Sunchokes and Jerusalem Artichokes for Sale

Description

What Sunchokes Are

This tuber-forming sunflower has been cultivated in North America by Native Americans for thousands of years. It is productive, nutritious, and easy to grow.

Sunchokes grow wild through much of North America. Wild tubers run smallish and spread over a wide area around the mother plant. There is tremendous genetic variability across the native range, so among plants making small tubers you will sometimes find much larger ones. Native Americans noticed that and selected for the bigger, smoother, less knobby tubers. That selection is where the named varieties below come from.

If you are after another native tuber with the same history, Apios americana was cultivated alongside it for just as long.

A Word of Warning Before You Plant

Sunchokes are easy to grow. Sometimes too easy.

They can become weedy if you are not thorough about digging the tubers out at harvest. The tiniest piece left in the ground will grow a very large plant next year. In a wild area that is fine. In a vegetable garden they will be an aggressive competitor and they will win.

We recommend planting them in their own separate area where you can keep them in check by mowing around them. Better yet, grow them in large containers. We use 15 gallon pots here so we can contain them, and harvest is far easier out of a pot.

How to Plant Sunchokes

Start with a whole tuber. Large ones can be cut in half.

• Plant 4 to 6 inches deep in winter or early spring
• They do not want highly fertile soil. Too much nitrogen makes big tops and few tubers.
• Added phosphorus will be appreciated
• They grow in any soil but do best in loam or sand. We have had no trouble in our clay.
• In containers, a light bark mix works well. Straight compost is fine if the nitrogen is not too high.
• Then get out of the way. Depending on variety they run 5 to 14 feet tall.

Plants bloom in late summer and the tubers do not form until then. All the energy made through the summer transfers into the tubers in late fall. Harvest after the tops die back for winter.

Cooking Sunchokes

Jerusalem artichokes are best cooked. They make a nice crunchy pickle and work as a potato substitute in most recipes.

Some people have digestive trouble after eating them. Longer cooking times seem to help. That is down to inulin, the carbohydrate sunchokes store instead of starch, which converts to fructose when cooked.

They are high in vitamins A, C, and E.

Our Sunchoke Varieties

$21.00 per pound across every variety, free shipping.

Gigante

Very large pinecone shaped tubers. Earthy, nutty flavor with no sweetness. Plants are very large as well.

Lola

A large smooth tuber that is white with a pale pink blush. Some as large as a fist. Very productive.

Mixed Genetics

This is just what it says, a mix of varieties from all across the country. Several different colors, shapes and sizes. Flavor will vary some. A surprise with every shovel full.

Red Rover

Red skinned long tubers. Vigorous tall plants. Mild flavor. Tolerates poor soil.

Refla

A red skinned variety that is variable in shape and size. Slightly sweet with a dense texture.

Sideview

This started many years ago as Red Fuseau and White Fuseau and has grown feral here at our farm. It still has the red skin but the tubers have grown more variable as the years have gone by. The plants likely outcrossed with wild Jerusalem artichokes in the neighborhood, so there is some variability in the tubers. Tubers have retained their smooth skins and lack of knobbiness.

Stampede

Large tubers, round on the end tapering back to the root end. Vigorous and productive. Large plant.

Star White

Clump type, good for containers. Nutty, not sweet. Lots of small to medium tubers. Productive.

Supernova

A heavy yielding variety with an unusual carrot-like flavor that is very appealing. Plants are shorter than most. Tubers grow in a large mass close to the base of the plant.

Weisse Truffle

Compact producer on a compact plant, about 6 feet tall. Smooth tubers close to the plant. Mild flavor with good production.

Shipping

We dig and ship October through March. Free shipping on every order.

Planting a fall bed? Persimmon trees go in the ground the same season and feed you for decades.

Questions Folks Ask Us

Are sunchokes and Jerusalem artichokes the same thing?

Same plant. Helianthus tuberosus. Sunchoke is the newer name, Jerusalem artichoke is the old one, and you will also see sunroot and earth apple. It is neither from Jerusalem nor an artichoke. It is a sunflower.

When do you plant sunchoke tubers?

Four to six inches deep in winter or early spring. We ship October through March so you can get them in the ground at the right time for your area.

How tall do sunchokes get?

Anywhere from 5 to 14 feet depending on the variety. Star White and Weisse Truffle stay compact and suit containers. Gigante and Stampede get large.

Do sunchokes come back every year?

They do, and then some. Anything you leave in the ground comes back next season. Plant them somewhere you are happy to have them permanently, or grow them in large containers.

When do you harvest sunchokes?

After the tops die back for winter. The plant moves all its summer energy into the tubers in late fall, so harvesting before that gets you less.

Why do sunchokes bother some people’s stomachs?

They store their carbohydrate as inulin rather than starch, and not everyone digests it easily at first. Longer cooking times help. Start with a small portion.

Will deer eat sunchokes?

They will, and that is why these belong in a permanent food plot. Deer browse the tops through summer and root for tubers once the ground softens. Pair them with Deer Magnet persimmon and Millwood honeylocust and you have feed dropping from late summer straight through winter.