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Jerusalem Artichokes

© Leda Meredith

What is there not to love about a plant that thrives with little care, offers tall, sunshine-colored flowers in late summer through early fall, and provides pounds of delicious food?

Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus), also called sunchokes, are a native North American wildflower growing up to 6 feet tall. They are close cousins to sunflowers, but rather than producing edible seeds, they produce edible tubers.

Planting them is easy. Pick a sunny spot where they will live forever. I'm not joking! Even if you dig that area to harvest the tubers, you will still see Jerusalem artichokes popping up next spring. Even a chunk of one of the tubers will produce a new plant. If this is a problem, you could try growing them in large containers. I have a friend who successfully grew them this way. She planted three tubers in a large (20-inch) pot. They grew taller than she was in a sunny corner of her terrace, and yielded almost 3 pounds of tubers.

But true to their status as wild plants, they will be happiest in the ground. Be sure that the spot you have chosen not only gets good sunlight but is where the tall J-chokes won't shade out other plants. Loosen the soil a foot deep. This is to make it easier for your sake, to make it easier to harvest the tubers later. The J-chokes don't care, and will thrive as happily in rocky or packed dirt as in loamy soil. Plant the tubers about 3-inches deep and 12 inches apart. Then forget about them. Did I mention that J-chokes are drought-tolerant?

The only weakness J-chokes seem to have is that they are susceptible to powdery mildew. This does not affect the quality of the flowers or tubers, but is unsightly and can spread to other plants. If mildew becomes a problem, prune off the affected leaves. The plants will quickly put out new leaves at the nodes.

As for sources for J-chokes, the easiest, cheapest way for an urban dweller may be to buy some "sunchokes" at the supermarket and plant them.

Okay, you watched them grow taller than you are, enjoyed the long-lasting orange flowers, and now the plants are starting to die back as the days get shorter. Should you harvest the tubers?

Wait. They will be sweeter after a frost or two. Cut the stalks down leaving a foot or so of each to mark where you will dig. Jerusalem artichokes can be left in the ground over winter and harvested whenever the ground is soft enough to dig,

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