jerusalem artichokes

[nomad]

i bought some jerusalem artichokes off ebay to grow. can someone tell me what to do with them.
do i do the chitting thing like potatos if so what do i do.
when do i plant them,how deep,do i need manure,how close together,were is the best place,do i water in summer and after i have planted them.
thankyou for any help.

[Hazel at the Hill]

I'd keep them in the bottom of the fridge until you can get out to plant them.

Wherever you decide to plant them (18" apart, 6" deep), make sure that's where you want them to stay, as the little buggers will come back for evermore. They grow tall too - 6-8' or so - so make sure they are in an out of the way spot so they don't shade anything.

[Snadger]

I tried chitting them when I first grew them............they don't chit, they just go soft.
Just dug some up today and managed to prise them out of the permafrost..........they look fine to eat!

[Hazel at the Hill]

I'm going to dig a few up at the weekend for JA and red onion gratin - Wellie's posted it on her blog recently and it looks fabulous.

[nomad]

cheers guys

would it be possible for me plant them in tubs about 1ft deep or do they need deeper.
i only ask as i live in a council house and the garden soil is terrible with bricks etc and everyones dog doing there thing in the garden!!! i am hoping to put a wilkinsons greenhouse up when the wind stops growing for my other plants.

[Snadger]

cheers guys

would it be possible for me plant them in tubs about 1ft deep or do they need deeper.
i only ask as i live in a council house and the garden soil is terrible with bricks etc and everyones dog doing there thing in the garden!!! i am hoping to put a wilkinsons greenhouse up when the wind stops growing for my other plants.

The ones I've just dug up were in a simiular sized tub. They don't grow as big as the ones in the garden though and they a begger to keep watered once they are in full leaf!

[snake the squadie]

totaley agree with hazel but also make sure they are not near any thing else as they sort of "drift" around as they grow and you dont notice until the year after when they are growing a few feet away from where you origainaly planted them. never tried them in pots but might try it this year

[janeyo]

I have just bought some from tesco. They are nice and firm at the mo so hopefully they will last a few days til I can get them in. Can I use them the sam as spuds to beak up heavy ground? If so I can just pop them into nan's garden that I've not touched yet and is still under plastic and let them do their thing there.

[Snadger]

I have just bought some from tesco. They are nice and firm at the mo so hopefully they will last a few days til I can get them in. Can I use them the sam as spuds to beak up heavy ground? If so I can just pop them into nan's garden that I've not touched yet and is still under plastic and let them do their thing there.

Be warned janeyo............they grow very tall (mine were about 10 foot high) and may need staking!

[purplekat]

How far /vigourously do they root? - I was going to plant them down the side of my house as a screen between us and the neighbours but just want to make sure they're not going to damage the pipes underneath the soil!

[Snadger]

How far /vigourously do they root? - I was going to plant them down the side of my house as a screen between us and the neighbours but just want to make sure they're not going to damage the pipes underneath the soil!

I would say they go about 18" down and 24" width from original planting line.............at least mine did!