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The original was posted on /r/permaculture by /u/jr_spyder on 2024-10-09 05:03:10+00:00.
I was looking at the forecast and it occurred to me that this was the peak of the season for the Jersuleum Artichokes or as I like to call them Sunchokes. I am in Zone 4a in Northern Wisconsin and I am hours away from a killing freeze that is sure to end this years growing season.
I made a post last year :
I had asked about the cultivation of sunchokes to improve the health and tilth of the soil. My concern at the time was that my plants bulked up, but not in the way most people think when you mention the "fart-a-chokes". Was it something I was doing wrong?
I had spent the off-season scouring the inter-webs to read everything I could about the cultivation of the tuberous sunflowers. I have these notes to share for this year of a few of the "treatments" of the sunchokes with hopes of slightly different outcomes :
Prune from the ground up 24" and it allows for a companion bush plant to be grown, as it fixes nitrogen. This also bulks up the size of the stems, which I am hoping to dry down and use as bean trellis supports next season
Sometime around mid-July I pruned the tops of the plants to inhibit the flowering, I had read that this can increase or bulk up the tubers. At this point, I have not harvested yet, but soon I will be able to see these results and I will share if it is a noticeable difference. Another benefit is that it limited the sunlight blocking from some of the beds I have established.
Like any good experiment always leave a control group. This set I did almost nothing to, this except water as needed. The energy these plants to into the first flower set was quite the display.
Lastly, as it was also mentioned, it takes the sunchokes a few years to adapt to their growing context. I moved them from a different location that struggled to produce consistently, and with the help of some compost, biochar, and comfrey tea I can say these are doing much better. I estimate I have tripled if not quadrupled my tubers from what was originally planted.
Now to the discussion: Is anyone else growing sunchokes? Anyone else is a zone 4a? Recipes for dealing with abundant yield? Thoughts on different treatments to improve growth?
Happy gardening
Planted in a double row - topped mid season
Solo plant that might have been moved by a squirl
Lower stems cleaned up for companion planting - topped mid-season
