Sunchokes and groundnuts?

Curious to see if anyone has attempted to grow Sunchokes with groundnuts (apios americana) and how it went? In theory, it seems like a perfect pair,  like a perennial three sisters, but I'm hoping to get the input of more experienced gardeners.

I don't know if I'd call myself an experienced grower of either, but they've been existing together for the last 3-4 years.  Jerusalem artichokes were to be temporarily planted in a large pot,  which of course sent roots into the ground and I've had them in the same spot every year.  Groundnuts were also planted in pots temporarily,  but then I planted them in the same spot that fall.  The area gets partial shade in the summer and was originally set up as my nursery area.  The groundnuts actually climb my garden fence more than they do the sunchokes,  but that could be due to the fence being nearer.  I'm not sure how they would do together long term as I can see exposed tops of the sunchokes as they multiply  and would wonder if they would eventually choke/force out the groundnuts.  

Eric Toensmeier has been experimenting for years with this and says the harvest time for digging the tubers is kind of off.  Here's a video of him describing this.

Putting either of these crops in containers seems like a good idea.
I don't have them but groundnuts seem pretty difficult to harvest, from what I've read.

My sunchokes could benefit from being grown in a loose friable medium, something that would make cleaning easier.

I would not have thought to grow them together, since they are both root/tuber crops.

i grow copious amounts of apios americana as animal feed.

sunchokes and groundnuts take up the same location in the soil, and will eventually begin to compete with each other for space. groundnut does very well in place of the beans in the traditional 3 sisters growing method; saves me the trouble of having to collect and dry out shell beans. The tubers from apios americana for me are best to harvest in late winter/early spring; well after the plot has mulched down over winter, but well before I begin to think about putting corn in the ground.

I do not even know what groundnuts are, but I know Jerusalem Artichokes (sunchokes) and have them 11 ft high each summer. We are in the piedmont portion of South Carolina with red clay soil. We plant the sunchokes in a raised bed (in the dirt, without sides) and we harvest all of the tubers during the fall, winter, spring (the tubers keep during the freezing weather in the ground). Invariably, there are many little pieces of tubers left after we harvest them "all." The second year we planted 16 -20 cut pieces of tuber, but found that the bed is already teeming with viable pieces of tuber, so the planting is not necessary. Jerusalem Artichokes are native (and invasive). Easy to grow, hard to get rid of.

They taste good raw. Crisp like a water chestnut. They can be kept in the refrigerator submerged in water for about 30 days. They can be kept in the ground until late spring, when they will all begin to grow new plants. They have little taste when roasted or boiled or steamed, think Irish potatoes, but take on the taste of anything they are cooked with or any spice added. The starch/carbohydrate of the JA is different (internet search will give the details; not my area). No fertilizer needed. No weeding. No maintenance. Lots of food. Indian gardening. Enjoy. Email shiplaw@jhcooper.com if you want more info.

I used to grow sunchokes but although they taste good I found I did not like dealing with the gas issue.  

The gas issue, according to my wife, is solved by boiling the sunchokes before cooking by baking, frying etc.

No idea about ground nuts, but we are in our first year of sunchokes and love them. Planted them last June and have been harvesting all winter. If you keep them in the ground through a hard frost the sugars concentrate in the tuber, and roasted or pan fried (think very thick potato chips) they caramelize and are absolutely delicious. I’ve tried curing them for a few days before preparing to help with the “fartichoke” problem some people have, seemed to work for most of our fam. We’re at 6200’ with less than 8 inches of rain, so anything that grows without too much fuss is very welcome.

Last year was my first experience ever with groundnuts. They were already there, planted by a former renter, at the allotment garden I took over. Beautiful climbers with flowers. The nuts in the ground are difficult to find though. I only had a handful of them at last.
Sunchokes I am growing for years in my back yard, so I can say I'm experienced.

I do not think they go well together. The sunchokes seem to love some shade, while the groundnuts do very well in a sunny spot. The sunchokes are harvested in November (until end of winter). Or maybe you live in a place with lower winter temperatures and you harvest all of them at once (maybe October already?). In that time of year it's even more difficult to find back where the groundnuts were located ...

This is only my opinion. Maybe you garden in a different way and you always know where to find your tubers etc. in the ground.

John Hughes Cooper wrote:The gas issue, according to my wife, is solved by boiling the sunchokes before cooking by baking, frying etc.

I don't agree. I boil them but still have the gas issue ...

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:

John Hughes Cooper wrote:The gas issue, according to my wife, is solved by boiling the sunchokes before cooking by baking, frying etc.

I don't agree. I boil them but still have the gas issue ...

It is claimed that lactofermenting them solves this issue.  I need to confirm this.

I “grow” sun chokes on the west side of the house. They take care of themselves and provide shade in the mid to late summer sun, giving me a nice office window view. Groundnuts, also tubers, are planted elsewhere,

as a note about the gas; it is only experienced by folks who have issues processing inulin (a fibrous sugar like substance that humans do not digest well) , but if you ferment the roots (lacto ferment, in a 2.5 %  brine) nobody experiences the gas issues any longer.

Ground nut note- here in the high desert, I plant these tubers very near to my fruit/nut trees, they will climb the trees through the season and weave in between all the branches, creating some more natural shade for my trees, which is very important in this climate. I only harvest tubers on years where the top growth was overwhelming.

Joey Gates those are beautiful sunchoke flowers! Such huge plants. I used to get flowers on mine but past couple of years the plants barely get waist high. Any ideas why they are not thriving anymore?  I dug thru the bed about 3 yrs ago an harvested the largest tubers. They are self-propagating so I've left them alone other than watering from time to time as it's been too dry for several summers.  I only use organic fertilizer/nitrogen base and have some aged wood chips on the ground around their area.  They are in full sun 6-8 hrs/day. I would like to try groundnuts but from reading the other posts it seems not good companion plants with sunchoke. Do the sunchokes like acidic or alkaline soil pH?  

Denise Cares wrote: I used to get flowers on mine but past couple of years the plants barely get waist high. Any ideas why they are not thriving anymore?  I dug thru the bed about 3 yrs ago an harvested the largest tubers. They are self-propagating so I've left them alone other than watering from time to time as it's been too dry for several summers.  I only use organic fertilizer/nitrogen base and have some aged wood chips on the ground around their area.  They are in full sun 6-8 hrs/day. I would like to try groundnuts but from reading the other posts it seems not good companion plants with sunchoke. Do the sunchokes like acidic or alkaline soil pH?  

If you haven't thinned them out in 3 years, that could be the issue. Is your stand really thick with stalks? I haven't left our patch long enough to see what 3 years does for overcrowding them, but that would be my first thought, given how they multiply. Regardless, I'd dig up some of it and have a good looksee at those tubers, just on good practice. This patch is only 2 years old, but we thin it annually.

Thank you for the suggestion Cornelious, it might be 3 years already since I dug thru the patch.  As soon as the snow melts I will try to harvest some of the chokes and see what there is. It might be that the roots are healthy in spite of the poor flowering. The stalks were quite thickly growing.  I did not harvest any last year.