Re: Artichokes?
- Subject: Re: Artichokes?
- From: G* P*
- Date: Wed, 03 Jul 2002 13:59:43 +0100
On Tue, 2 Jul 2002 20:36:02 -0700, you wrote:
>Dear friends
>
>This past spring, I bought artichokes bare root. Funny thing,
>though, as they came up, they looked just like sunflowers! I soon
>realized that what was labeled artichoke was actually JERUSALEM
>artichoke! So, I have these beautiful tall green stalks of Jersualem
>artichoke growing in my garden. Problem is, I ahve no idea when to
>harvest it, how to harvest it or what to do with it once it is
>harvested. Can anyone help me here?
>
>Nan
I have grown jerusalem artichokes for many years. They have attractive
flowers in the autumn with the benefit of edible roots. I also have some
sunflowers mixed with them by mistake! They are a much neglected vegetable
which are often grown in the UK. If left undisturbed they will form huge
thickets.
Here in Portugal they grow 2-3m tall with generous summer watering. They
flower during August/September then start to die down, the tall stems are
often blown over by the wind sometimes lifting the roots. Once the plants
look shabby I cut the stems down and the roots are ready to eat. Each plant
usually produces several kilos of knobbly tubers which keep throughout the
winter if left in the ground. They are delicious when cooked like other root
vegetables, roasted like potatoes or made into a heartwarming soup. I have
found that the tubers soon start to dry out and shrivel once out of the
ground, so only lift as needed. Being so knobbly they are a bit of a fiddle
to prepare, but when fresh from the ground the tubers just need washing
well, we don't bother to peel them.
Once you have got the plants they are difficult to get rid of. We just make
sure that we leave a few large tubers ready for next year. Because of our
long hot summers, here in Portugal they do need regular watering to grow
well, but if you live in an area with summer rain they could not be easier
to grow.
Eat and enjoy!
Graham from a sunny and very warm Algarve.
---- Graham Payne ---- dpsgkp@mail.telepac.pt ----
