Comments on: When do I dig Jerusalem artichokes?

By: Pasty Muncher

Pasty Muncher — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:50:53 +0000

Show your support for the Charity Sponsored Fart - Fuelled by Artichokes!

By: macrobill

macrobill — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 22:48:39 +0000

To deal with the wind. Most important for these and all vegetables and grain – chew them well – minimum of 50 times to 200 times. Digestion will be greatly improved as will nutrition derived from them to feed the body.

Ciao!

By: joco

joco — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:12:59 +0000

Hiya Soilman,

Tell all your neighbours or the entire village about them and a high percentage will come by and harvest them for you. What’s even better, they’ll take them off your hands
Grow something edible instead, like softfruit or asparagus, which you actually want to eat.

By: Soilman

Soilman — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:12:49 +0000

Thanks everyone for terrifically helpful comments.

By: laura

laura — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:23:29 +0000

Forgot to mention a couple of years back there was a discussion on KG forum on the same subject and someone suggested adding Asafoetida or Devil's Dung and Indian resign used as a spice. For all those who tried it it worked. I forgot to try adding Asafoetida so perhaps there is salvation.

By: laura

laura — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:14:04 +0000

fun post soilman fartichoke no amount of special cooking, adding fennel or savory or drinking copious amounts of pastis(pernod)stops the hurricane effect for me – I love eating them and I live on a mountain so I don’t care.

Re-cultivation. I read something like this somewhere not sure where though. …..In midsummer remove flowerheads and cut back stems to 1.5-2m (5-6ft) so energy is concentrated on tubers. Keep moist. When leaves begin to yellow in autumn cut back the stems to 8cm (3”) above ground. Lay foliage over as a mulch to aid harvest in winter…..

I generally leave the flowers but when the stalks begin to die back I cut them down to about a foot off the soil and mulch with leafmould or straw.

By: irena

irena — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:07:20 +0000

great post soilman and lots of useful comments. I’ve grown jerusalem artichoke for years but only for the blooms. this year I plan a taste test. I hope yours bloom. mine are almost there. the cheery yellow flowers are worth the wait.
cheers
irena

By: Patrick

Patrick — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:01:15 +0000

You should probably wait until the tops are killed by a frost, then cut them off. And, yes, like every said, just harvest through the winter according to your needs.

Moderation is probably the best way to deal with the wind. The wind is caused by inulin, the sugar they contain. It bothers some people more than others, and usually isn’t a big problem for me.

My favortie way to eat them is first clean them, cut off the bad spots and quickly put them into acidulated water to prevent browning. Then rinse, briefly pat dry and rub with a little olive oil. Roast at 200C or so until they turn brown and start oozing a bit. Serve with butter if desired (and allowed by your diet).

Mine are already blooming, so yours must be on their way. How did you get yours to grow up? Mine are sort of growing across the ground, and I was unprepared with anything suitable to support them.

By: Cazaux's Food Factory

Cazaux's Food Factory — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:09:39 +0000

My mate Bob’s growing loads of them.

I plan to avoid him for few months when he’s dug his ones up.

By: Clare

Clare — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:56:55 +0000

I too am growing them for the first time so this is useful for me. To reduce the fart effects when eating them, the tubers should be parboiled and the water used discarded. They can then be roasted, souped or whatever as usual. They’ll still make you fart, but not nearly as violently. Trust me – I have experimented.