flavor, which isn't bad, but it is better in moderation.

Wow, I love both potato and sunflower seeds, I wonder if they would grow well in southern California. Lots of food production sounds good to me, and I have difficulties growing real potatoes (I am trying again). On the potential windy issues, well, I can make beans non gassy by using the appropriate herbs, so I can do the same with these Jerusalem artichokes.

The side effects of eating JA differ from one person to another but they are real. I have never experienced any problems with beans but JA is a different proposition all together. I love them but only eat small quantities at any one time. Herbs will not alter the effects of the inulin which causes the digestive upset but slow cooking or boling and discarding the water can alleviate it. The link has some interesting information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jerusalem artichoke chemistry

thanks for starting this thread, Slashy.

Zone 18 is ideal for Bottle Brush and Spider plant, both Natives of Australia, so I would guess we could do sunchokes, too, Cabrita. Ginger in beans is supposed to cure the flatulence problem, so I'll be sure to plant some of that, too.

j.

Really? ginger? I did not know about ginger (we are growing it too). These are the ones I know:

Bay leaves (easy to incorporate into any bean dish)

Epazote (very good with black beans, also OK with pintos, anasazi and red beans, maybe too strongly flavored for cannelini)

Asafetida (also called Hing in Indian stores). It is a resin used in Indian cooking.

I can confirm that bay leaves and epazote do work. I get gas from the beans I eat at my work cafeteria, never from the ones I cook myself and I always use those herbs with beans.

So we are now armed with 4 anti flatulence herbs! bring on the beans and the Jerusalem artichokes!

I'm learning a lot about Jerusalem artichokes and synonyms/euphemisms for gas!

Oh man!! When hubby and I moved out here to the country 25 years ago, we planted Jerusalem artichokes. We LOVED eating them, and they are so low in calories.......BUT.........we farted 24/7!!!! I kid you not!!! In fact, when we finally gave up eating them, it was like "What's that???.....What's that???."..........it was the incredible silence, that we weren't used to. hahahahahaha
Some people must just have a problem with them, and some not. Unfortunately, we were the ones who did. :)

I ate them quite a bit in my teens and never noticed any problem. But just this year, now in my upper 40s, I planted some and was delighted with the harvest. But oh my! What pain when I eat them! It keeps me up at night. I've tried them twice, thinking that it was coincidence. But I'm getting gun shy about #3!

George
Tahlequah, OK

For those of you who want to eat J.A. and not suffer the side effects, you may also want to try an enzyme supplement such as Omnigest or a similar product prior to eating them. It's similar in nature to Beano, but these products (there are several brands, available at any pharmacy, and relatively inexpensive)have enzymes to digest many types of complex carbs, fats, and proteins as well. The brand I've used, Omnigest, is not at all unpleasant to chew, (just bland, not chalky or anything) and really does help a lot. I learned about this stuff after abdominal surgery, and it really does work. Costs about $5 to $6 for a bottle which would do 3 meals a day for about two weeks, so it's obviously pretty cheap.

It also does help a lot to pre-boil the sliced J.A.'s in a couple of changes of water first, too, as this gets some of the extra inulin and other complex carbs leached out.