Any tips for harvesting Jerusalem Artichokes?

I have a small patch about 3ft by 4ft. We have had two frosts already, and the plants are still looking green and growing. I'm assuming I dig the tubers like potatoes...

When should I harvest them?

How should I store them to make sure they last as long as possible? We will get snow and freezing weather, so leaving the ones I want to eat in the ground won't work here.

I have had very bad luck with storing them. In general, they turn nasty, rubbery, soft, and then liquid once out of the ground. I did have a ziploc bag of them last all winter in the crisper when they were in damp and dirty vermiculite.

Yes, they are like potato, you will get the most out of it when above ground part is brown and dry, meaning all mobile nutrients are stored in the tubers. I would wait for hard freeze. I tried poking around the base of the plants before and by blooming time (Sept in my area), the tubers are very skinny. Significant bulking happens when the seedheads are forming and temperature is cooling down. Some times I can see the soil near the base get pushed up every day. If you have a dry condition, water the ground deeply, plants needs water to move the nutrients.

I just dug up one plant from the gamcod plot for testing. The ground looks flat so I am a bit worried about the yield. That plant has lost almost all the leaves and the stalks are half way dry. It has a dozen egg size tubers. Maybe those will get bigger given a week or two.

Hello Matt!


I have had the best luck with storing them in the ground.  I know it sounds crazy but they seem to tolerate the 0 degrees of eastern WA just fine.   Even with no mulch they have shown no signs of frost damage.   They are crisp, fresh and perfect.    

If you are worried about predation from winter active rodentia, or you just want to harvest now in the fall, you can mimic leaving them in the ground by burying a barrel and filling it with dirt and your root crop harvest.  

We have a poor man's root cellar.  I dug three holes that each fit a food grade plastic 45 gallon barrel.  The tops are flush with the earth and have a plywood cover.  I drilled holes in the barrels to have some ventilation and drainage.

I just layer all my root crops in the barrels with earth between them.  They keep great, all winter and into the spring.  


They will also do well in the fridge in a bag of dirt.