The Jerusalem Artichoke is a vegetable that many may not be familiar with, however I think it can be of great value on any homestead. I have grown it for years. In years gone by it was usually available in limited quantities in many grocery stores and markets in the fall. I have not seen it anywhere in recent years. So I think the general public is becoming less and less aware that it even exists.
If you are not familiar with it you might wonder what you, as a homesteader, would want with an artichoke plant from Jerusalem. Well the truth be known, it does not have its origins any where in the middle east that I know of nor is it in any way related to the Globe artichoke.
It is however one of the few vegetables that is native to North America
While the plant (Helianthus tuberosus) is a member of the sunflower family it does not produce a crop of edible seeds as do the others. This particular plant produces edible tubers. There are several varieties available including “stampede” which, as far as I can tell, is the most widespread and best known. It is the one with which I am most familiar.
More recently the Jerusalem Artichoke has been called by names like “sunroot”, “sunchoke”, “J-choke” “Topinambur” or just plain “choke” which is how I refer to them.
They are somewhat like potatoes, but with some distinct differences.
First: The plant is a perennial and can be grown in permanent beds. It does best in the northern two thirds of the United States but can be grown in the southern third as well. It prefers the long cold winters.
Second: The tubers store their carbohydrates in the form of “inulin” rather than starch. The inulin is converted into fructose in the digestive tract rather than glucose. This makes it more easily tolerated by diabetics.
Third: It is a tough plant to eradicate once it is planted. Any small bit of a tuber with an eye left after harvest has a good chance of becoming a volunteer in the next season. (In order to keep my own plants in check I do two things. First of all, I plant them in beds with sufficient grassy areas around them so that as they try to spread they are kept mowed and thus contained. Secondly, I never, and I mean never, toss any scraps of any roots into the compost which could find its way into other parts of my garden.)
If you decide to peel them instead of just scrubbing them clean bury the scraps in the choke beds, If you toss them into the compost some will surely sprout somewhere.
Also a few of the flowers may develop seeds, but only when pollinated by a different strain growing nearby.
So if you grow more than one strain just cut off the flower buds. Cutting off those flower buds is also supposed to make the plant put more energy into tuber growth for a larger crop.
Fourth: After years of growing in the same place with a modest amount of compost worked in every other year I have had no pest or disease problem whatever. They are pretty much, except for occasional weeding a little watering if the summer is really dry and harvesting, a no worry no work crop. As far as planting the initial tubers; there are all kinds of best ways to do it but I have found that if you simply get the tubers 4 inches under the ground at about a foot apart in the early spring, then just get out of the way, they will grow.
As far as eating the chokes I like them best when they are raw and seldom cook them other than using them as a water chestnut substitute in a stir fry. I just scrub them clean with a stiff bristled brush and slice them into a salad or just chomp down on them whole.
I am told they should not be harvested until after the first frost which is supposed to make them sweeter but I start eating them when ever They are big enough to be worth digging. For keeping, they can be left in the ground and dug as needed if you can keep the ground from freezing over the winter with a cover of hay bales or the like. Or dig up until the ground freezes and keep in storage for a few months. Then start digging the rest up when the ground thaws in the spring.
Right now I am eating some that I dug about mid November and they are still in good condition. I store mine in plastic bags to retain moisture and at a temperature just above freezing. Spring dug chokes will not keep nearly as long because they are starting to sprout and grow again.
A pound of seed tubers can cost between $5.00 and $10.00 plus shipping, but just starting with just that one pound you can expand your bed significantly after the first season and never need to buy any again, ever.
You can find out a lot more about these great vegetables by searching the web but now you have the basics.
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