Jerusalem Artichoke

Jerusalem Artichoke

I first found this plant in my neighbor's garden in Massachusetts. He had a fire in his house and decided to demolish the site. He moved to Florida and told me to take any of the flowers that I wanted from his garden. These were alongside his fence and were very easy to transplant.

They are very durable and have survived fire, being transplanted and then again being transported to Western New York.

The Jerusalem artichoke was titled 'best soup vegetable' in the 2002 Nice festival for the heritage of the French cuisine. Despite its name, this hardy perennial is native of North America. Prepare the vitamin and mineral-rich roots as you would potatoes. Or enjoy their sweet nutty flavor by slicing them raw into a salad or a stir fry.

This perennial grows from 4 – 9’ tall. The tubers are gnarly and uneven, vaguely resembling ginger root, with a crisp texture when raw; they vary in color from pale brown to white, red or purple. The crop yields are high, Jerusalem artichoke also has a great deal of unused potential as a producer of ethanol fuel.

Harvesting should be done after the first frost. Dig the roots with a spading fork as needed. They are thin skinned so keep them moist until you are ready to eat them. The roots keep best in the ground, even over the winter.

Sir Walter Raleigh found Native Americans cultivating sunroots in what is now Virginia in 1585. When the sunchoke reached Europe in the early 1600s, thanks to Samuel de Champlain, it was known as the "Canada" or "French" potato.

Jerusalem artichokes are easy to cultivate, which tempts gardeners to simply leave them completely alone to grow. Even a small piece of tuber will grow if left in the ground, making the hardy plant a potential weed.

CAUTION: very invasive. Best planted next to a fence and the rear of the flower bed.

Here is a squirrel whose main purpose in life seems to be to bury peanuts and chestnuts in every part of my garden. He and his partner live in a tree in front of my house. They spend most of their time frolicking around the power lines and fence tops. We have learned to live in harmony together.

Sedum and Garden Chores for September

Sedum Autumn Joy – Stonecrop

Drought tolerant perennials flourish well in full sun or light shade. They grow well in poor, dry soils. Zones 3 – 10. One to two feet in height

Their pink flowers turn a rusty red and remain colorful throughout the winter months. They can be increased by division or by rooting leaf or stem cuttings. Butterflies love sedum flowers.

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September is the best time to buy plants.

The garden centers need to clear their inventory of summer plants, trees and shrubs to create space for fall and holiday plants, so they reduce prices.

The cooler weather allows plants to expand their roots so it is an excellent time to plant peonies, and low maintenance perennials, such as hostas, daylilies and daisies. Independent nurseries generally have a larger discount than the mega stores. Also, stores like Home Depot, etc., return the unsold plants to the distributer and seldom reduce prices.

September chores for Zones 5 and 6.

Sow perennial and biennial seeds outdoors.

Remove spent blooms.

Prepare soil for fall planting.

Dig, divide and replant iris.

Divide and transplant spring flowering perennials.

Plant poppies and peonies.

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I have been very busy this past week gathering seeds from the flowers and making sure that I also gather the seeds from any weeds.

*** If you catch the weed seeds in time it will prevent your garden from being inundated by thousands of unwanted plants in the Springtime :-)