Jesusalem Artichokes

[Eternal Sunshine]

A friend of a friend has given us a pot of jerusalem artichokes this week. My question is, what should I do with them at this time of year? There's 3 shoots between 2 & 3 foot high in the pot.

Should I plant them now, let them overwinter in the pot or take the tubers out & replant them on the allotment in the spring?

Also, do you leave them in the bed permenently as my friend's friend says or dig up & replant each year as I've read in Andi Cleveley's Allotment Book?

[bazzaboy]

hi ES - they're pretty indestructible (one of several complaints against them) so you could probably plant them out now (about 4" deep) - or leave them in the pot but either way you'll need to get them in early. They're not too choosy about soil but do need sun; remember they grow tall and so cast shadow. I luv em, make great soup, and best harvested as needed as they don't store well but are fully frost hardy. I suspect the notion of annually digging up and replanting is primarily to control their invasive tendency, it's certainly not necessary for their survival. You can find out everything you need to know (and probably a few things you'll wish you didn't ) on
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants....thus+tuberosus

bb

ps I see that site adds one other reason for replanting in Spring which is to avoid slug damage so if that's likely to be a problem the over-winter pot option might be preferable.

[bazzaboy]

That website address hasn't carried properly, it should be:
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants....thus+tuberosus

bb

[Dobby]

Hi All yes its me sorry i havenot been on for a while they changed my shifs at work
anyway I was going to ask if we should cut back the JAs cos they must be 10ft tall now and some are starting to fall but if they flower then I will try and stake some of them
I really need to get down there today. this is the first time we have grown them as well

[Two_Sheds]

Mine on plot have just started to flower (5 foot plus), and am cutting them for indoors with dahlias. I won't grow them in pots again...only 18 inches high, no flowers!

Won't eat them this year, a bit slimy/mushy for my taste

[Hazel at the Hill]

I didn't realise that they flowered - looking forward to that! I've had to give mine a little support too but I take it that they die back in the winter?

Good to see you BTW, Dobby.

[Eternal Sunshine]

Thanks guys. Great link Bazzaboy, loads of info there, including this:

The tubers are rich in inulin, a starch which the body cannot digest, so Jerusalem artichokes provide a bulk of food without many calories. Some people are not very tolerant of inulin, it tends to ferment in their guts and can cause quite severe wind

I remember reading in Bob Flowerdew's book that they absorb the wind while growing then release it when eaten.

Hazel, Bazzaboy's website link says that the first frosts will make the stems & flowers die back but the tubers will last underground.

[Snadger]

I thought you had to chop the flowers off so they concentrate there efforts into producing tubers?

[pigletwillie]

I planted a few as a windbreak at the end of a plot. The things are some 8' high now and just coming into flower. They certainly work as a windbreak so I will dig them all up, scoff a few and replant this winter whats left.

[Flummery]

I always think of them as an edible-rooted sunflower. My French is tres rusty but I thing the 'Jerusalem' bit is a corruption of girasol - meaning turning to face the sun. I wouldn't attempt to grow them in a pot but I love them as soup for a winter lunch with a slab of homemade bread. I only replant (in the same place) 4 big tubers and it keeps me in artichokes for weeks. OH can't tolerate them. We can't open windows fast enough! I plant in spring and eat/replant from about Jan - April.

[mrskp]

Planted mine in February (thanks to Supersprout), they're about 20' tall now (apart from the one that snapped in half due to the wind the other night despite being tied and staked - I just haven't got a stake that tall), but not a flower to be seen!

I'm hoping they're concentrating all their efforts down below.