Jerusalem artichoke planter

[boxofdelights]

Cultured: How Ancient Foods Can Feed Our Microbiome, by Katherine Harmon Courage, made me want to grow Jerusalem artichokes. Courage argues that we evolved to eat lots of fiber, and lots of different kinds of fiber; and Jerusalem artichokes contain a kind that is particularly good for our metabolism.

I read that they were prone to spread and hard to get rid of, so I wanted to plant them in a container. I had a big plastic water trough

that was no longer usable as a water trough, after an unfortunate encounter with a tank heater that failed to shut off and melted a hole through the bottom

which made it usable as a planter. I dug a hole for it, though it might have been smarter not to. I might want to move it later, if it turns out not to be a good spot. I filled it with sticks, which will absorb water and hold it in the root zone, and also open up the soil to help the roots breathe. I don't know whether wood does that better than compost, but I had a lot of sticks.

This is my compost screen. I'm using it to filter out perennial weeds: grass, bluebells, dandelions, bindweed. There will still be perennial weeds in the soil, but I'm giving myself a head start.

This is a pound of Jerusalem artichoke tubers, right before I pushed them four inches under the soil. They're a little crowded here, so I kept back four for my husband's garden.


And a picture of my dogs just because:

Comments

[the_siobhan]

You know, I don't know that I've ever eaten a Jerusalem artichoke.

[boxofdelights]

Me neither! I couldn't find them in local nurseries or grocery stores -- I had to order them online.

[minim_calibre]

I grew up with them in the yard. They're tasty. They're also a bit on the gas-producing side. (I should see if Mom still has any growing or if they've finally died off.)

[boxofdelights]

I was warned to add them to my diet a little at a time, or there would be worse digestive consequences than gas. Which makes sense if you think about as a microbiome: if you're giving your guts a new kind of fiber, you have to give the microorganisms that can digest that kind of fiber time to increase their numbers, or it will pass through undigested.

[philomytha]

Good luck with it! I like Jerusalem artichokes, mostly because I adore real artichokes and will try anything that's advertised as 'a bit like artichokes' - salsify is nice too, though a pain to prep.

[boxofdelights]

Can you buy them in grocery stores where you are, or do you just have to know someone who grows them?

[muninnhuginn]

Yum! I love (f)artichokes.

[boxofdelights]

I hope I will too!

[lunabee34]

Good luck, little artichokes!

[boxofdelights]

Thanks!

[jesse_the_k]

Did your exceptionally attractive dogs assist with stick collection?

I read an amusing book by a GI doc called GUT: the inside story of our body's most underrated organ. She sang the praises of Jerusalem artichokes because they provide just the right prebiotic fibers for happy digestive enzymes.

[boxofdelights]

The dogs are entirely ornamental. I hope the sunchokes will make my gut happy!