5 Tips How to Grow a Ton of Jerusalem Artichoke/Sunchoke

In this video, I give you my 5 top tips on how to grow a ton of Jerusalem artichoke or sunchokes in just one raised garden bed or container.

Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland Australia about 45kms north of Brisbane - the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started Self Sufficient Me in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online so come along with me and let's get into it! Cheers, Mark :)

[notwithoutclass]

Instead of successive planting, here we grow Jerusalem artichokes with beans running up them. The Jerusalem artichokes don't mind (they'll grow no matter what!), and the beans take advantage of the support they provide.

[genghiskant]

Slow cook for 12+ hours or ferment to convert the inulin.

I highly recommend the slow cook method. The inulin turns into a digestible sugar and it tastes/smells amazing!!

[danahsutton]

I bought some off ebay after I i saw this and I now have 7' high flowers. I can't wait to try the tubors. Thanks

[kbjerke]

I know this is an older video, but I want to comment that I just tried growing "sunchokes" this year for the first time!
I'm using five gallon grow bags, and so far they have grown amazingly well! In a couple of months I hope for a bountiful harvest! Thank you, Mark!

[margaretvanson]

I love how honest you were. You showed us that your crop was not as good as you'd hoped.

[bexxISM]

Love your channel. I live in Vermont USA, it's a cold climate here ( or used to be). These plants are indigenous to here and the Native people shared this knowledge with the Europeans to help them survive. It's a great survival plant and they used to dig even in winter when needed. The Europeans called the plants a "Windy" food because of the gas. I'm a landscaper and I use this plant in many of my gardens.

[rogerseeholzer]

Thanks Mark, last year i planted 6 small pieces and harvested a tengallon bucket full from a raised bed. It is very prolific, but I do have to protect them from deer, as they love the leaves. Lastly, I slice them in thin slices and dehydrate them at low setting and make sunchips. Excellent and they keep for long periods of time. very crunchy

[lynnbry]

Jerusalem artichokes make a lot of inulin - a plant fiber that we don’t readily absorb but many species of gut bacteria can digest.. Depending upon the microbial species, they can release a lot of gas during the fermentation process in the intestinal lumen. Fermentation before eating may reduce the native inulin, making them less “gassy.”

[QuesoCookies]

The reason the fermentation helps with the gas is because the same bacteria that produce those gases in your gut are what are doing the fermentation in a jar. So you're basically predigesting them and doing more of the gas producing part outside your body than in it. This has the added benefit of breaking down more of all that indigestible fiber into digestible sugars before it passes through your small intestines where those calories can be absorbed. Fermenting makes the chokes both more nutritious and less gassy.

[JoJoMusicMaker]

Found a plant randomly growing in my backyard. I moved into this house 12 months ago, the property is subdivided, along the fence line I noticed something growing, thought it was a weed, google lensed it and whatdoyaknow!! I got me Jerusalem Artichokes!!!

[sandimorreale]

I'm in a cold area much of the year. I bought some at a supermarket locally and planted. I tried a few locations and these are a beast! They grew in clay mud next to garlic and onions, thru grew well in well drained soil, they grew in Rocky soil...even after being blown over! They are admirable!! Last summer I got 3or 4 5 gallon buckets of em, and still didn't have time for one if the beds. (Non contained) A month back I planted a row behind my place to make a wall between me and my neighbor with awful taste in music. I'll let ya know how it went. Lol

[ritcheymt]

Thank you so much for scripting your videos to keep them succinct and on topic. So many gardening channels fail to do this. If I had a planted sapling for every video I've watched that wasted 20 minutes of my time to get 5 minutes of good information, I'd have an orchard today.

[monicac.]

Love to make creamy soup out of them with crispy bacon topping 😋
And even better... oven baked chips 😱😋

[echognomecal]

I get such "favorite uncle" vibes 😄Saving this to my gardening playlist

[rosewood]

I wish all my veges are self sufficient, I love that you don't have to plant them they come back by themselves. I love that they are invasive. Mine are over 10 feet. We had a storm and I had to cut mine back they are so crisp they just break right off.... If you eat them gradually you won't get gas. It never bothers me. I guess because I eat a lot of beans my body is used to it. Another nice video thanks.

[marjamada]

Another excellent tutorial, thanks. Elliot Coleman, whom I credit with starting the organic farming movement in the USA, used to say "You call yourself a cabbage?" to underperforming veggies, from an encounter with a small cabbage. He went nearby and cut a large cabbage and took it over to the underperformer, saying "You call yourself a cabbage. THAT'S a cabbage!" You are a good teacher.

[onedazinn]

Best sunchoke video out there. I'll have to try your pickling suggestion. These are the easiest perennial veg to grow in my opinion...the stalks when dried are even useful for plant staking (I only dried the ones that grew huge in the ground not containers...these stalks are easily 6-8ft). I planted in 5 gallon buckets as well successfully & stored unwashed in peat soil overwinter

[kevinw]

I harvest mine in the spring during March and April. In the Spring they taste sweeter like a crisp apple.

[jimwalker]

😂, cute video. After watching this video, I planted a huge raised bed of these. I love the taste of an artichoke. Hopefully, I don't blow myself up.

[thedivide]

Your videos are the absolute best! I watch them endlessly. And it’s super helpful for me because I live fairly close to you (Ipswich) so your growing season is the same as mine