Jerusalem Artichoke Plant Profile

Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) also known as  Sunchokes are perennial plants grown for their nutritious tubers. Note that is not a type of artichoke, nor did it originate in the Middle East. In fact, it is a sunflower and is native to central North America.

They do best in full sun and are hardy to USDA Zone 2 to 9. They grow best in soils of at least average fertility, very good drainage, and a pH that is slightly basic to slightly acidic. The plants need a long growing season to produce a good crop. They do not do well in containers due to their height and the rhizomes and tubers grow.

Plant them on a site that is large enough for the sunchokes to become well-established and the rhizomes to run  The plants are tall and vigorous, and resemble skinny yellow daisies. The rhizomes that can fill a garden patch quickly in one garden season. The rhizomes produce tubers during the last half of summer each year.

Sunchokes are most often started by planting small tubers or parts of larger tubers, they can also be started from the small seeds produced by the pretty yellow sunchoke flowers.

Sunchoke tubers are low in calories, and are a source of several B vitamins as well as iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium. The tubers can be consumed fresh or cooked, and they can be preserved by pickling. They can be prepared in several ways, including baked or boiled. The tubers should be thoroughly scrubbed before preparing them for cooking or consumption.

 After the flowers fade in early fall, they can be trimmed down to a couple feet tall.then the harvesting can begin. Harvesting can be done either all at once or one plant at a time, or tubers can be selected and harvested as needed.

After harvesting is finished for the season, there still may be a few tubers left in the ground. They will overwinter and sprout the next spring.

Jerusalem Artichoke: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio, Photos, and Text by Kathy Jentz

Video and Editing by Ellen Isaacson

Additional Video by Madison Korman

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 PIN THIS FOR LATER!

Then we pulled one of the Jerusalem Artichokes aka Sunchokes from the pollinator garden strip. I had planted them there this spring figuring that the concrete borders will keep them in check and in future years they'd be available as a food crop to anyone who needed them. Pictured below are the tubers from that plant. I am letting them cure now along with the few Sweet Potatoes we harvested a few weeks ago. 

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