Great Sunchoke Experiment

I read recipes for Sunchoke wine. How did that taste?

I used Jack Keller receip. His receip seems reliable and works for me.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request157.asp

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It should be pretty bland in flavor and aroma, like vodka. however, I added spice into the must. Now the wine has little clover, anis, and earthy aroma. Not very strong alcohol smell like brandy or vodka has

This is my remaining sunchoak. It is I believe the white type though I preferred the red. The old trash can has plenty of holes at the bottom and is filled with old broken down died wood chip mulch toped with a bag topsoil. Looking forward to seeing what I get. I will have to find a red type to replant next year.

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Looks like you have papaya too😀

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yea oops, babaco

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The Wind toppled my sunchoak and before I stood it back up i discoverd they where bursting out the bottom. Buckets have to be the best way to grow choaks by far. Only wish I had saved a Red skined.


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While I am pleased. The yield is actuly quite a bit less then the previous years 5 gallon grow bags. I feel the tubers developed more fully. Based on the observation that the majority of tubers formed at the bottom of the trash can. I concluded that Tuber formation starts when the roots meet resistance. Growing in 5 gallon bags in NJ yield a full bag but since they got over crowded the could not all fully develop. Moving to a 10 gallon bag i think would maximize my output. At the same time if you where a zone or 2 warmer you might maximize on a 15 or 20 gallon bag.

I still perfer the shape of the Red Tubers I had previously and while I do not have that cultivar, I did purchuse some generic reds from wholefoods I will plant out into this trash can. I will also plant a few of the white roots and and Red roots in this can. I also intend to top this can with a bag of dehydrated horse manure.

I am changing a lot of variables this year but my goals to discover are. Do the also form there tubers at the bottom. If not then does a mixed planting improve yield by filing the space more. Does fertalizer improve yields.

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i got reds and whites in a raised bed as well as ground nuts. put in last fall and mulched with chic bedding. anxious to see how they do.

Change of plans. I bought some grocery store reds. instead of reusing my trash can full of leaf I combined it with several bags of potting soil to fill my new grow bags.


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I am certainly moving backwards with my results.



Going to try again this year going to use the same soil with added shredded leaf litter. clearly I need to add some trace minerals and supplements to my soil mix.

I also have to dig up one spot in ground where a sunchoke took root. See what the in soil yields where.

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I don’t cook with them as often as i want to.
I and everyone else here always has to many. It’s an extreemly vigerous grower!!

The trick for me is to use limited amounts. More as an added taste, spice almost. Than a bulk ingredient.

Some taste like artichoke to me (not the canned babey artichoke but the big cooked one, where you scrape of the bottom part of the picked “flower leafs” with your teeth. Quite an strong/intense taste

Storing them is easy. Leave em in the ground till you want to eat them. Storing them any other way leaves the shriveling up within 2 weeks for me. In the ground they stay “fresh” the whole dormant season.

outside the ground, your best bet would be in a plastic bag in the fridge. They have a verry permeable skin. So even in the fridge they loose moisture fast.

I wonder if washing and keeping them in a small amount of damp coconut coir would be a good option for storage? That could eliminate the drying out in a bag.

worth a try. I would also try and store that on a cool dark spot.

For me i just grow a patch inground. And “harvest” (dig up) from the edges when i want to eat them. Let it regrow from the middle part next season and repeat.

Least amount of effort for maximum gains.

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They can be stored 2-5 months that way with sufficient cold. This is a hardy north american tuber not a wimpy south american one.

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Every year, before the ground freezes in the fall, I dig up whole bunch of the artichokes and put them directly in 5 gallon bucket without washing. then cover them completely with soil on top. This way, I can store them whole winter in the garage.

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When I grew them, I pickled them with turmeric, dill and vinegar. This way, they stay crispy for a long time.

I stopped growing them due to the invasiveness and the value/work with digging and collecting. Deer loves them.

I had both plain and purple skinned. I live the regular type better with its tenderness and larger roots.

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There not invasive there native. they are simply to gregarious for there own good sometimes.

But tell me about the purple skinned? and do you know of a good white type? this one is prolific but they tend to form small tubers.

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Sunchokes are known to be very invasive. Any small piece of tuber you leave in the soil will re-grow next season. They almost never die. Some people grow them in container for that purpose to control them.

Most of them are unnamed. You’ll have to find the varieties you like. Sometimes I still see some sprouted in my garden. Them I remove any trace of them. I grew them inside my deer fence. I’m afraid deer will want to jump into my garden just for the sunchokes. They love sunchokes.

Im just being pedantic. “Invasive” has a special meeting, and you don’t apply it to native plants even if they run amuck and are hard to control. No matter how much poision Ivy is around I technically can’t say its invasive.

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