I got a nice bunch of starts from Ilene fall before last, planted them, and they grew beautifully! (She got her starts from George.) We taste tested them and, wow, so wonderful! But, then we moved and they got left behind in the chaos so I never got to eat my fall harvest. Once Ilene heard, she was wonderful (!!!) and sent me some more starts when we got settled in here. I now have them planted in the flower bed along the front walk so I can keep an eye on them. Once I get a good bunch going, I'll move them elsewhere. I was afraid of the deer eating them before they had a chance to multiply.

Geez, I'm rambling. Must be past bedtime. But from the bit we had, we LOVED them raw and, since they're supposed to keep their crispness when cooked (the very reason why I was set on those particular ones), we'll use them in sitrfries, a very frequent meal for us. I'm sure we'll find other uses as well.

Once they have a chance to grow over the summer, I'll dig up some starts for you this fall if you'd like them.

Diane

This is one vegetable that is perennial, isn't it?

Here is a thread I found at GW that you may find interesting - concerns the after affects of eating JAs.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread from Vegetable Gardening Forum

Since I posted on that old thread I've figured out how to cook and eat them with much less problem with flatulence. I boil them in two changes of water, even if I'm going to French fry or bake them. In all my life I've never experienced gas problem from eating them raw.

Perhaps later I will find yet another thread on these and post the link here. The ones I grow can produce very large, up to soft ball sized roots. I know I once posted a picture.

George
Tahlequah, OK

George, what is the name of the type you grow and where can I buy them. I have never seen any that large, but I have never grown them before either.

Larry

I have the weed and I think they have a pretty flower for wild places on the edge of my yard.

Larry, I can send you a couple that came from George.

Carol, thanks a bunch. Let me know what they cost + shipping and I will send you a check.

Is there anything special I need to know about growing them?

Larry

Larry, they seem to fit the description of Stampede. But I purchased them, without a name, at Burgess' Farm Stand, here in Tahlequah, aome years ago. Presently I have BUSHELS of them in the ground. I'd plant them about 2-3' apart and about 3-4" deep. They can be invasive, so don't plant them where it would bother you if they stayed.

The main pest they face are rodents, which eat the roots ravenously. Some people have lost theirs because of rodents.

Here's a picture of a large root.

{{gwi:25270}}

George

George, that thing looks like a human brain, I have never seen anything like that.

Rodents will be a problem, I live on busy hwy and can not keep an outside pet.

Larry

Larry, No action required on your part. I will mail them out when I mail the seed swap items.

I grew them in Colorado and had them planted in a corner of a six foot wooden fence at the edge of the garden. Everyone thought they were regular sunflowers. Although they look a little different to me, that is kind of what you can expect from the plant. They spread underground if you leave a few each year. I didn't experience any pests, underground or otherwise, but I was in town. Actually we lived in Aurora, and our housing development had been a corn field just a few years before.

George gave me a small one year before last and I dropped it into the tray with my plants. I know I got home with it, but must have dropped it outside somewhere as I was potting the plants from the swap. I looked and looked but couldn't find it, so I likely provided a snack for something. This year I have them inside until I can plant.

Carol, just be sure to store your Jerusalem artichoke roots in the hydrator section of your fridge, or in a cool out bulding. Keep a damp paper towel in with them. They'll last a long time. I'd also recommend planting soon as the soil can be worked. They seem impervious to freeze damage.

Larry, I have no animal for catching my rodents either, at least not in the garden. Here's what I do. I keep an eye on the plants, while they are growing and especially in the fall. If I see little tunnels I set out a few pieces of rat poison in coffee cans (laying on their sides to protect from rain). The rodents seem to eat the poison and leave the Jerusalem artichokes alone. Once the "fall rush" is over it seems that the roots are safe through the winter with no further protection needed.

During the summer it is also possible that a woodchuck might decide to move in and make his hole right in the patch. I've had this happen twice. The happy (large) rodent will apparently eat the roots while digging his hole. In that case I use a live trap to catch him.

George

I live Near Ada Oklahoma. I would really love to find a source for these.

Little Bit Farm

Little Bit,

You usually can find Jerusalem Artichokes through various online sellers. I rarely see them in nurseries or garden centers.

Oikos Tree Crops, FEDCO and Bountiful Gardens normally have Jerusalem Artichokes, aka sunchokes, on their websites. I'll link Oikos for you because it usually has the best selection.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Jerusalem Artichokes at Oikos Tree Crops

Two or three years ago, I bought a few in the regular produce section of Whole Foods for a buck or two. I cut them up and planted them. They were the easiest crop for me: attractive flowers, drought-tolerant, and my root-knot nematodes didn't seem to slow them down. We had them roasted or pureed. Delicious! They never came back the next year, so rodents may have gotten into the ones I left behind. I plan to try again this year. (BTW, I'm not sure if there are any problems associated with planting grocery Sunchokes; one of the experts may weigh in advising against this).

Jo

Jo, I cannot imagine any reason that you could not plant grocery store sunchokes. I plant lots of stuff from the grocery store and most things do well. The only time I can think of when someone might have a problem is if they bought tubers/roots that had been sprayed with anti-sprouting chemicals to keep them from sprouting in the grocery stores. Even those anti-sprouting chemicals wear off eventually, as we all can attest to. Who hasn't had potatoes sprout in the pantry at some point in their lives?

Dawn

I have potato sprouts growing in my worm bins...Hmmm. Don't get me started.

Jo

Jo, I know how you feel, I have worms in my potato bed.

I also just now went out and dug up a couple of Jerusalem Artichokes, they are great. They are better than they were last fall. We tried them in a salad last fall and was not too wild about them. If they dont GAS me up too bad I will eat these thing like apples.

Larry

lol lol lol

Jo, Why aren't the worms eating them?

Larry, Your comments make me laugh out loud sometimes. Thanks for finding the humor in every situation.

Dawn

Larry, according to George that is only a problem when they are cooked. LOL After he said that, he posted later that he now boils them and pours off the water and replaces it and boils again. As for me, I will just eat them raw.

I just left mine in the ground last year. They are between the end of a raised bed and the fence and nothing else will grow there, but the JA don't seem to mind.

If I were going to order them, I would wait until the weather was warmer. While they do fine underground in cold weather, the cold can hurt them when they aren't in the ground. George was kind enough to send me some when I was doing the seed swap one year, and after spending a very, very, cold day in the mailbox, some kind of turned to mush. I sent out the best but I wasn't sure that any had survived but I planted some of the questionable ones in my garden and they have survived.

Carol, I had tried 2 times before to grow Sunchokes but the tubers were soft and did not come up. Last year my neighbor gave me 3 plants, and they produced like crazy. I have given many away, and will still have more than I need. I have to move them from the flower bed. My DW is evicting me from that bed. If I had known I only had Squatter's rights on that bed I would not have worked so hard on it.

I will try to start some tubers inside and see if the plants grow any larger.

Larry

Larry, you may be in real trouble with your wife, since once they are planted they tend to claim the bed forever, at least they did for me in Colorado. Of course, rhubarb was like that in Colorado also, and I can't keep it alive here.

Carol, I sure hope not, she may evict me from my bed in the house. I will be a very unhappy camper then.

I tried rhubarb a about 10 years ago over at my old house, I thought I would never get rid of it. The rhubarb was like my strawberries, I could not keep the Bermuda grass out of it.