Author Topic: JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES  (Read 1974 times)

brownthumb2

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JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES
« on: December 23, 2018, 11:25:48 »
 I have been given some Jerusalem Artichokes, I've never grown them before.  When do I  plant  in the ground and do they need starting off in pots ? if so can I do it now ?

Tee Gee

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brownthumb2

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Re: JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES
« Reply #2 on: December 23, 2018, 13:44:15 »
 Thanks Tee Gee interesting information  But what is week eight

Tee Gee

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Re: JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES
« Reply #3 on: December 23, 2018, 13:51:09 »
It is a week number as seen in the attached link.

The week number is shaded in yellow!

Week 8 commences around the 19th February

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/W/Week%20Numbers/Week%20numbers.htm

« Last Edit: December 23, 2018, 13:52:55 by Tee Gee »

small

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Re: JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES
« Reply #4 on: December 23, 2018, 15:28:39 »
I think you can stick them in any time, I got some really shrivelled ones from B&Q one summer, they didn't grow till the following spring but haven't stopped growing since. As I think I've said before, the only way I've ever got rid of JAs was when we ran pigs over the area!

Vinlander

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Re: JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES
« Reply #5 on: December 24, 2018, 10:02:18 »
J. Arts are eaten by various pests in winter, but it's not really a big problem because there are usually dozens of them to the square metre, and the nibbled tubers just need a bit of surgery.

If you want really clean tubers with no damage the only way is to lift them before winter and store them in a cool clamp (layered in a bag of spent compost is fine - not moist but not dry as dust either).

However if I go back to the patch to try and find a few more (eg. for next year's starts) the damage is far worse - a single slug can turn an egg-sized tuber into an empty skin.

That's why February planting is recommended. If your starts are (or get) wrinkly then re-hydrate them in bulk in a pot or bag with an equal quantity of spent compost that's a bit moist and keep them in a cool place - you don't want tender shoots coming out before you plant - the slugs would go mad.

Cheers.

With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

Tee Gee

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Re: JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES
« Reply #6 on: December 24, 2018, 11:11:26 »
J. Arts are eaten by various pests in winter, but it's not really a big problem because there are usually dozens of them to the square metre, and the nibbled tubers just need a bit of surgery.

If you want really clean tubers with no damage the only way is to lift them before winter and store them in a cool clamp (layered in a bag of spent compost is fine - not moist but not dry as dust either).

However if I go back to the patch to try and find a few more (eg. for next year's starts) the damage is far worse - a single slug can turn an egg-sized tuber into an empty skin.

That's why February planting is recommended. If your starts are (or get) wrinkly then re-hydrate them in bulk in a pot or bag with an equal quantity of spent compost that's a bit moist and keep them in a cool place - you don't want tender shoots coming out before you plant - the slugs would go mad.

Cheers.



Agreed! However I refer to the compost as: The damp side of dry!

George the Pigman

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Re: JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES
« Reply #7 on: December 24, 2018, 19:21:39 »
I grew them on my plot many years ago but they spread like wildfire and it took ten years to get rid of them.

They taste OK but beware the gas! They have high levels of inulin which is a polysaccharide called a fructan that isn't absorbed from the gut and gets fermented by gut bacteria. Certainly not recommended if you have irritable bowel syndrome or diverticular disease!

Vinlander

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Re: JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES
« Reply #8 on: December 25, 2018, 11:39:37 »
I grew them on my plot many years ago but they spread like wildfire and it took ten years to get rid of them.

They taste OK but beware the gas! They have high levels of inulin which is a polysaccharide called a fructan that isn't absorbed from the gut and gets fermented by gut bacteria. Certainly not recommended if you have irritable bowel syndrome or diverticular disease!

All this is true; but inulin is often called "soluble fibre" and is one of the current top "super foods" because it can prevent many bowel problems by encouraging 'friendly bacteria'.

However everyone on this forum is probably already getting more than enough from other root vegetables - it's only the fast food addicts that would really benefit - I have a very low opinion of their average 'nous' - if they actually give a fig about their health they are probably dim enough to pay up to £100 a kilo for it online.

J. Arts contain 10-15% inulin and they are the only food I know that is regarded as both gourmet food and pig food - and pretty much nothing in between. We all know how easy they are to grow - I suspect the wholesale price is 10% or less of the £3.50 a kilo "gourmet price" you would pay in the shops

Apart from starting your own religion I can't think of many things more lucrative than growing inulin!

Cheers.
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

 

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