My seventy-year old garden-and-math-friend gave me some Jerusalem Artichokes. It's amazing how fit and strong she is even at her age, but that's all total a different story to be told later on. Jerusalem Artichokes has no connection with artichoke the vegetable, rather it is related to sunflowers. That's why they are also sometimes called as Sunchokes, and is one of the native plant of the USA. I can't resist here and say that very few Americans know about Jerusalem Artichoke and that it is one of the native plants of the Northern and the Central USA!! The edible portion of the plant is the tuber that is grown underground. When you dig them up, they will look like potatoes. One can eat them raw -- my husband and I love eating it raw -- as it tastes like water-chestnut; or it can also be cooked. It has lots of minerals, vitamins and iron.
Now, you might be wondering where are the surprises here? Why did I say gardens are full of surprises? So, here is the story. Last February (February of 2012), my same friend gave me one Jerusalem artichoke. I brought it home and planted it in the garden. It produced a tall plant - about 10 feet tall - with lots of smaller sunflower like flowers (I took a picture but of course when you need it you can't find it). With the advance of winter, it died down. I went to the garden to dig out the artichokes. Lo and Behold! nothing was there. "Well!", I said to myself, "you are always learning from your mistakes while gardening; and, it gave you lots of bright yellow, jovial, smaller-versions of sunflowers. So,...", and then I forgot all about it. I made the decision that if I needed to grow Jerusalem Artichokes, then I should follow whatever all those websites say and plant them in October to get a good harvest in the next fall. Of course, I didn't do that.
Then on January 30th, I went to the garden to plant the artichokes that I got from my friend again. This time there were lots of them. I went to the same spot, to plant them out, where I planted my first Jerusalem Artichoke. As I started digging, guess what I found? Yes, you have guessed correctly - I found lots of Jerusalem Artichokes that my very first plant produced. Apparently, Jerusalem Artichokes do not grow closer to the mother plant; they can grow at a quite a distance (1 or 2 feet) away and they also grow really in deep underground. So, while harvesting you need to dig really deep to find all the artichokes. Also, dig the ground in a radial circle 1 or 2 feet away from the mother plant as this plant can spread and can almost become like a weed. But if you don't mind native plant of the USA, nutritious food and lovely bright yellow flowers from a plant, then you will not mind the weed-like spreading habit of Jerusalem Artichoke. So, here is my harvest :-):
Now, you might be wondering where are the surprises here? Why did I say gardens are full of surprises? So, here is the story. Last February (February of 2012), my same friend gave me one Jerusalem artichoke. I brought it home and planted it in the garden. It produced a tall plant - about 10 feet tall - with lots of smaller sunflower like flowers (I took a picture but of course when you need it you can't find it). With the advance of winter, it died down. I went to the garden to dig out the artichokes. Lo and Behold! nothing was there. "Well!", I said to myself, "you are always learning from your mistakes while gardening; and, it gave you lots of bright yellow, jovial, smaller-versions of sunflowers. So,...", and then I forgot all about it. I made the decision that if I needed to grow Jerusalem Artichokes, then I should follow whatever all those websites say and plant them in October to get a good harvest in the next fall. Of course, I didn't do that.
Then on January 30th, I went to the garden to plant the artichokes that I got from my friend again. This time there were lots of them. I went to the same spot, to plant them out, where I planted my first Jerusalem Artichoke. As I started digging, guess what I found? Yes, you have guessed correctly - I found lots of Jerusalem Artichokes that my very first plant produced. Apparently, Jerusalem Artichokes do not grow closer to the mother plant; they can grow at a quite a distance (1 or 2 feet) away and they also grow really in deep underground. So, while harvesting you need to dig really deep to find all the artichokes. Also, dig the ground in a radial circle 1 or 2 feet away from the mother plant as this plant can spread and can almost become like a weed. But if you don't mind native plant of the USA, nutritious food and lovely bright yellow flowers from a plant, then you will not mind the weed-like spreading habit of Jerusalem Artichoke. So, here is my harvest :-):
