Almost any decent grocery store should have them, either pre-packaged (Melissa's produce out of California is one vendor), or possibly bulk by the pound. Meijer stores for one almost always have them. Whole Foods, if you've got one of those around you, has them in bulk by the pound. They grow very easily. Unless you really live in the boonies, shouldn't be hard to find at all.

My Kroger stocks them from time to time. I just saw them there within the past 2 months.

If you were nearby I'd let you pull a few when the weather warms...I'm sure there will be more this year...

~Chills

here you go

http://www.horizonherbs.com/product.asp?specific=2305 http://www.horizonherbs.com/product.asp?specific=2515

thanks everyone.
i will try all of your suggestion.
cant wait to try the choke

I've heard they can be invasive...

Any comments? Experience?

Can't wait to hear--I've always wanted to try them, but knew a friend whose yard was overwhelmed!

Thanks,
Paula

I've grown them. They're delicious, cooked, cooled, and served with oil and vinegar like artichoke hearts. However, I find them quite indigestible, much worse than beans. And the plants aren't particularly attractive. They look like sunflowers, but with a much lower flower:leaf ratio.

Dowbright,
I wish they were invasive here! Could be where you are. We only hope we can get some yield after the groundhogs are finished munching the tops (wry grin). If they do spread, at least they are tubers, that are easily chunked out where unwated. They do not root to China.

I've grown them for several years and started with "sunchokes" from the grocery store. I make a delicious cream soup. The roots don't get very big down here, but enough for a couple of batches of soup a year.

They can be difficult to control. I've planted them in my main garden area in a large container to control spread, but directly in the ground in another area where I don't mind them coming up in abundance. The flower is lovely.

You can order them (several varieties) from Oikos Tree Crops in Mich.
http://www.oikostreecrops.com
They only ship in the fall for tubers and may have potted plants in spring.

I had some sunchokes given to me last year, some I planted them. They are just poking out of the ground right now. I am such a proud gardener.

I grew some last year. Amazing crop from 8 tubers. In a 2' x 2' raised bed I harvested about 10 pounds . I highly suggest containing them as I did. I used 1 foot boards and built a box, laid it on the ground and filled it with dirt. The sunchoke grew down to the ground below but not much further and harvesting was very easy. I left a good number of them in the box for this year and I have found only one has escaped out of my box. LOL.

They are gassy vegetables though, but I found they aren't so much after I cook them.

Hey there -
I am about to plant some sunchoke tubers along a fence line. The neighbor on the other side of the fence is not the friendliest, and I would like to prevent them from spreading over there as much as possible. Anyone have ideas of a rhizome barrier to put in? Or how deep it should go? I also am wondering if I should box them in entirely, or just along the fence side... any advice or experience containing them would be great thanks!

Great plants - hardy and fool proof. They are also delicious - but eat no more than a tiny quantity unless you know are going out for a long walk by yourself after lunch.

purecalmtrue: I would definitely put up some sort of barrier if I were you. Unless you like to make your neighbor mad LOL then of course sunchoke is a weed so who is to say it's your fault ;) *ev*

I have clay soil so not sure if this will help you.

What I did was used 4 -12" boards and built a square out of that and filled it up with good dirt. I only have one which managed to escape and most didn't go past good dirt I put.

You could probably sink something a good foot or foot an half into the ground and be safe.

We call them Jerusalem artichokes over here; kids just call them 'fartichokes'!
People seem to have very different...reactions.I love them and can eat tons with no problems, while others...can't.
Whatever you do, don't cook them in cast iron: they go black. Hence their other childhood name, 'the devil's vegetable'.
In our temperate climate they are really invasive. I grow them in old tires which keeps them contained. Watch out when you harvest the tubers as the tiniest will grow! I have an old pot on hand and cook up any that I don't like the look of then feed them to the chickens or the compost.
Don't be put off; they're wildly productive and make the best soup ever!

I knew someone once that wanted to get rid of their path so they rototilled all of them - and the next year, the entire garden grew Jesusalem Artichokes ............... They will even root from a peeling so be careful if composting. They are a nice plant / pretty flower. definitely give them a try just make sure to contain them.

A good link to go to:

http://windowboxherbs.50megs.com/jerusalem%20artichoke.htm

Chokes are a wild flower & easy to grow.
I have sandy soil here in South Carolina.They can not be to invasive, I have never seen them in the wild, in all the years of camping. I have grown them for three years & the deer eat them to the ground, killing them the first year. I like them raw or cooked. Wild dewberry,nut sage,wild garlic now that is a invasive plant.

very easy to grow, one plant here in Vegas yields 15-20 pounds of tubers a year, so I just keep 2 in the ground in their own bed to grow a massive tuber network each year. Mine were started as Whole foods tubers. If you buy and don't plan to plant them soon after purchase, stick em into a container of damp soil. they'll stay good well in the soil(and in my case I put em in a plastic tuperware of dirt and they started growing a stem lol...

I could send you some tubers if you hav'nt any yet ??? Just let me know
Janice

If someone want to plant sunchoke,stemped is the best for care tubers. And want to more product,Korean purple is best

The Stampede variety is great for its sweet, crunchy taste, productivity, and contains itself in a tidy plot. I enjoy eating a couple ounces raw everyday for my health to manage my blood glucose and increase my fiber consumption. The flatulence is not too bad when I keep to my limit of 2 ounces per day.

Where do I store the tubes to grow for next spring? Thanks

I've grown them for 2o+ years...they aren't nearly as invasive as people think. Somehow(birds maybe???)...the seed does get scattered...but I have ONLY seen new patches of it spring up in disturbed ground...it never just volunteers in my vegetable or perennial gardens...but we had to dig a 40 foot trench for new water pipe..and the following spring..there it was!...same with when we had a guy come with a backhoe and dig a ditch a long side our driveway...but as far as it "taking over"...that is so far from reality..at least in my zone.

I plant some this year around January 2015. How long do i have to wait to enjoy them?

Is it worth the money to spend on varieties from seed catalogues or are supermarket varieties just as good so long as they are organic and not sprayed with growth inhibitors?

I got my 2nd planting from a seed catologues & it did well.