I want to grow sunchokes all over different parts of my property and harvest the biomass for compost piles. I am doing the same thing with comfrey. What do people think about this idea? Has anyone else done it? I also want to use this strategy along fencelines to keep the weeds down.
I don't deliberately harvest sunroot biomass to make compost piles. I compost them in place. Works fine for me, the stalks break down fine before spring. It seems to me like sunroot biomass production is diminished if the tubers are left in the ground without thinning. I haven't measured, it's just my sense of the matter.
I was thinking of harvesting some of the tubers for the first few seasons and spread them all around the farm until I have as much biomass as I want. At that point I wont really care if the biomass per plant diminishes because I'll have so many of them
Joseph Lofthouse
author & steward
Posts: 7205
Location: Cache Valley, zone 4b, Irrigated, 9" rain in badlands.
Connor, my question to you is, how well do they grow on your land? I like the idea if they will grow well where you are and the vast majority of your effort in the process will just be harvesting.
Might want to think about how to use some of the food value in all those tubers, as well as the tops. Whether you eat them yourself, run them through pigs, or both.
If you have acces to fee buckets, grow them in buckets. I have grown them both ways, but bucket grown are just so easy to store and harvest.
They chop a droo just the same,and the still get 6 feet or so tall.
Consider growing some diakon radishes, they can be consumed or left to add to the soil. They also self seed, so if you are like me, you will end up with random radishes on your land. The greens and seed pods are very tasty.