Jesusalem Artichokes Finally Flowered
My Jerusalem Artichoke finally flowered. This is my first time growing these and I’ve really not known exactly what to expect. I probably should have consulted some good gardening book first, instead of just putting them in the ground this spring. I knew enough to know they spread like crazy so I isolated them in a box of their own.
For one thing, I had no idea they grew so tall. Some of my plants have to be over 8 feet. The flowers are very pretty – not unexpected since they are related to the sunflower – and are brightening up that part of my garden nicely.
My understanding is that I wait now for frost to kill the foliage, cut back the stalks and mulch the beds. Then dig up the tubers through winter just a couple weeks supply at a time. Does anyone else have some good advice to add?
I’ll admit I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do with them after you dig them up. Who has cooking tips or really good recipes to share?
I can go out and search the internet but I always like to start with advice from fellow gardeners first!
September 15, 2012 - 4:25 PM
Mine haven’t flowered yet and it’s getting late for them. They have been growing in the same container for years, I just add a little soil and fertilizer each spring. I’ve actually never dug mine up to eat, but that is one of my goals this winter, especially since the plastic container they are in is 15 years old and about to disintegrate.
I’ve bought local JA before. They are good sauteed with a little butter and salt and pepper, or peeled and sliced super thin into salad like jicama.
The season is upon us. Lot of organizations are making apple butter. Or, what passes for apple butter nowdays. Red, runny applesauce is what it is. If you want ole timey apple butter, you have to make it yourself. Talking the kind you cut outta a jar with a spoon. When you can dip a tablespoon and turn the spoon upside down and none falls or runs off, you got applebutter. Note: Apples, like everything else, are ripening early this year, so don’t wait too long.
wd – I’m with you on the apple butter. Love it, but it’s hard to find the good stuff, so you’re better off making your own, if you have time. My pet peeve is too much sugar in the store bought ones. If the apples are sweet, you don’t need a bunch of sugar.
It’s definitely a learning process and ongoing. But good!!!
Good time to mention this KH. Making applebutter is as simple as plugging in a crockpot. The pot does the work after peeling, coring and dicing them. Ole timey recipes called for pippens, red and yellow apples. I have come to the conclusion that that ole timey wisdom was due to using what apples they had available. Any tart apples requires more sugar than a sweet one. A hard tart apple requires more cooking time. Again, ole timey wisdom dictated a mix of red and yellow apples, again, a throwback to what was available. I’ve settled in on a sweet apple, color not important. Sweeter the apple is, the less sugar you need. Golden delicious, romes, staymens will work. Or, make the best pot you ever made from tree ripe goldens. Afterall, when you peel it, they all look the same. More later on how to speed up cooking time and maybe some byproduct. IMHO.
When I lived in Cincinnati, there was an apple orchard very near my house that was the oldest family-owned orchard in Ohio. They did apple tastings, just like wine tastings at a winery. One of the family members was this old lady – probably late eighties, early nineties – who worked in the store area most days.
I went to ask her advice one day on the best apples to use for applesauce if I didn’t want to add any sugar, and she told me to try a combination of Jonagold and Melrose apples. She said, “Honey, it’ll be the best applesauce you ever had in your life. It’s better than sex!”
Not sure I agree about the sex part, but that WAS the best applesauce I ever ate in my life! I put a bunch in the freezer and every time I opened a jar, I said “this is the best applesauce I’ve ever eaten!”
That was my apple combo until we moved here, which is when I discovered that Melrose apples are the state apple of Ohio and you can’t get them here. Ever since, I’ve been looking for the apple that will duplicate the taste, but I haven’t found it yet.