Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: weedin project on April 11, 2006, 13:57:29
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Last week's (or was it the week before?) GW said they were going to demonstrate Jerusalems, but in spite of taping it and searching the tape, it seems they didn't.
I bought some from Sainsbury's in February and tried to chit them (sort of like spuds or ginger, looking for shoots), but they dried out a bit. I have since put them in 5" pots kept moist with well-rotted garden compost, and put them in the greenhouse to give them a chance......
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Any comments, either positive or negative, on the story so far? Such as "Weedin, you've killed them"; or "They were never going to grow anyway"; or "Well done, you should be able to plant them out in a couple of weeks and harvest a huge crop in November" would be welcome.
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Hi weedin/all
I was given some from my neighbour at the lottie,and put them in a bucket of compost to grow as a temporary measure.
Yes they are just poking through ;D
Kept them in a shaded greenhouse.
Regards,
Mark.
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no need to chit Jerusalem artichokes - they dry out, as already mentioned. Get them in. just plant them, nothing fancy. Plant out of the way or where you want a wind break, they make a good wall of foliage - like sunflowers but more robust
Clifford
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I put 4 fat juicy tubers into the ground some time in February, as of yesterday, still no sign of them coming up! They were Fuseau, the less knobbly sort, that I got from the Irish Seed Savers Association.
Not sure I can resist the temptation to have a poke around to see what's happening, will be devastated if they got munched by slugs.
Would I be better off digging them up and potting them up to give them a head start?
Niamh
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They dont need it for they are in the ground till next year!. They will catch up once the soil warms up they will be away
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are they still in the supermarkets? If so I'll go and get some and shove them straight in the ground. Just LOVE them...
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Don`t bother with keeping them warm,just bung em in.
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i agree with cliff, you are looking after them too well!! just put them in where you
want them to grow and thats it!! i use mine as a wind break and cut them down to the size i want them. next year believe me you will digging some up as they are thugs. they make a nice soup,deliahs recipe! regards /angle shades x
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Like every other gardener I know, just over anxious I suppose! I know you're right, they'll be fine. Thought I'd killed my Cosmos atrosanguineas also but it's sprouting now!
Let you know when they appear above ground.
Niamh
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Mine have been in the ground since late February, with no show. I presume this is due to the inclement weather we are all experiencing ...
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;D
I like them lots and just bunged 20 in on my new plot. They are all along the bottom fence so that scallys cannot see whats on my plot later in the year!! I comfort myself with the info I have had about them...
Once you have got them they will go on regardless!!
Hope it will be one of those things I just cannot kill, despite my ineptitude!!
;D
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its too cold!!! they are a member of the sunflower family,and you cant kill them they grow everywhere on our plots!! we cant wait for newbies to give them too!!!/angle shades x
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Mine aren't up either, but don't worry, they're indestructible. Once they're in, they're there forever unless you make a major effort to get rid of them.
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we cant wait for newbies to give them too!!!
;D ;D ;D
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dirty rotten filthy skinking things ;D ;D
anyway, despite the fact they cause an ill wind, they cannot be got rid off once you plant them, which is good if you like them. They are yummy roasted though.
They dont show for some time yet, its still too cold. Dont worry about the tubers in the ground, nothing eats them as far i know - obviously has the same effect on creepy crawlies as on humans, so leave them out of choice!
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Perhaps someone knows of good ways to serve them, roast sounds one good method ...
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Bennettsleg
Waitrose still had them last week!
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dirty rotten filthy skinking things ;D ;D
anyway, despite the fact they cause an ill wind
The ill wind can be combated by using the miracle ingredient Asafoetida. It smells rather... pungent, and only a pinch is needed, but the ill winds die down because if it. Tadaaaa!
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Best ever soup !(minus side effects)
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Roasted is tasty.
I add them to mashed potato and to bulk up soups and things, they are much lower in calories aparently than potatoes so I tend to substitute it.
You can eat it raw sliced in salads or alike or I have seen it suggested to slice and add to stir fries.
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Perhaps someone knows of good ways to serve them, roast sounds one good method ...
When in doubt I go here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/ type in the abundant foodstuff you want to use up and hit search. There are quite a few for J.A's.
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They're super in soups and sauted in butter but my favourite is roasted. They're a great wind breaker and great break winders..... ;D
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Apart from the taste of Jerusalem artichoke, which I think is great, there is the added bonus that you can let some flowers develop - they are so prolific, they make a really lovely display as a cut flower.
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Just checked on the flowers - does flowering affect the crop in any way?
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IMHO you get a double benefit:
Cut the flowering stems, and the energy stays in the tubers
Shorten the stems by cutting the flowers, and they are less likely to blow over!
:D
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Thank you, this is all a learning curve as it is my first year with JA ... It looks like we will have lots of cut flowers in the house this year then :)
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Supersprout - have you had a problem with them blowing over?
I used to be on a very exposed attolment on the side of the valley and used them as a wind break because the stook so well. I know they tend to form tubers close to the surface but they were a cracking windbreak
Clifford
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Yes I did cliff, several years ago on an allotment in Stevenage. The soil was horrible and I might have planted them too shallow. I'm growing them as a windbreak on my new plot in Peterborough where the wind gathers up a good speed across the Fens, so we shall See!
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Supersprout, how shallow is "too shallow"?
or come to that, how deep is "deep enough"?
???
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Ooh, now you're asking! too shallow would be, erm, 4 inches deep and upwards. Best depth 4-8 inches, heavy to light soil. JAs will grow even if you throw them on the ground! But if you think you have planted too shallow you could earth them up like spuds :)
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I've grown Jerusalems on the Cornish moors, and had no more problems with the things falling over than I do in Birmingham, despite some ferocious gales.
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I've just come from the lottie and decided to dig over a patch where my JA were . I couldn't believe it...huge tubers with long 4" white shoots growing up towards the surface. I thought they looked just like Asparagus so I popped a couple in my mouth....WOW they tasted superb. Crunchy and sweet..I ended up picking a basketfull and the tubers have gone into a 30' trench along my fence. All these from 8 tubers I planted last year from tubers I picked up at Tesco as clearance veggies. Food for nothing...that's what lottie growing is all about. ;D
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Ooh, now you're asking! too shallow would be, erm, 4 inches deep and upwards. Best depth 4-8 inches, heavy to light soil.
wish you hadn't said that. 4" is workable, the other 4 is compacted large stones...
But if you think you have planted too shallow you could earth them up like spuds :)
Oh thank god! Spared for this year!
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Whatever depth you put them at, they have a good root system, and next year they'll be growing at a range of depths. The easiest thing to do with these is to leave them on the same bit of ground permanently, as they don't seem to suffer from disease, and getting all the tubers out is hard going.
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The easiest thing to do with these is to leave them on the same bit of ground permanently, as they don't seem to suffer from disease, and getting all the tubers out is hard going.
Was planning to create a permanent bed with JA's, rhubarb, salad bed and bean poles so this suite me just fine...
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Bear in mind that because these grow so tall, they cast a lot of shade!
Mine are at the nothernmost end of the plot.
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Mine too! Even though there's no sign of them YET >:(
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Was very bold at weekend and dug down to check on one of my JA tubers. It's still there alright, some things have had a nibble of it, but the one I dug up had 2-3 shoots heading up to the surface. Wasn't tempted to taste them though! Temperatures have risen a lot here, and everything has taken off! So good news on the artichokes.
Niamh
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Yes, mine are at the most northenmost edge too.
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I grow mine as a hedge in front of the compost heaps. I trim them like a hedge, to about waist height. Nothing can stop them growing. As they grow wherever you put them, I have stopped wasting good space on them, and they have to compete (successfully) with nettles and couch grass, and make that area look a bit more organised. Dug a couple up by mistake yesterday, and they had long white shoots growing upwards as everyone describes..
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I have an area that was rotavated this week, it previously was a huge area of brambles, would the artichokes be able to compete with the new brambles that i will obviously be pulling out for years to come?
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I think they'll cope with most things! Cut the brambles back as they emerge from the artichokes, and dig them up again when you lift them.
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In my allotment which I've had for 3 months I have a bed full of them which I am digging up as I want to plant potatoes there...I get a bin full from every 6ft row >:(...getting a bit bored of them now ;D
By digging them up will I have eradicated them or are they there forever? Will my potatoes be OK in that bed?
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Brambles are actually relatively easy to remove, the growths are very visible, and can be removed with gloves, no problem. Just be persistent as additional roots grow ...
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I trim them like a hedge, to about waist height. I have stopped wasting good space on them, and they have to compete (successfully) with nettles and couch grass, and make that area look a bit more organised.
That's such a good idea artichoke, making a good looking weed-suppressing hedge to hide any unsightly bits. I never thought of trimming them, d'oh! Thank you for the tip, and welcome to A4a :)
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Thanks for the welcome, supersprout, and I'm glad you think it's a good idea. Obviously you lose the flowers, but I have never found them very attractive and the great height they reach can be a nuisance. Being cut back doesn't seem to affect the yield or the size of the tubers, and they throw up lots of side shoots to compensate.
I have read that some people grow climbing beans up the tall ones, but I haven't tried that yet. I prefer my hedges.
My use for the tubers is mainly liquidised to bulk out winter soup, as I don't really like the consistency of whole tubers. A friend has made a good salad of raw sliced artichokes and crisp hot bacon in little bits plus some dressing, which I enjoyed.
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With bacon, now that sounds nice.
I've got mine at Tescos (bogof offer,) chopped them into 2" pieces, bunged them in the ground under membrane (as I have an aversion to weeding), yesterday I had to cu four slots in the membrane to let the little heads through.
At last its started.
(I like the idea of climbing beans, sounds like a good place for Lazy Housewife.)
Cheers
cliff
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I've got mine at Tescos (bogof offer,)
Do you happen to know if they are still on bogof offer?
I've been trying to get hold of some of them without success :-\
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I know this might sound like a silly question but do you guys just buy the JA from tesco's and plant them? I thought you had to buy them from a garden centre? So if i wanted to grow them in a very large pot is there still time to plant them out now?
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Also how deep and how much watering? Everyday?
Do these plants completely die down in winter?
I like the sound of this plant, seems like easy to grow and very fast growing so will do me fine.
Anymore plants like this please let me know as i love fast growing plants :P
sorry about all the ???
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Presumably, produce bought from a market or Tesco's would be ok. I was given mine, so didn't have to make that decision. I gather that they are incredibly easy to grow. Plant like spuds, that is what I did anyway. Pretty flowers too it seems.
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thanks curry ;D
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Hooray - two of mine have now poked heads above ground.
Many thanks to all who replied to this thread - I am now living in dread of an endless glut of JAs and their accompanying flatulence :o :o :o
I didn't spot anybody mentioning when it is best to lift them..... when the flowers go to seed?..... when they go brown and fall over?......
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Last year I started with 8 tubers from Tesco....I've just dug the bed over and removed 25Lb of tubers with shoots on them. I've just moved the lot to a new trench along side an unsightly fence to produce a windy wind break. Some of the tubers which hadn't shooted ended up for tea. They still taste lovely. So it appears that the tubers stay ok in the ground all Winter.
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I have grown Dwarf Sunray and Fuseau from tubers bought from seed Cats.
The flowers are a bit of a distraction, you actually get better tubers by cutting the tops off at about 5' before the flowers start to form. Fuseau is alot less knobbly and so easier to prepare in the kitchen. The tubers are fully hardy, and in heavy soil getting them all out is the only problem, I'm going to move some to a lighter corner of another plot to see if I get bigger tubers!
They make great soup, and there is a way to prepare them to avoid flatulence, it is caused by the sugar in the tubers that we can't digest but our gut flora enjoy, but I can't remember what it is just at the moment...
;D
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I want to grow mine for the foliage and flowers not to eat! :D
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Last year I started with 8 tubers from Tesco....I've just dug the bed over and removed 25Lb of tubers with shoots on them. ... it appears that the tubers stay ok in the ground all Winter.
That sounds promising then Dingerbell.
Saddad - earlier in this thread someone mentioned Asafoetida as the anti-flatulence ingredient. I got some on the strength of the comment and tried it in one of my home-made curries - it works! ;)
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earlier in this thread someone mentioned Asafoetida as the anti-flatulence ingredient. I got some on the strength of the comment and tried it in one of my home-made curries - it works! ;)
Ooh, did you figure out what proportion of asafoetida to artichoke results in de-flation? ;D Pass on the recipe, please, weedin! :)
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Yes this discovery could have tremendous impact ... :D
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Ooh, did you figure out what proportion of asafoetida to artichoke results in de-flation? ;D Pass on the recipe, please, weedin! :)
Yes this discovery could have tremendous impact ... :D
'tis said that a quarter teaspoon of it in with the other flavourings/seasonings while it cooks through does the trick. So I put nearly ½ a teaspoon in a curry built for two. ;)
It stinks a bit (hence the name "asafoetida"), but the smell disappears quickly as it cooks. :)
Oh, and we've taken to trying it in other "potentially dangerous foods", like vegetable soups that contain beans etc.. ;D