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Edz
10-12-2008, 12:40 PM
I've been eating these wonderful plants for a long time. For those who haven't tried them, please do...

Now I am considering planting some around my property. Has anyone here done this?
Is it better to plant the tubers now? or wait until the spring? I have a friend who has a huge patch of them and I can take as many as I want....
If I harvest them now, will they keep until the spring?

Any input is welcomed

edz

crashdive123
10-12-2008, 12:42 PM
Edz - I'm sure that some of the members have and will be happy to help. In the meantime head on over to the introduction section and tell us a bit about yourself. Thanks.

RaymondPeter
10-12-2008, 01:09 PM
I'd be interested in when to plant them myself. They grew in the same bed as my Grandmother's rhubarb and asparagus. All three of which grew like weeds... In fact ever couple years or so we'd have to dig up most of the jerusalem artichokes so they wouldn't over crowed the bed, and if we didn't get them all picked up the next spring there would be a new "bed" where the pile of them had been.

I did a quick internet search and came up with these links that might help you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_artichoke (yes wiki is known for errors but it's a good place to start research too)

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-1-a.html

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/try-a-new-vegetable-jerusalem.html

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/jerusart.html

http://www.holoweb.com/cannon/jerusale.htm

erunkiswldrnssurvival
10-12-2008, 09:43 PM
Jerusalem artichokes commonly grow among colonies of Stinging nettle(Urtica dioica)
they are exelent. I make an annual trip to boston to every year to gather chokes and other plants.

canid
10-13-2008, 04:56 PM
they will keep best if stored in a cool, somewhat dry environment in full shade. like potatoes and carrots, you can keep them packed closely in loose dry soil in a box in a cool place, such as a cellar and they can keep for months with care. like potattoes, onions, apples, etc. you do not want to bruise them before storage.

canid
10-13-2008, 04:57 PM
i'm rather happy that i've begun to see them from time to time even at corporate chain grocery stores, like albertsons.

danmc
11-29-2008, 12:20 PM
i'm rather happy that i've begun to see them from time to time even at corporate chain grocery stores, like albertsons.

Thats how I got some started in my garden. I just bought a couple from the grocery store and buried them in the spring.

To anyone considering this, listen to what RaymondPeter said about "growing like weeds". One year I had 3-4 plants, the next year, 50 plants. But, they're tasty, they've attracted a pair of gold finches to my yard, I like looking at them, and the bees love them too.

Rick
11-29-2008, 02:33 PM
Plant them in a container. It will ....well... contain them.

bulrush
12-03-2008, 08:47 AM
JA typically do not survive freezing conditions well. Plant them in the spring. I planted some 3 years ago, and they slowly died off because I left them in the ground in the winter. Now I think I have one tuber left. Perhaps it is cold-conditioned and will spread more cold-hardy JAs for me.

But yes, they do spread rapidly. Be warned.

crashdive123
01-03-2009, 12:53 AM
Sarge - Move to Survival Food

bulrush
01-05-2009, 04:53 PM
In zone 4b (lower Michigan), my JA's survived outside 3 winters but gradually died out. I think I had 2 plants last season, I do not expect any this year. So bring them indoors if you want to plant them outside again. Storing them in your fridge should be good, as I have had problems with other tubers and bulbs (gladiolas) drying out and dying in the basement.

Other than that they like hot weather, and will spread quickly, about 1 foot horizontally per season. They grow tubers everywhere. The plants themselves look a lot like sunflowers but the flowers themselves are smaller than a man's hand (my experience.)

I was reviewing my edible plants book this weekend (Peterson's Edible Wild Plants, seems to cover whole US) and noticed that sometimes not all of a genus is edible. So do some research and cook JA thoroughly. My example was wild beach peas, vs. goat's rue. Peas are edible, goat's rue are not, both are in the same genus (lathyrus).