When does jerusalem artichoke start shooting and what does it look like?

[Somersetlad]

Hello there

My first post.

I've got a nice little plot in my landladies back garden, and am busy filling it up with different veg at the moment. I planted quite a few jerusalem artichoke tubers in jan / feb time about 2 - 3 inches down.

I wondered what time I can expect them to break through the surface, and what there going to look like at this early stage. At present I seem to be getting a good crop of weeds, but can't figure whether any of them will produce a crop for artichoke soup!

Many thanks for the advice

Cheers

SL

[Somersetlad]

[sally_cinnamon]

Welcome to the site somersetlad - there are plenty of people on here to give you useful hints and advice, but with this question I'm not one (!) but here's my input...  I've been given some JA tubers by one of my plot neighbours and he told me that when they grow they look a bit like sunflowers....  Will be good to hear other peoples advice for when I plant mine!

:)

[Somersetlad]

I've been doing some homework. Here are the artichoke's in growth -



which gives a round guide - i.e. that they're green. Does anyone have any idea what they look like when breaking through and what time of year they normally do this?

Cheers!

[saddad]

They are a bit slow off the mark... usually late April here, they are rough to the touch but smaller versions of those leaves...
;D

[theothermarg]

got inspired by carol klein and picked some up at tesco,s to try they are just breaking ground now
marg

[OliveOil]

Mine are in but not up yet either... Think the weeds will have taken over soon though!

[Barnowl]

Weeds usually don't stand much chance against JA's once they get going! I did one weed while waiting for them to come up and that was it.

If you're lucky they'll flower

[Curryandchips]

I am currently clearing out the 'old' bed, and am finding tubers that have sprouted, the shoots are only small, perhaps an inch long, so wont have shown above the surface of the soil yet.

The flowers are attractive, I picked them during late September last year, a lovely bit of colour in the living room for a few weeks.

[Somersetlad]

Great, thanks for all the advice. I guess mine are still lurking below the surface - hopefully the sunshine over the Easter weekend will encourage them to get going!

[louise stella]

I dug one up by mistake yesterday and it was only just beginning to sprout! 

So patience!!

Louise

[allaboutliverpool]

Remember that Jerusulem Artichokes grow to 8-10 feet high and will need support if they are not to fall over the rest of your plot. They also create a lot of shade. The often do not show until late April, so be patient. You also do not need to plant them deep as the tubers grow close to the surface.

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments2_my_allotment_in_liverpool.html

George

[Trixiebelle]

8-10FT HIGH?

*THUD*

That'll teach me to read the instructions on the bag  ::)

[Barnowl]

Also bear in mind they tend to like to travel underground. I've now got a brick barrier about 12" down below the bed edging at the division between the JA bed and the asparagus alongside. Should have had a path between them!

They sound a bit thuggish, but they are amazingly productive and have a wonderfully subtle yet distinctive flavour.

[Rohaise]

Can somebody tell me how do to prepare and cook them ,please ?  Rohaise

[Eristic]

What emerging shoots look like. This early riser volunteered to pose as it was a nice sunny day.



If grown well they can attain a height of 4-5 mtrs. I normally lop them back in late summer to about 2 mtr without harm.

As for cooking, ask 6 cooks get 20 answers. They are a versatile foodstuff and can be eaten raw, boiled, fried, roasted, chipped, mashed ..... Be careful not to overboil them or you will get a pan of glue.

[jennym]

That's a good picture Eristic - only thing missing is the slug holes  ;D
The slugs do seem to love jerusalem artichokes, but I never bother doing anything about it as the plants seem to survive initial slug attact and grow very well anyway.

[Barnowl]

Can somebody tell me how do to prepare and cook them ,please ?  Rohaise

The classic use is for soup:

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,91/topic,26288.msg257613#msg257613

but there are lots of other uses. The above recipe contains a very useful tip which is to steam the JA's then squeeze the contents out - that's because they can be very knobbly and hard to peel.

Search the recipes section for more

[Curryandchips]

I like them peeled, thinly sliced then stir fried - they then taste very similar to water chestnuts.

I also made JA gnocchi, quite successful, and my daughter claims to have preferred the JA gnocchi rather than the potato version - details on the Recipes board. Perhaps I just make awful gnocchi ...

Derek :)