JERUSALEM Artichokes

[Iamhanuman]

Hi there everyone.

Is there a reason why I couldn't purchase a Jerusalem Artichoke from my farm shop, prepare it in some arcane way and then stuff it in the ground, rather than purchase 6 'tubers' for £8 from some large company?

I know you can do this with a variety of veg with varying results, but just wanted to know if anyone has done this.

If they haven't, I might give it a go.

[womble]

No reason at all, I wish I'd done it before I found out they were horrible and not bought expensive seed ones

[snohare]

They don't even need preparing in some arcane way. The most you need to do is maybe give them a wash in case they have some anti-sprouting preparation on them (although I doubt you need to), but I got some of the smoother ones from a local shop, and they sprouted just as well as ones I got sent to me from a Grape.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Yep - no reason at all why you should not - just eat a few first in order to make sure that you are fully wedded to the idea of eating Jerusalem artichokes prior to planting.

In my view, they are both delicious and make a lovely (tall!) addition to the allotment or garden, however, you will not get rid of the little buggers ever again.

I just bought a few tubers from the supermarket and planted those (it was a named and smooth skinned variety though - Fuseau) and I am sure that they will outlive me and generations of allotmenteers to come on the plot!

[TonyF]

I agree with Hazel. They're an acquired taste for sure but if you're going to grow them, put them somewhere you can confine them. 3 years after moving mine, the little varmints are still coming up in the original place. Mine are now in a raised bed, 3m x 2m so they can't escape and I've had more out this winter than I can reasonably use.

And I grow the rhubard in the same bed, seems to work well.

[tootles]

That is very good to know, thanks. I was going to buy some yesterday when I bought some seed spuds - until I saw the price.
18 euros for 5 tubers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(What do they like?? - shade, partial or full sun??)

[TonyF]

Tootles, buy them in the supermarket, much cheaper.

You can use them as a wind break also because they're so much like sunflowers.

[snohare]

shade, partial or full sun??

Yes !
Plant six inches deep - shallower I found they were less inclined to create such a healthy broad stalk - earth up like a potato when the foliage gets to about six inches high, then leave until winter, when you cut back the stems to about four feet I think it is, to prevent them being levered out of the ground by high winds. Like sunflowers, they are likely to appreciate being supported by wires or stakes, since they may grow to fourteen feet tall.
From what I can gather, grown commercially they are fed with a top dressing of manure once a year, and supposedly they should be shifted every second year to avoid diseases building up. Do that for long enough and you will have an allotment that looks like something from "Day of the Triffids" ! In the UK the only enemies they have that I know of are the purple mould that eats them if you store them dry out of the ground (use a damp sand tray) and keel slugs, that will eat small amounts before exploding from the farts....
They go very nicely in bread by the way - especially gluten free mixes, which always tend to be awfully crumby usually, but not since I discovered the magical dissolving sludginess that is a gently simmered JA. (Some type of unusual vegetable fibre I suppose.) Eat too much and you will feel ill, if my experience is anything to go by.

[tootles]

Excellent advice. I shall see if I can find any in the supermarket. I have a spot by the rhubarb which should do nicely, against a southfacing terraced wall. If my globe artichokes work they can be along the same terrace too.

[Iamhanuman]

I got some of the smoother ones from a local shop, and they sprouted just as well as ones I got sent to me from a Grape.

What is a grape??

Thanks to all. I'll go for a farm shop one then. We enjoy JAs uite often in a roast situation alongside potatoes. Love the nutty taste and crunchy texture they give.

Actually saw them for £1 a tuber in a local Nursery today, but I still resented it!

Bit scared by the triffid connotations though!!!

[tootles]

What is a grape??

You are now..................
As you are now a frequenter of the grapevine.

[Iamhanuman]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I see - I am being dim!

glad to be a Grape!!

[Geo]

In 1621 the writer John Goodyer wrote of the Jerusalem Artichoke,

In my judgement, which way soever they be drest and eaten they stir up and cause a filthie loathsome stinking winde with the bodie, thereby causing the belly to bee much pained and tormented…. more fit for swine, than men.

Geo..

[Iamhanuman]

cripes!!!

[janeyo]

I bought some to plant from t*sco, but it was snow and too cold so we ate them. First time we had had them. Thought they were yummy and no windy ill effects at all. Well none from me OH seems to have a vast capacity for f*rts so was no different for him anyway lol