JA's

[Snadger]

I planted some rather small Jerusalem Artichokes last year.They appear to have grown well and reached about 6 foot in height (I had to tie them to the fence) before the frost killed the tops off.
I know from previous experience that once you have JA's, you will always have them.

Do you think they would be better harvested and some of the tubers replanted, or would I be best just leaving them where they are with a heavy mulch, in the hope I would get better tubers next year?

[Mr Bones]

Depends how many slugs you have Snadge, once the slugs find them they'll take up residence. Maybe safer to save a few choice tubers and re-plant in the spring.

[Bren In Pots]

Snadger I’ve been digging mine up as I need them and at the same time dropping one back in the ground. I’ve found that when I’ve planted them to close together I get smaller tubers than I would usually.
I did hear that the only way be to be rid of JA’s was to move.

[ameno]

Always dig up and replant.
If you leave them, you end up with a thicket of plants and masses of tiny tubers, as they are all growing too close together. If you replant medium-sized tubers at a good spacing you get fewer, larger tubers.

[greenishfing]

I did get rid of mine! It wasn't easy. They were one of those veg that I thought I would like but really didn't. What else can say? They are awful and are worse than baked beans for wind.

[ameno]

I did get rid of mine! It wasn't easy. They were one of those veg that I thought I would like but really didn't. What else can say? They are awful and are worse than baked beans for wind.

Oh yeah, they're terrible for gas. And unlike beans, they give everyone gas (only certain people get gas from beans).

[Greenleaves]

I dug down 4' and sieved the soil...still got plants the following year....best thing about them is the flowers

[veggiechicken]

I got rid of mine.

Gone with the wind!!

[Snadger]

Oh yeah, they're terrible for gas. And unlike beans, they give everyone gas (only certain people get gas from beans).

I grew them for a year on my old plot and decided to get rid of them without even tasting them. Once I tried them I found I liked them and for me they didn't live up to their 'fartichoke' reputation.

I would like to keep them where they are as they were planted as a wind break (excuse the pun) but suppose I should dig them up and replant some again. My plot is troubled with keel slugs on the spuds so maybe the tubers have already succumbed!
Depending on what I dig up I may start again with new Fuseau JAs as they are reputed to be less nobbly.

[muckdiva]

Such a trouble free crop, such a tasty veg...but why oh why are they so difficult to digest (to put it politely )?

[Bren In Pots]

Cooking JA's along with Winter savoury is supposed to ease the 'fartichoke' effect me i just love them and add them in stews instead of potatoes plus they do freeze fine.

[spamvindaloo]

I've got my Jerusalem artichokes (fuseau, probably what you have) in an 8' x 2' bed. This usually gives me about 3 x 30 litre buckets of harvested J.A.s (plenty!) and I never bother to replant but find enough are left in the ground to give me the same crop the following year.

[ameno]

Cooking JA's along with Winter savoury is supposed to ease the 'fartichoke' effect me i just love them and add them in stews instead of potatoes plus they do freeze fine.

Sadly, there's nothing you can do to make them more digestible.
The gas happens because artichokes contain the carbohydrate inulin, instead of the starch most roots have. Inulin is indigestible to humans, but easily digested by gut bacteria. You still get most of the carbohydrate from it, and it feeds the gut bacteria, which is a good thing, but unfortunately the bacteria create a lot of gas as they digest.
If it's any consolation, it's just carbon dioxide, so should be odorless.

As for the taste, I was never fond, myself, which is why I stopped growing them.

[Mr Bones]

We grew Fuseau for a number of years and loved the taste, especially roasted or barely cooked as water chestnut substitute in stir-fry. Unfortunately the gastric discomfort finally wore thin so they were dug out and surprisingly never came back.

[SarrissUK]

I love the flavour of JAs. My mum grew them when I had just moved out into a flat, and I remember her giving me buckets full of them. I am quite badly affected by them, but they are very tasty