The great big thread of sunchoke info - growing, storing, eating/recipes, science facts

Love them  had some a few years and  3 years ago they died out in mid season. So after couple years a small patch of about 3 last year popped up in an another part of my garden in the asparagus patch so needless to say I replanted every tuber I could find but now they also popping up all over it going to be a  very interesting year for them this year.

I found a nifty article on sunroots (I am a convert to Joseph's preferred terminology) in the December 1846 issue of The Southern Planter, with especial emphasis on their value as a fodder crop for raising hogs:

For the Southern Planter. JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE.

Mr. Editor, — In your paper (the Southern Planter, Vol. III. No. 4, page 1,) is an article on the cultivation and value of the Jerusalem Artichoke, (Heleanthus Tuberosus.) If you have that paper I would like for you to publish it again in the Southern Planter, and state under the piece that I have a crop of them now growing and if any person wishes to give them a trial they can be supplied with seed any time between now and the next spring. They may be planted any time from now until the first of March. For the information of those who are not acquainted with them, and perhaps might suppose that they are the common round artichoke growing generally in this section of country, I would state that they are quite a different root, resembling the Spanish or sweet potato and the color of the yam potato. I have for several years wished to procure seed, but have been unable until last winter to do so. A gentleman living in Nash county, North Carolina, brought a small quantity from Tennessee a few years back, in his carriage ; from them he raised a crop, whence I got mine. I have been told that they are much prized in Tennessee and Alabama for their great profit in raising and fattening hogs. If they be of so much value in those countries where corn is raised so plentifully and sells so low, of how much more value ought they to be in this country where corn is so much dearer. The artichoke is the easiest crop to 1 cultivate of any that is made by ploughing and hoeing — and after they are made there is no risk in losing, for the place where they grow is the best to preserve them through the winter, and turning the hogs on them, saves the trouble of digging.

Very respectfully,

Nath'l Mason. Summit Depot, Northampton, N. C.

In compliance with this request, we re-publish the following :

"From the fact, that many inquiries have been made of late in relation to this very remarkable and useful plant, I am disposed to speak a few things of its culture and uses. — The Jerusalem artichoke is a native of the warmer parts of America, and of course was unknown in Europe till after the discoveries in this country by Columbus and his coadjutors. Since that time it has been cultivated to consi- derable extent on the continent as well as in Great Britain, but the reports of its profits have considerably varied, in that, as well as this country. In the Old World some have culti- vated it to afford shade to the game ; others have converted the stocks and leaves into fodder for cattle, and others again, have encouraged its growth for the tubers alone. In this country there are two important objects to be kept in mind in raising artichokes; 1st. The improvement of land ; 2dly. The use of the tubers. — However, the first matter is the cultivation, and I begin with

1. Soil. --  Almost any kind of land will produce artichokes, and it is remarkable, that they will grow in the shade, that is, under trees, or in fence corners very well indeed. Land, how- ever, with a tolerably good sandy mould will give the most abundant crop. Low, wet, soils, and very tenacious clay are not so suitable.

2. Preparation of Land. — The ground should be broken as for corn, that is to say, one good, deep ploughing, and a thorough harrowing will answer the purpose admirably.

3. Laying Out. — Rows laid off four feet each way with a bull's tongue or shovel plough, in most soils, will be the proper distance.

4. Quantity of Seed. — From four to five bushels will be required to the acre, and unless the long roots are broken to pieces of three or four joints, or eyes each, this quantity will not be enough.

5. Manner of Planting. — Drop one root at each cross of the plough and cover from one to two or three inches with a harrow, hoe, or plough.

6. Cultivation. — So soon as the young plants appear, run round them, with a cultivator, har- row or light plough to destroy the young weeds, and loosen the earth. Keep the ground free of weeds and open to the influence of the atmosphere, till the plants are about three feet high, when they should be laid by, by the use of a cultivator; or in the absence of a cultivator and when the land has been ploughed, the harrow should pass both ways to leave the ground loose and the surface level. Generally, about the same cultivation given to corn will answer well for artichokes.

7. Digging. — This is the most troublesome job in the management of this crop ; and if the hoe is the dependance, the labor will be very tedious. The better plan, is to lay off a land as for breaking up the ground, so soon as the frost has killed the under leaves of the stocks. The plough should run from six to nine inches deep and let the hands, big and little, pass di- rectly after the plough, to pick up, that none of the roots may be covered by the next furrow.

8. Yield. — The produce to the acre is va- riously estimated from five hundred to one thou- sand bushels, and it is probable the turn out on medium land would be nearer the latter than the former.

9. Uses. — In England and other parts of Europe, the tubers have been considered quite a delicacy for man, and without doubt they make the most beautiful pickle. But their chief importance, in this respect, is their use in feeding hogs. From the middle of October to the middle of November, the hogs may be turned on the artichokes, and with salt always in troughs to which they can have access, they will grow T and thrive till next spring, particularly, if the ground is not too hard for rooting. I have not experimented to ascertain the quantity of hogs to the acre of good artichokes; but from the observation of two seasons, I am of the opinion twenty head will do well on an acre for months. As some have complained their hogs would not root after them, it may be necessary, as hogs, like men, know not much before learning, that they be taught to root after them. This is clone, by calling the hogs after a plough that will throw out the roots, till the grunters learn their habitation, which will re- quire but a very short time.

10. Improvement of Land. — As the stocks grow from ten to fifteen feet in height, and have thick, porous foliage, much of the food of the plant is received from the atmosphere, and thereby the soil is not so heavily taxed as by other crops, the ground is protected from the killing rays of the sun and the stocks and leaves fall and rot very soon, — these advantages, with the manure from hogs, afford the cheapest, and amongst the richest coats in my knowledge. — It is my conviction, (in the absence of long experience) that artichokes in summer, and hogs in winter, will enrich our poor lands cheaper and much better than upon any other plan. To be sure, a farmer cannot have all his land in ar- tichokes, but every one should have enough to support his hogs through the winter, and I venture those who give this crop a fair trial, will reluctantly abandon it.

11. General Remarks. — A few farmers of my acquaintance have informed me, that they have succeeded with corn and artichokes together, and it is highly probable this will prove a successful mode of cultivating these two crops; but on the system of 1 one thing at a time,' we would prefer each crop separately. Some have supposed the second year's growth on the same ground would be more valuable than the first ; but this is a mistake. The plants grow so thick the second year, that not more than half a crop can be anticipated. It might answer, to plough out rows and cultivate the second year ; but the practice of putting artichoke lands in something else the second year, is the plan 1 much prefer.

Amongst the arguments which might be used in favor of this crop, it should not be forgotten, that there is no labor of digging, but for seed ; that more troublesome weeds and grasses are completely smothered out ; and last, but not least, the young plants the second year are more easily subdued than almost any weeds known. Take artichokes, all in all, I think them worthy the attention of every farmer who wishes to enrich his lands, or raise his pork with a small outlay of grain. T. F.

I think this video is an awesome example of how resilient sunchokes are:

John Suavecito wrote:There is a genetic component to bitter flavors. Some people, like my wife, can't handle bitter hardly at all. These people tend to be subject to sweet tooth, but rarely have substance addiction problems.  I on the other hand, like a variety of bitter flavors, don't have a particular affinity for sweet flavors, but have had my struggles with addictions to substances.  This is the genetic pattern. It also strikes ethnic groups in patterns, and that's one of the reasons why some national cuisines have certain traditions, besides of course, climatic factors and access to certain biomes.
John S
PDX OR

This is very interesting. My sister would have fit into the category of your wife, and I am in your corner. We used to fight over whose addiction was the worst, hers, the sugar; mine, the alcohol. This is the first time I've seen anything that links it to particular biomes. Although we're supposed to be sisters, it's possible that genetically we are not.

Susan Doyon wrote:I have loads of these , they make me very gassy !  I have not found a way to cook them that I really love but they are so pretty when in bloom  

Adapted from: https://patents.google.com/patent/US4871574A/en

Mince them in a food processor, add white vinegar to reduce the ph to @ 3 , add water and boil for 15 min's, bring the ph back up to six with baking soda, tip the contents into a sieve and rinse.

The link states that the inulin is converted to fructose when boiled at a lower ph. Now I just have to convert the result into mince pies to compliment the season in which I harvest them, winter.

buy tubers?  I see these growing wild all over both in Wisconsin and now down in GA, and when I ask permission to dig some I am generally told yes.  Most folks don't know they are edible.  I just cook them in the microwave like baked potatoes, then sit in front of the TV, bite off one end, squeeze the creamy inside into my mouth, then chew up the chewy (but not fibrous) skin and eat it too.  A little butter and salt and it's suppertime.  Gave some to one of my Md's and he sauteed the peeled roots in olive oil and said they were delicious (but I did warn him about the gas effect...)

Marsha Richardson wrote:The biggest problem I have with them is that the deer just love browsing them which drops tuber production something fierce.

We have about a six-foot strip behind our back ~4' chainlink fence that has a county easement on the other side that the county maintains. The easement is sunny, but there are some trees in the strip. Our back yard has a lot of area that was once pine forest that we've been taking trees down from, but some trees remain and the area is going to be left pretty much wild. We also have too many deer that come through, jump the fence, and come in and eat what I don't want them to eat. I'm wondering if I plant that strip with sunchokes, it wouldn't keep the deer on the "easier" side of the fence and give them plenty to eat. I wouldn't want a thick stand to intrude too much into the yard, but twenty feet into the back yard would be fine. What variety would work best for this purpose? I'd just want to leave it to grow and not harvest it.

Diane Kistner wrote: I wouldn't want a thick stand to intrude too much into the yard, but twenty feet into the back yard would be fine. What variety would work best for this purpose? I'd just want to leave it to grow and not harvest it.

I'm trying that, I'm leaving a corridor of 'sun roots' and comfrey for the deer to graze as they move down the property but still they chomp on the cukes. I'll try to implement a scarecrow before investing in a 9 foot fence. Ha! my dog would chase off the deer but as soon as they ad a fawn they would chase off him!

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Then I happened to read a book called  Brain Maker.  It's about the connection between gut microbes and brain function.

This is a *great* book - along with all others in the "Brain" series by Dr. David Perlmutter.

I began reading his books as he is a neurologist and I have been dealing with epilepsy since the age of 13.

Now in my early 40's I'm seeking some alternative / adjunct therapies besides traditional pharmaceuticals.

However, back to the sunchokes - I'm glad to see this reference here by Thekla, more good info from an unsuspecting source about this plant in his books.

Joseph Lofthouse: I'm trying to get the seeds off my sunchokes. I see nothing that looks like your picture. Bear with me on a silly description, see if it makes sense or if I need to draw it. There are the flower petals, when they fall off what's left looks kind of tufty. When the tufts comes out, what's left is sharp bits. When the sharp bits are gone it's just a bare stub left. I am guessing the tufts are the seeds? Or is it the sharp bits? Neither one looks like your seeds.
Tell me if I need to draw this...  

For what it's worth, BAD year gardening here, there may be no viable seeds at all. But first time I've ever tried to seed them, and I'm not sure what I'm looking for.
As always, I thank you for your help  :D  (and I thank anyone else who can answer this!!)

:D

Richard Gorny wrote:I have finally found a way to eat my sunchokes without a gas mask afterwards ;) Fermenting seems to work just fine. Either sliced tubers, or whole, both work. Sliced one are ready in less than a week, for whole ones I had to wait a bit longer. I have used just salted water and some spices.

I definitely second all those who've said that fermenting sunchokes/roots/whatever is great. It's by far my favorite way to eat them, and I've never had issues with indigestion that way. Here are my old notes on my favorite ferment for them:

"A quart of sunchokes (adapted from Elizabeth Schneider's recipe for vinegar pickled sunchokes in Vegetables From Amaranth to Zucchini, who in turn modified a recipe from Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables: A Commonsense Guide) can be sliced about 1/4 in. thick and spiced with 1 small onion in rings, 2-4 dried chili peppers, 1 tsp. mustard seed, 1/4 tsp. celery seed, 1/4 tsp. aniseed, 4 whole allspice berries, 2 bay leaves and the usual 1.5% salt solution" (that's 1.5 tsp. good non-iodized salt/pint of good water without "cides" like chlorine, chloramine, etc.).

These days I would say definitely add black pepper, and probably also a little fresh-grated nutmeg if you've got it; and a shallot is very nice instead of the onion.

I'm very excited to announce that I planted a pound of sunchokes in the "tuber delta" next to some garlic yesterday. I had bought two pounds, and I sliced the second pound similar to the above and combined with sliced fennel bulb, red onion, carrots, scallions, minced ginger, garlic, habañero, and other hot peppers for a half-gallon of fennel sunchoke kimchi a la Kirsten and Christopher Shockey's Fermented Vegetables. It produced a lot of fragrant brine and is looking awfully delicious today:

Pearl Sutton:

Here is what a sunroot flower looks like when cut from sky-to-root.

Sunroots require a non-related pollinator, so if the seeds didn't get pollinated, their basic structure may still be there, but they will be tiny and shriveled. They are already tiny, I mean even tinyer.

I've had long experience with the tuber, which I really like. I eat it raw like a radish or boiled in its skin then peeled on my plate with a gob of mayo, like my asparagus. I've also squeezed the soft 'meat' out of it once it is well boiled. That works best with the early fall tubers of the year: They are almost roundish, not so knobby and they cook very soft.
Mention the tuber to old folks in Europe, like my dad in France, he said to me that he had eaten so much of this generous tuber during WWII that he could no longer stand to look at them: In occupied territory, no one grew fat because there was nothing to eat ... except Jerusalem artichokes! [which are not from Jerusalem and are not related at all to artichokes [except the taste]. The Jerusalem part comes from the Italian girasole, meaning that "it turns toward the sun". Indeed, since it is from the sunflower family, the flowers tends to turn toward the sun.
If it flowers before frost, honey bees will go on it very willingly, and since it is very "branchy", you can get a lot of [smaller] flowers. Here, the flowers have not developed seeds, so I could not tell you if you could reproduce them better from seeds if you tried multiple selections.
They will winter over very well even in very sandy Central Wisconsin [zone 4] and without any protection, so I have never attempted to store them in a root cellar. If you want to go the root cellar way, I would suggest that you do not wash the tubers and keep them with some soil, like carrots or Belgian endives or they will dry and rot.
Deer are very fond of the young sprouts in the spring, to such a point that if not protected, the deer will kill the patch. Plant them outside of your good garden soil and fence them until the sprouts have developed in a more woody plant, then the deer will not be interested.
Regarding flatulence, yes, they can give you gas but some are more "gassy" than others. There is a pink skinned variety that gives smaller tubers but which gives me painful gas, so I've stopped eating it. [I grew it only one year]. It is also not as vigorous. I'm fine with the white-ish skinned if I eat it in moderation [but it is so good!] You can prepare it any way you would eat a potato [baked, creamed, fried, boiled...].
If you are into developing a 'landrace', I would suggest selecting the largest and most smooth & uniform tubers because the main reason that they are not sold much commercially is that they are very "knobby". If you were to try and peel it mechanically, like they do potatoes in a scrubbing and rolling machine, the crisp vegetable would break into a lot of small pieces and you still could not get rid of all the soil in the creases. Those knobs come in a very regular pattern all around the tuber and next year, each knob may give rise to a new start going in different directions but mostly forward from the terminal tip.
Because I have very sandy soil, the roots and tubers will travel very far laterally in one season [like 5-6 feet]. So yes, in your good garden soil, it can be very invasive. Since even a tiny piece left in the ground will give you a full sized plant next year, it can be very, very invasive in sandy soil. In dry weather, they tend to go deeper too, so can escape being harvested.
I hope this helps.

Joseph Lofthouse: Thank you!! That answers my question enough that I can figure out what I have. I have several varieties, so there was chance for cross pollination, it was a very bad year here for a lot of things, including birds and bugs, so it's possible the pollinators I saw were not enough to do it. Also possible the fungal issues I had messed things up. I'll dissect a few flowers, see what's in there.
Thank you!! :D

Pearl: Sunroots flower so late that sometimes they get frozen before making seeds. And the birds are really aggressive about eating the seeds. I often wrap the flower clusters in floating row cover to save some seeds. I typically crush the dried seed heads, and blow away the light things, leaving the seed behind.

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:Pearl: Sunroots flower so late that sometimes they get frozen before making seeds. And the birds are really aggressive about eating the seeds. I often wrap the flower clusters in floating row cover to save some seeds. I typically crush the dried seed heads, and blow away the light things, leaving the seed behind.

They haven't been frozen, and we have no birds. That's part of the horrible year here, I don't know where the birds are, but they are not here. Last year at this time I'd see about 100 birds a day in the yard, this year it's more like 2 a day. I did cover some of the heads a while back, and didn't see anything different in the covered vs uncovered ones. I'll dissect a few, now that I know what I'm looking for. I thought I'd be able to just gather seeds, didn't expect it to be a challenge.

Sunchokes, Sunroots, whatever you call them have several different relatives.
A relative to Heliantus Tuberosus is Helianthus Pauciflorus, normally found in the Great Plains and south-central Canada. These ones spread by tubers and by seed. Still another related variety is Helianthus Multiflorus, another perennial. This one however may not flower for one or two or more years after being planted. It may also have a few tiny seeds. Heliantus Tuberosus, at least the three varieties that I have here in the east (west-central Pa.) don't seed at all. The flowers are barren. The ones I have are Stampede from online, Red Fescue and Fuseau, both gathered locally.
I live on a 1 1/2 in-town lot, not a lot of room, but I've learned a few things about them. They are mildly allelopathic which means they have means of suppressing foreign growth just as walnut trees suppress the germination of walnuts and several other trees and weeds under their canopy to reduce competition. Two years ago I stumbled onto some Red Fescue (I'm fairly sure of my ID) in a flower bed nearby that's being destroyed along an alley. I mixed them with my patch of Stampede. Last fall when I dug them up, they were not well formed or well sized. I scattered them a bit more in the Stampede patch. This fall I got the exact same result. I just found out about them being mildly allelopathic and I've dedicated a separate area for them this fall to see if they do better next year. In the tiny patch I got them from, they were nearly the size of the Stampede. The ones I harvested last fall and this fall were small, had some rough skin patches and were few and far between.
Regarding the gas issue, pardon the pun, I've found there are several ways to reduce and eliminate the gas. Freezing for extended time converts the Inulin into Fructose. In zone 5 we get solid freezing for several months where the ground is too frozen to dig. When I harvest in early spring they're almost like eating candy out of the ground because of the Fructose. Fermenting as pickles or sauerkraut converts the Inulin. Cooking with acidic mixes such as vinegar, citrus juice etc. also converts the Inulin as does extended cooking for several hours. Native Americans would make a pit fire, cover the hot coals with dirt or leaves, layer on the fresh 'chokes and cover them with more dirt leaving them roast for several hours. My wife and I love ours canned as Bread-n-Butter and Dill pickles. Even though they don't ferment when canned, the vinegar kills the gas effects pretty well. If I had a good cool place I'd try making sauerkraut again. I tried it once, but our house has no cool spot and I didn't use enough salt, they turned out mushy and musty tasting.

I noticed I had no weeds under the sunchokes, if they are allelopathic, are they mean enough to take out Johnson Grass? That would ROCK. I have big patch in a spot chokes would LOVE, and I can't put anything else in there due to rowdy grass.

:D

I've noticed very little grass or other weeds in any of my well established 'choke patches too. Strawberries do very well along the edges and creep way into the patch, but I tear them up when I dig. There were two lambsquarters that popped up in the spring, but they only grew to about 16" - 20" while others around grew 4' - 6'. The first two years I had horseradish mixed in the Stampede patch and it did very well. The third year and after, it stunted badly and refused to spread. I had a nice bundle of Day lilies started where the Stampedes are, they keep popping up really well and I keep digging them up and moving them. Some stuff doesn't do well, while others don't seem to be affected. I'd try them around that Johnson grass to see how they do. You may not see much effect the first year or two, but by the third year they might just kick butt!

Blaine Clark wrote:I've noticed very little grass or other weeds in any of my well established 'choke patches too. Strawberries do very well along the edges and creep way into the patch, but I tear them up when I dig. There were two lambsquarters that popped up in the spring, but they only grew to about 16" - 20" while others around grew 4' - 6'. The first two years I had horseradish mixed in the Stampede patch and it did very well. The third year and after, it stunted badly and refused to spread. I had a nice bundle of Day lilies started where the Stampedes are, they keep popping up really well and I keep digging them up and moving them. Some stuff doesn't do well, while others don't seem to be affected. I'd try them around that Johnson grass to see how they do. You may not see much effect the first year or two, but by the third year they might just kick butt!

Hey, any experience with sunchokes and poison ivy? If they suppress poison ivy growth, I know exactly where I'd put them!

Diane Kistner wrote:

Hey, any experience with sunchokes and poison ivy? If they suppress poison ivy growth, I know exactly where I'd put them!

Oh good idea! I had an elm tree cut, it was solid poison ivy all the way up, and 95% strangled to death by it. I know where there is some I haven't dug out yet.

Lordy-Lordy!! You've got me thinking too! We've got some Japanese Knotweed around town and it's spreading. I'm going to present this idea to the area garden club and see if it'll fly! If they can arrange to get me access and permission to seed some tubers into a patch or two of JK we'll see what happens.

Pearl Sutton wrote:I noticed I had no weeds under the sunchokes, if they are allelopathic, are they mean enough to take out Johnson Grass? That would ROCK. I have big patch in a spot chokes would LOVE, and I can't put anything else in there due to rowdy grass.
:D

Wow! That would be something! and yes, there is *some* allelopathy of *some* plants to helianthus tuberosus.
This study shows allelopathy to the germination process of some plants. My quack grass and the Johnson grass, unfortunately are perennials growing from a rhizome. Once they germinate the game is pretty much over.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254214667_Allelopathic_Effects_of_Helianthus_Tuberosus_L_on_Germination_and_Seedling_Growth_of_Several_Crops_and_Weeds
I'll tell you, though, that this gives me some ideas: Using the *top* part of the sunchokes, we should try some chop and drop all around the garden as as perimeter of defense: I can usually keep my beds relatively free of quack grass, although it is a never ending fight. If I could chop the tops and integrate them in the ground , I'd like to see what the results would be. Even if it would only weaken the long rascals, it would be worth it! Perhaps in strawberry beds: Once the strawberries are in position it might help them to compete. Chop and drop would also enrich the soil otherwise, so win-win!  :D