A friend gave me a small handful of Jerusalem Artichokes last spring.
Stuck them in the ground and since I could not get out and do anything
last year I had 4 large trees. I now have 3 good-sized buckets full
of the roots. They taste pretty good. Now to figure out what to do
with them. According to the Web they could replace Ex-Lax for some
people.
--
USA
North Carolina Foothills
USDA Zone 7a
To find your extension office
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html

On 08/02/15 17:29, The Cook wrote:
A friend gave me a small handful of Jerusalem Artichokes last spring.
Stuck them in the ground and since I could not get out and do anything
last year I had 4 large trees. I now have 3 good-sized buckets full
of the roots. They taste pretty good. Now to figure out what to do
with them. According to the Web they could replace Ex-Lax for some
people.


I hear that the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab investigated them as a
propulsion system in space. It didn't work too well. The conclusion of
the report was flatulence will get you nowhere.


--
Bernard Peek


In search of cognoscenti (again)

The Cook wrote:

I now have 3 good-sized buckets full
of the roots. They taste pretty good. Now to figure out what to do
with them

First of all, now you have them for life...dig up all the roots you can
fine; what you missed will make a fine crop the next year. Other than the
usual boil and/or roast with herbs, they're good pickled. And yes, the
indigestible carbs could eliminate the need for fracking!

--
Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/4 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

On Sun, 08 Feb 2015 13:02:57 -0500, Gary Woods
wrote:

The Cook wrote:

I now have 3 good-sized buckets full
of the roots. They taste pretty good. Now to figure out what to do
with them

First of all, now you have them for life...dig up all the roots you can
fine; what you missed will make a fine crop the next year. Other than the
usual boil and/or roast with herbs, they're good pickled. And yes, the
indigestible carbs could eliminate the need for fracking!

I had put them on one of my boxes so I should be able to keep up with
them. As DH said, we can pull up the plants as they appear this
spring. I will make sure that I keep them in the box.
--
USA
North Carolina Foothills
USDA Zone 7a
To find your extension office
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html

On 2/8/2015 11:29 AM, The Cook wrote:
A friend gave me a small handful of Jerusalem Artichokes last spring.
Stuck them in the ground and since I could not get out and do anything
last year I had 4 large trees. I now have 3 good-sized buckets full
of the roots. They taste pretty good. Now to figure out what to do
with them. According to the Web they could replace Ex-Lax for some
people.

Go on the web and look for recipes for the chokes, also known as
Sunchokes. I've had some for years and in zone 9b at the time they
became a menace to the world, you have to get every little piece of root
out and burned or tossed to get rid of the things.

They are pretty tasty peeled and lightly fried and I have made pickled
chokes several times that are also tasty. Fried they give you mucho gas
and gastric distress, pickled, not so much. They are healthy though. The
Plains Indians used them and cultivated patches for many centuries. Have
not found a critter that will eat them or even attack them.

Finally moved back to Texas to get away from the damned things, they
will grow on concrete too.


They last a long time without care so are useful that way and the blooms
are like sunflowers so sort of pretty. Lots of luck!

On 9/02/2015 4:29 AM, The Cook wrote:
A friend gave me a small handful of Jerusalem Artichokes last spring.
Stuck them in the ground and since I could not get out and do anything
last year I had 4 large trees. I now have 3 good-sized buckets full
of the roots. They taste pretty good. Now to figure out what to do
with them. According to the Web they could replace Ex-Lax for some
people.



I know someone who grows then simply to shade a western facing window so
that her house doesn't heat up in the late afternoon. She doesn't eat
them at all.

When I saw how lovely they looked at full height, I thought her idea of
using them for shade rather than for culinary purposes was a really good
one.

I used to grow them many years ago but haven't had any for decades. I'd
have asked the shade grower to give me one or two of hers but she's one
of those miserable gardeners who always wants things but never gives
things. She's a rarity in having that sort of attitude amongst the
gardening fraternity in my experience.

Fran Farmer wrote:
....
I know someone who grows then simply to shade a western facing window so
that her house doesn't heat up in the late afternoon. She doesn't eat
them at all.

how tall do they get?


When I saw how lovely they looked at full height, I thought her idea of
using them for shade rather than for culinary purposes was a really good
one.

do the stalks make good sturdy stakes?


I used to grow them many years ago but haven't had any for decades. I'd
have asked the shade grower to give me one or two of hers but she's one
of those miserable gardeners who always wants things but never gives
things. She's a rarity in having that sort of attitude amongst the
gardening fraternity in my experience.

some people have a hard time giving up any of their
children...


songbird

On 2/8/2015 9:47 PM, songbird wrote:
Fran Farmer wrote:
...
I know someone who grows then simply to shade a western facing window so
that her house doesn't heat up in the late afternoon. She doesn't eat
them at all.

how tall do they get?
The ones we grew got ten or twelve feet tall.

When I saw how lovely they looked at full height, I thought her idea of
using them for shade rather than for culinary purposes was a really good
one.

do the stalks make good sturdy stakes?
When totally dry they might make good stakes, I just chopped them green
and tossed them in the compost heap.


I used to grow them many years ago but haven't had any for decades. I'd
have asked the shade grower to give me one or two of hers but she's one
of those miserable gardeners who always wants things but never gives
things. She's a rarity in having that sort of attitude amongst the
gardening fraternity in my experience.

some people have a hard time giving up any of their
children...


songbird

Be aware they are invasive in most climates Songbird.

George Shirley wrote:
....
Be aware they are invasive in most climates Songbird.

right now i'm not planting too much that won't
get eaten, by the description it sounds like Ma
wouldn't touch them with a ten foot stalk. so no
worries for now on that count.


songbird

On 9/02/2015 2:47 PM, songbird wrote:
Fran Farmer wrote:
...
I know someone who grows then simply to shade a western facing window so
that her house doesn't heat up in the late afternoon. She doesn't eat
them at all.

how tall do they get?

These must have been at least 8 ft tall given the height of the windows.


When I saw how lovely they looked at full height, I thought her idea of
using them for shade rather than for culinary purposes was a really good
one.

do the stalks make good sturdy stakes?

I don't know. They were lush and green and I didn't touch them or go
near them so I can't say. They were certainly sturdy enough to hold the
head up and look gorgeous and once dry they may be solid enough to be
stakeish. I know the verbascums I have in my garden could be used as
stakes in a tripod conformation to climb beans on but certainly not to
drive into the ground type stakes.


I used to grow them many years ago but haven't had any for decades. I'd
have asked the shade grower to give me one or two of hers but she's one
of those miserable gardeners who always wants things but never gives
things. She's a rarity in having that sort of attitude amongst the
gardening fraternity in my experience.

some people have a hard time giving up any of their
children...


Nah. She's just a bitch. She was given a whole lot of fibre and told
to pass it on to the member of a group of spinners to which I belong and
she kept the lot. The person who asked her to pass it on was livid.

Fran Farmer wrote:
songbird wrote:
....
some people have a hard time giving up any of their
children...

Nah. She's just a bitch. She was given a whole lot of fibre and told
to pass it on to the member of a group of spinners to which I belong and
she kept the lot. The person who asked her to pass it on was livid.

ah well, i'm sure she won't be given a second
chance on that score. sad.


songbird

On 11/02/2015 1:41 AM, songbird wrote:
Fran Farmer wrote:
songbird wrote:
...
some people have a hard time giving up any of their
children...

Nah. She's just a bitch. She was given a whole lot of fibre and told
to pass it on to the member of a group of spinners to which I belong and
she kept the lot. The person who asked her to pass it on was livid.

ah well, i'm sure she won't be given a second
chance on that score. sad.

She's been given a number of chances and sadly her unmarried daughter
(who lives with here) is becoming just like she is. But it is sad.
They are turning into hoarders and becoming isolated from the community.

songbird wrote:
Fran Farmer wrote:
...
I know someone who grows then simply to shade a western facing
window so that her house doesn't heat up in the late afternoon. She
doesn't eat them at all.

how tall do they get?


When I had them they reached 2.5m (8ft) easily. Quite pretty, nice flowers.
I lost patience with them as the ones I had had wrinkly skins on the roots
(tubers? whatever) and held on to the dirt. It was quite an effort to clean
and peel them and you didn't get much food for your trouble, perhaps they
are better in lighter soil.



When I saw how lovely they looked at full height, I thought her idea
of using them for shade rather than for culinary purposes was a
really good one.

do the stalks make good sturdy stakes?



The stalks are like softish wood, they take a while to rot down in compost
so they might make a stake for a year or two. I wouldn't describe them as
sturdy.

--
David

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A better world requires a daily struggle
against those who would mislead us.

David Hare-Scott wrote:
songbird wrote:
....
do the stalks make good sturdy stakes?

The stalks are like softish wood, they take a while to rot down in compost
so they might make a stake for a year or two. I wouldn't describe them as
sturdy.

sounds similar to the sunflower stalks, but perhaps
straighter. the sunflowers have such heavy heads that
the stalks end up bent over and not very tall.

all they have to do is hold up for a year or two.
but likely i'll not put them in here. i don't need
another invasive...


songbird

On 11/02/2015 1:40 AM, songbird wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
songbird wrote:
...
do the stalks make good sturdy stakes?

The stalks are like softish wood, they take a while to rot down in compost
so they might make a stake for a year or two. I wouldn't describe them as
sturdy.

sounds similar to the sunflower stalks, but perhaps
straighter. the sunflowers have such heavy heads that
the stalks end up bent over and not very tall.

all they have to do is hold up for a year or two.
but likely i'll not put them in here. i don't need
another invasive...

But at least they are pretty in their invasiveness, unlike ivy.