Storing Jerusalem artichokes

[caroline7758]

i dug up all my JA's a few eeks ago because i wanted to dig over the area where they had been planted. I put some in my fridge and some in my greenhouse, all with soil still attached (quite a lot of soil as it was pretty wet when I dug them up). They have all gone soft now. :(

Do you think this is because of the wet soil? How do you store yours?

[caroline7758]

[Flighty]

You should have cleaned/washed the soil off, dried them thoroughly then put them in a paper bag.
I did this one autumn, replanted them the following spring when they grew okay. 

[Ian Pearson]

It won't be the soil that has caused the problem, in fact leaving them in the ground is a good way to store them. If the ground is needed, I'd probably store them in a bucket of damp sand or spent compost, but they will be starting to sprout about now.

[caroline7758]

Thanks for the tips- I'll remember next year. I presume soft tubers won't make good new plants either?

[Ian Pearson]

JAs are hard to kill. I'd guess they'l be fine for replanting unless they are seriously desiccated.

[Robert_Brenchley]

They've probably dried out a bit. Soak them overnight in a bucket of water, and plant them where you want them.

[small]

For eating, I peel and store in the freezer, they come out fine for casseroles which is my principal use.
By the way, I like the notion of 'digging out all the JA's' - the only way I ever cleared a patch completely was to keep pigs on the area!

[caroline7758]

For eating, I peel and store in the freezer, they come out fine for casseroles which is my principal use.
By the way, I like the notion of 'digging out all the JA's' - the only way I ever cleared a patch completely was to keep pigs on the area!

Yes, I'm actually hoping I missed some now!

[saddad]

You probably did Caroline... it took several years of digging to get rid of them from one bed.. 

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've discovered something that kills them. Waterlogging. I had very few survivors by the end of last year, and it remains to be seen whether any are still alive.

If you really want to get rid of them, dig the ground over, wait till the surviors come up, and lift them individually.

[caroline7758]

You probably did Caroline... it took several years of digging to get rid of them from one bed.. 

Good to hear from you, David- hope all's well with you?