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Re: Jerusulem Artichokes

Hi Judy,

> I have several plants.  None has ever flowered.  When are they ready??
> Judy (zone 7, close-in SS, MD)
> to e-mail me:  jcosler@mindspring.com

These are natives to the southern areas of N.America (one of the few indigenous
n.a. food plants!), so often require a long growing season to bloom.  Varieties
differ, there are some that will flower earlier (sorry, can't give you any
specific varietal names).  I started with a few generic roots from the grocery
store ten years ago and have seen maybe two small and late showing blooms in all
that time.  But that is of no real concern to me, I grow them for the yummy
tubers which they produce in abundance (some 5 times as productive as
potatoes?).  As well they are less likely to flower in the relatively rich soil
of our gardens than the poorer native soils they habitate in nature.  If you
want to grow them for their flowers look for an early flowering variety and
spare the nitrogen.

Wait until the frost kills the foilage to harvest the roots, they're as big as
they're going to get at that point.  I leave what I'm not wanting to eat or
process (fresh sliced j.art. in salads are great, dried slices are interesting,
pickled ones are delish) in the ground.  We harvest them through the winter and
spring as needed, until they start to sprout out in mid-spring (they're slow to
break dormancy).  They're incredibly hardy here, easily withstanding heavy
freezing and thawing like nothing happened.  I condsider them in the class of
"survival foods," they're so productive (invasive even) and hardy they'll be
there no matter what!

Cheers!

--
 Bob Carter  -  bcarter@awinc.com
 Kootenay Bay, BC, Canada  -  Zone 6b
--

Nothing endures but change.           Heraclitus (480 BC)

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