I already have a bed that I’m trying to shift to sunchokes. The groundnuts sound interesting and a friend was able to track down a couple of roots for us so we’ll give them a try.
Thanks for the suggestion!
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Just a note. My jerusalem artichoke has been very invasive. When I got the plant, they gave me a large plastic container and suggested I plan it within that pot to keep control of its growth. Of course, I turned a deaf ear (why do I do that?) and it has spread across my garden and into my yard. I will have to dig up all the tubers to cut it back, and that will be a challenge.
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I tried to grow them together in a small raised bed. The sunchokes grew wonderfully, but the groundnuts languished and I could find no sign of any tubers besides sunchokes when I dug them up. My first batch of groundnuts were from Oikos but I tried again to plant some in the sunchoke bed another year, I think from Fedco? Anyway, those did not do well either. I dug up the sunchokes last fall because no one in my family particularly likes to eat them. Too bad because they grow really easily; may need to put plastic or plywood over the that area to get rid of them. On the other hand the plants that people do like eating have a lot more problems!
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I discovered last year that if you make lacto-fermented pickles with them, they are really quite good. If you’re in to that sort of thing.
I have done a certain amount of lacto pickles from various veggies - that is a good idea, maybe I’ll try that out. Do you slice them up first or leave them in big chunks?
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I actually just washed them thoroughly and fermented them whole in brine:
Since I wrote that post, I feel like the flavor balanced out quite a bit. My brother really liked them and I sent him home with a jar. I should crack open another jar tonight and see how they’re faring. I like to take the pickled tubers and slice thinly.
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Cool. I just like them sliced thin and baked with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. SO MUCH.
I’ve never tasted groundnuts. They just should like fun.
I was planning on trying one of the Sunchoke varieties Oikos says is clump forming. If it’s not I’ll be one more person learning a lesson often learned…
@Itmaybejj
So I have done all most exactly what you proposed.
Although the artichokes where there first , and well established.
Planted ground nuts on either side ,the ground nut are thriving,but seam to be heading" away from "the artichokes .
I would have thought they would have mingled more. And maybe they would if planted at the same time . Both seam to be thriving, but maybe not playing well together.
No plans to grow anything else in that area in the foreseeable future… As I believe it may be all but impossible to eradicate
Either one !
Will be fun to see who wins. May not be me ?
So… Be carful what you wish for.
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Harrumph. Thank you; that has me rethinking.
Other comments…
Jerusalem artichokes are a amazing plant. On good ground they can produce more organic matter ( both above and below ground) than about anything I have seen.
They store great in the ground,
I just don’t eat that many , but it’s a good food source if you need it. Survival food. Care free. May try the ferment mentioned above. Hard to get rid of. Can/ will slowly spread.
Great in the right place. By there self, or of to the side somewhere. ?
Ground nuts I really like the flavor etc. would eat a lot of but, hard to dig in my clay soil, would be best in a sandy soil. And it too is a very aggressive plant. But a vine that spreads.
Deer will eat the vines if they can, feed value better than alfalfa. They like something to climb on
So both are amazing food plants ! In the right spot.
Both could be hard to control. In the wrong spot.
Just need to give them a spot where they can do there own thing. Keep both away from other things you care about.
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I made Sunchoke vinegar pickles in the past Need Pickled Sunchoke/Jerusalem Artichoke Recipe - #4 by lordkiwi They came out quite well. The carbohydrates in sunchoke are stored as inulin that breaks down to fructose after cold cycles. This is going to turbo charge any lacto pickle.
I need to get ready to pickle my stash I have a trash can full of them out back
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I agree vinegar pickles would be the way to go once they sweeten up. I did my ferment while mine were still mostly inulin. Theoretically, the microbes break down the inulin for you.
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There’s a thread on Permies where they recommend a bunch of different methods for cooking and preparation. The winning methods for dealing with the inulin so far: fermentation or freezing. Apparently freezing them for at least a week turns the inulin to sugar. Folks in colder regions liken them to candy out of the ground after winter, so chucking them in the freezer makes sense in that regard.
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I sent out for three varieties from OIKOS. Supernova for sweetness, Red Fuseau for a standard red variety, and Spindel for strong (yet not bitter) flavor. I’ll report how they do in my tropical heavy clay once they arrive and I’ve grown them for a season.
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Jerusalem artichokes and groundnuts are exceptional vegetables in my opinion, groundnuts may be my favorite vegetable. They taste like a cross of peanuts and potato and are very good roasted. I also really like jerusalem artichokes roasted and in stir fries as well as raw.
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Was already planning to try Jerusalem artichokes. You folks have given me more to think about. Thanks!
i only realized jerusalem artichoke was edible about 5 yrs. ago. they grow all over old farmland here. i just thought they were a perennial sunflower. i imagine the old-timers must have eaten them as well. i dug some from a patch on a old road near here last summer. ones i got were huge and white. i found them pretty good but the wife didnt care for it. i wonder if the named cultivar ones are even better? i planted red and whites last fall.
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When you harvest makes a difference as does how you prepare them. Spring harvesting will be sweeter fall will be more vegitable. You can boil them I also make deep fried chips that taste like or couse artichokes.
@robjohn Dont worry they are not as hard to control as people complain about. Just keep them mowed and they will exhaust there energy. But try them in a large grow bag or old trash can they grow great, easy to harvest and wont be able to spread.
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Great idea about the container. This year I will cut a plastic 55 gal. drum in half and try some in that. At least it will be a start.
The top left is the result of a 5gallon grow bag. In my limited expreance sunchoaks seem to try to run there roots as far as possible and form tubers once they hit resistance. So the 55gallon approach might be counter productive. And overly heavy.
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was that 1 seasons growth and how many roots did you start with?