Description
Supplied: Two rhizomes for planting.
PLEASE READ
Jerusalem Artichokes are a warm – season perennial and are dormant over Winter.
Once harvested, rhizomes are prone to drying out. To preserve them for the growing season, we recommend you:
-store them in the crisper drawer of the fridge (NOT the freezer)
-Plant immediately and wait for Spring. Note, they may be vulnerable to rodents or to rot in waterlogged soils
-Grow them indoors or in a greenhouse in a pot, to get a head start for next season, and transplant outdoors after your last frost date.
Description
A staple food from the Americas, Jerusalem Artichokes grow vigorously through Summer. They produce multiple bright yellow flowers on stalks that can reach 5 meters in height. Underground they produce a crop of rhizomes that look similar to ginger and can be eaten raw or cooked in a variety of ways. One plant will easily produce dozens of tubers which can be harvested once the plant dies back in Winter. Bright yellow flowers attract beneficial insects and dead stalks can easily be mulched, used as stakes, or turned into insect hotels.
For more information on Jerusalem Artichokes, see the wikipedia page.
Care
Chose a sunny position where the plant can be watered through Summer. Tolerant of most soil conditions however will produce larger and smoother tubers in a well draining soil with plenty of organic matter incorporated. Plant 10cm – 15cm deep and water daily for the first two weeks to help the plant get established. Mulch is recommended. Stalks generally do not require staking. This plant can be interplanted with vining plants such as beans or cucumbers which will use the stalks as a trellis, or with sweet potatoes as both sweet potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes can be harvested early in Winter.
