Why I Recommend Growing Sunchokes at Least For One Season

[@RainCountryHomestead]

ATTENTION: For those interested in trying them and do not know of anyone to get them from, there are a lot of people on Etsy selling tubers: www.etsy.com/search?q=sunchoke%20tubers

[@MrChadsGrandma]

Amazon has them

[@sandimorreale3685]

I grew them a few years back. Rocky soil, clay soil, soggy soil...they thrived. Slugs didn't touch them. Well fermented ones produce MUCH less gas. I bought mine at the local pricey grocery store..special ordered. Bonus..you can leave them in the ground until you want to eat them. You don't have to harvest them at a certain time. Self sufficient me on YT had a fermentation recipe that worked for me. Also made a "potato soup" with my chokes. Water chestnut crunch with a nutty flavor to me. Love em

[@jodyl8767]

Speaking of how sunchokes can affect you, you should know that sunchokes are a great source of iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Not to mention, they're also low-calorie, fiber-rich, and contain the carbohydrate inulin, which helps to keep blood and glucose levels stable.

[@Coastal.Redwood.Homestead]

Yes they do I grow them for my 13 year old son who is a type 1 diabetic and I dehydrate them

[@knogues]

@@Coastal.Redwood.Homestead what do you do with the dehydrated sun chokes?

[@Coastal.Redwood.Homestead]

@@knogues I will grind them up to a powder from and see how it works on controlling my sons diabetes

[@Amy_McFarland]

They call them a survival food because of what you mentioned. They also provide protein and many vitamins! Can't wait for this year's batch to harvest!

[@sosteve9113]

I made soup ,chips and mashed puree with them. Eating them raw as snack as well

[@claudettemarshall115]

Thank you for this video. I've grown this plant for about 15 years.The temp here drops to -35°c in the winter. They will grow in the hardest of soil. The butterflies and bees that this particular flower attracts is enough reason alone to keep this plant growing. I'm not kidding... it's an amazing sight every summer. Every flower has either multiple bees or butterflies on them... like no other flower I've seen. Great choice for a video!

[@josephmckenzie8953]

I love them, and didn’t have the problems with the gas. My wife, not so much. I grow them as a hedge against a poor potato growing season, like the cause of the Irish Potato Famine. I have them growing in a large planter next to the driveway that is completely contained. To the neighbors it’s just a pretty flower garden.🌻

[@chadrobert116]

For anyone familiar with JADAM, Sunchoke leaves are great for fungicide/insecticides.

[@camperjack2620]

Yes, I grew a container of them this year for the first time, I noticed even the grasshoppers did not eat them. I was way too busy this summer to make some pesticide tea and spray. Maybe next year I will have ducks in a row.

[@blaineclark]

On the flip side, aphids love the tender tops more than they like my garden plants so I let the aphids alone and watch the ants farm them until the Paper wasps and the Yellow Jackets rustle the aphids off. It's a summer long cycle. But yes, Grasshoppers and caterpillars and many other pests stay far away except for Cutworms. Those Cutworms will climb 8' stalks to eat the tender tops! On one hand the Cutworms are a pain, but on the other hand, every time they trim a top, the stalk branches.

[@MsPeacelove01]

Good to know thank you. You hopefully just solved my fungus gnat problem. Time to get fermenting.

[@RaechelleJ]

I grow mine in pots big pots, Im in northern Ontario Canada. Even one tuber gives many tubers but I find they do great in containers if you don't want the invasive part of them.

[@loygreen]

Yes ! This is the first year that I planted them and they did amazingly !. I'm in Quebec , Canada. I came looking for a recipe and I found this ! lol The timing is wonderful. Thank you so much !

[@Diniecita]

Mine get eaten by the deer.

[@P.A.M.733]

Great idea! Such an INVASIVE PLANT!!!!

[@sandrad518]

I heard they got their name from someone saying they tasted like an artichoke. Also, if you leave them in the ground thru winter, the cold makes them less gassy, and they can be stored in the ground and just cut up as needed. I don't know any of this from personal experience however. 😊

[@gregorys447]

Almost ready to harvest second year’s crop. Pan fried with garlic, fresh lemon juice added at the end became my favorite method of preparation.

[@cindyboyd8019]

Did you have to boil them first?

[@johnkelly9451]

​​@@cindyboyd8019no, just prepare them and cook them like potatoes. fry until browned, bake, boil, prepare like potatoe cakes.

[@elliemay1229]

I bought mine from Azure Standard. I wasn't sure that they would grow here in South Mississippi. They did great. I plan to plant them in a permanent bed next year so they can just keep growing. My garden didn't get planted this year because of the overabundance of rain this spring. The sunchokes grew anyway. Inulin is a great prebiotic and very healthy for the gut. I cook my sunchokes with yellow potatoes with the skin on. My oldest daughter prefers the potatoes this way. It also is a good way to slowly introduce your gut to the inulin.

[@mcanultymichelle]

Use a little scrub brush instead of peeling them .I really like them thin sliced fried with a little bit of butter served with eggs.I have had a couple of troubling years with my potatoes these are a great backup they will always breduce food.

[@eabird4358]

I use a tooth brush to clean them. Also, the soil they grow in will affect the taste.

[@viviansclafani125]

Thanks for telling us about the sunchoke. in live in NJ and my daughter in Ohio brought me a box of tubers last yr they were covered with dirt. i kept it in the garage over the winter and didn't touch them since i was going to plant them not eat those anyway. late spring my daughter warned me to only plant 4 little pieces in a 4x4 garden bed which only had about 6 inch ht. of soil. well they grew very tall over the summer and i loved the abundance of flowers! she said to cut some of the flowers but not all so i did but they didnt last more than two days in a vase. the tubers i harvested late fall Oct. and i was surprised at how much i got. filled the bottom of a small wheelbarrow. my daughter warned me to go easy when eating them since she experienced diareaha for a few days after she ate them. (I think she didnt peel them). the gas was obvious a few hrs later. i thought they tasted good kind a like mild artichoke heart. i do peel them well after scrubbing them but i threw the peelings in the mulch pile in the back yard so i guess i ll be growing more of them in the mulch pile next season!

[@polkcellar]

I ferment them as per Marc on another great website:(self sufficient me). Wash, leave skins on and break in bite size pieces. They stay crunchy like a slightly sour pickle and are another source of probiotics that we get from fermented foods. Good with a sandwich or salad. Thanks for this information. You're great!👍🧡

[@RaechelleJ]

This year is my first time fermenting mine.i love the taste

[@trishthehomesteader9873]

Thanks for jogging my memory! 🙂 He said if you plant them once, you never have to plant them again! 😁

[@karenbuckner1959]

Do you make a salt brine for the ferment?

[@polkcellar]

@@karenbuckner1959 Yes, a salt brine.

[@edkinge7916]

@@trishthehomesteader9873 I

[@eabird4358]

Purchased the tubers from a grocery store, (NYS, Wegmans) in the produce section. Spring time usually. Planted them and they grew. I love them! I planted them along the fence row. A great perennial vegetable.

[@witchofthewildwoods3496]

Heidi I’m revisiting this video because a family member just gifted us with about 15 pounds of sunchokes. I just sliced and sautéed a bunch of them in butter and olive oil with onions and garlic and they’re so delicious. I’ve read that fermenting them or adding vinegar while cooking will eliminate the gaseous side effects so I’ll try those 2 methods next, as well as dehydrating and powdering some. I’ve never been successful growing them on my own before but am giving it another shot so wish me luck!

[@red-baitingswine8816]

I put them 4" deep in early Spring (Southern Calif.) and water a little 1-2 times/week and they all are growing, 2-5 ft tall now.

[@red-baitingswine8816]

(Just sinchokes from the supermarket)

[@Trav_Can]

7:34 Pickling them seems to help. It's probably my favorite way to eat them. But it's good to know they're there as a survival food.

[@jackieskitchen1966]

I live in Upstate NY zone 6. I have been growing these for about 4 or 5 years. I use them in soups and stews mostly, the way my family likes it best is to put them in a small casserole dish with some butter bake for 1 hour, next I add shredded cheese and bake another 20 to 30 minutes. If you want to grow them I always advise that they considered an invasive plant, with that said they need their very own spot because they will choke out most other plants.

[@kennymoulton]

we grow them for privacy along are back fence line. In our sandy soil they grow 15 foot tall and we still have some flowers blooming as of 11/3/21. My advice is be careful where you plant them. I would compare it to planting horseradish in that it is very hard to eliminate. Toledo Ohio in the room

[@gidget8717]

We don't grow them in the garden but we have a field in which we planted them. They've naturalized in the field and close by along the roadways. While we don't eat them regularly they will be a source of food if the time comes we HAVE to forage. Most people just think the states highway dept. planted them. They do that sort of thing in our state.

[@RainCountryHomestead]

This is making me rethink growing them again. I can see use doing this on one of our other pieces of property where we have more space but no official garden as of yet

[@gidget8717]

@@RainCountryHomestead and until the time we might need them for food, they do make the over growth pretty. I think most people think they are just wildflowers like goldenrod.

[@MelissaJohnsonlovetorun]

I learn so much from you. Cheers from California!

[@Earthy-Artist]

Interesting these things are also on the list for inulin content: Asparagus, Bananas {bananas surprised me!}, Garlic, Leeks, Onions, Burdock, Dandelion Root & Chicory. I googled them after you mentioned them & read that Jerusalem Artichokes/Sunchokes could be good for people who need a laxative effect. And also that they also act as a 'prebiotic' for the bacteria in the large intestine which ferment them.

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Yep, there are MANY more things than that that have inulin, it is more about the higher inulin content in the sunchoke, not so much the fact that it has it. The higher amount like that can be just a bit too much for many people

[@Earthy-Artist]

@@RainCountryHomestead I've never eaten one yet, Maybe someday 🙂.

[@tracycrider7778]

@@RainCountryHomestead’m going to try I’m going to try it for hubby Maybe not for me since I’ve found out for 20+ years FODMAP sensitive Unless I ferment ❤

[@frogmayread]

They are good fermented as a pickle and makes them easier to digest

[@thebitcoingarden]

Zone 5b (Central IL) I grow them in poor soil and they improve and loosen the soil every year they grow. I also have some for sale just email me. I leave them in the ground for at least 2 frosts before I dig some up to eat and keep them in the ground (even throughout winter) until I want to use them (they go bad fast if dug up). Ferment them until they mostly stop bubbling (to reduce inulin) then boil until half cooked and fry in oil until crisp on the outside and soft on the inside (no issues with gas when prepared in this way). They're very tasty and I've always said they taste like sunflower seeds (you're the only person I've heard say the same!).

[@RainCountryHomestead]

O good! I am glad it was not just me!! haha

[@joyevefarmandforge]

How do you ferment them, please?

[@thebitcoingarden]

@@joyevefarmandforge 2-5% salt in water until they almost stop bubbling then boil for 5-10 minutes and fry in whatever oil or bake them. Trust me, if you get it right... it's delicate but so dang good. It really takes some time though, be patient and trust your senses. You'll get it right.

[@trishthehomesteader9873]

Thank you Heidi and community. 🙂 Great information and I enjoy the different points of view. Blessings! 💜

[@StringfieldRidgeFarm]

Grows wild here all around us. If you wait till after a good frost or two, the inulin is not as bad. Also we cook them slow and long.

[@tiffles699]

To supplement on the comment, freezing and then cooking should cause them to lose the inulin too

[@valentinabondarenko5404]

Very good to eat them fresh, just wash with a brush, leave the skin on....that is important...!!!

[@theheritagehousesc]

The deer ate all my bulbs. I use to grow them at our previous house as well but can’t keep the deer off here. They grew over 10 feet tall. They grow everywhere in our area here so I want to try growing them again. I love the flowers and so do the pollinators and for only that reason I want to have them in my yard.

[@lovelifelivelife9225]

Deer will eat the plants as they grow. I have the same problem. I actually grew my up against my house. Insane idea ,but the deer won't come in that close.

[@annieanderson6112]

So can u eat/use the flowers and leaves?

[@GlobalMycbhNetwork]

@@annieanderson6112 Not human consumption, but feed supplement for animals.

[@leehiller2489]

Lay chicken wire over the bed after planting. The plant will easily grow through the wire which holds the digging hooves at bay. In the fall cut the plant roll up the fencing and service the bed. Replace the fencing for the next season.

[@lovelifelivelife9225]

Funny you should say F ...ARTichoke. I cooked these the other night as a mash replacement with a venison roast. My husband was seriously in distress the next day. Not knowing if it was the roast or the chokes. Lol. Anyway, he didn't even know that they were chokes until I told him after we ate dinner. They didn't bother me. I never really knew about the inulin content before. We've been eating these for a couple years and never had a problem. Maybe he had to much. Well needless to say he enjoys the taste fried,mashed and breakfast potatoes. Will he again soon , remains to be seen lol. Beautiful plant none the less. Great potato replacement.

[@blaineclark]

The leaves and stalks can be made into tea, they can even be dried and stored for making tea. I've made wine from boiled flower broth and from boiled tuber broth. They're very similar to each other in taste. The first flavor, if you make the wine a bit on the sweet side is nearly like honey. The next flavor I just can't describe, but it's good. The aftertaste is like Hazelnut. The greens contain trace amounts of salicylic acid and coumarin, those are raw aspirin and raw coumadin. Concentrated tea can be used as a mild pain relief. I have one variety with leaves larger than three times the size of my hand. They're large enough to use as wraps like grape leaves. They have a hairy texture that disappears after 10 minutes of cooking and they become super tender. The boiled flowers taste a lot like squash. I tossed a bit of butter on them and yummy! I never tried to make tea with the tubers, might have to give that a try. I've chipped and chunked them and dehydrated them for use in soups and stews and I've chopped them into flour in a food processor. Hint: the dryer the chips the finer you can make the flour. It's a heavy flour, like Buckwheat flour, best mixed with other lighter flours like wheat or rice for example. Any way you can prepare potatoes, squash or any other garden vegetable can be done with 'chokes. Their raw texture is like water chestnuts and the flavor varies from variety to variety. I've tossed raw chips in salads and onto pizza before going into the oven. I've had some that had a very nice mild sweet earthy flavor a bit like sunflower seeds up to one variety that I got rid of that had an obnoxiously strong turnipy-herbal flavor, so strong it stunk up the kitchen when I cooked them. One tuber was more than enough to flavor a whole large pot of soup! That one wasn't the best of the many varieties of 'chokes! It took a whole summer of pulling sprouts as they showed up to get rid of them. And they don't have to be skinned, but if you think you need them peeled, blanch them in boiling water and the thin skin slips right off. I'm in west-central Pennsylvania, near the heart of their native range. The ones I have, I've collected locally from alongside roads and from flower gardens where people had no clue what they had, other than pretty yellow tall flowers. I've whittled down to a white/tan skinned very knobby tuber that's a bear to clean. I'm assuming they're either the Stampede variety or very close. I have to cut the knobs off to get all the dirt and grit. The tops are around 5' and the tubers spread only about 18" from the crown. They have that very mild slightly sweet earthy taste I mentioned above and are super productive. Next I have a red skinned smooth tuber that's as easy as carrots to clean. Picture a small red skinned sweet potato. I'm assuming these are a Red Fuseau or similar. It has a nuttier flavor than the others but nowhere nearly as productive as the others. They're under an 8' top and spread a good 2' from the crown. These are the ones with the huge leaves. Flavor ... I'm going to say that varies from person to person. (Isn't that what cannibals say about people?) I grilled some. To me they tasted like they do when roasted in the oven, however, to my wife they tasted like grilled sweet corn! That made me so jellyous. They can be fermented exactly like cabbage into sauerkraut or kimchi. We make a lot of pickles with them. There are at least four ways to treat the gas 'issue'. The Inulin fiber they're packed full of has to be converted into fructose, otherwise the Inulin will ferment in your small gut and can make explosive gas in some people. 1- Thorough freezing. 2- Fermenting like sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles or wine. 3- Long low cooking for at least 1/2 hr or more. Some people are much more sensitive to Inulin than others so that might have to go for an hour or more. 4- Marinating or cooking in an acidic ingredient such as citric acid or citric juice or vinegar. If you research Inulin, you'll find that regular usage is very gut healthy as it feeds the probiotics, the good bacteria and fungi in your guts. It just takes a while to get used to it and the gas will 'dissipate'. Pardon my terrible gas puns - or not! They are slightly allelopathic. Like Walnut trees spread Jugalone, JAs spread chemicals to hinder competitors, even other varieties of JAs, so don't mix the greens into your regular compost and don't mix different varieties of JAs in the same patch. The dominant one will stunt the others. I also grow Lambsquarter, any seed that lands in a JA patch will germinate, but they seldom reach over 18". Otherwise the Lambsquarters grow to 5'+. The chemicals are harmless to mammals. I chip the stalks and spread them over the JA patches they came from. The built up soil in my oldest patch, about 15+ years old is super! Rabbits, Guinea Pigs and other herbivores LOVE the leaves and tender stalks. The new stalks can be cut and prepared like Asparagus. Keep JAs in a separate and dedicated patch where you can mow a border around them to keep them from spreading. Depending on the variety the tubers can spread anywhere from 16" from the crown up to over 4'! The ones that spread far can be a bear to keep contained! The varieties can grow from 3' tall to over 12'. Some varieties readily seed from the flowers, others don't go to seed and there are some varieties that rarely flower. They do their best in full sun from morning to evening. Most varieties can tolerate drought but not being too wet though there are a very few that can tolerate extended periods of wet without rotting. Harvest tubers just like potatoes. Wait until the tops are completely dead and dried, that's when the nutrients have drained into the tubers making them the largest and tastiest. The first frost fable is just that, a fable. I had one very hardy and late maturing variety that could toss off even moderately hard frosts without even the flowers wilting. Varieties can mature in as little as 90 days while others can take 145 days to mature. They can also be harvested throughout the winter if your soil doesn't freeze, or they can be harvested in the spring before they start to sprout. Harvesting too early can give your tubers a bitter after taste. They're known as Fartichokes, Sunchokes, Sunroots, Jerusalem Artichokes, Helianthus tuberosus and several other names. Each Native American tribe had their own names for them too.

[@MsLookinup]

Thanks for taking the time to share this excellent information! I have my first crop finishing up in containers. It is very good to know that they resemble Black walnuts by inhibiting growth of other plants if using the leaves and stems in compost. Do you know if an animal digests the foliage, can the manure also inhibit growth of other plants when used in compost?

[@blaineclark]

@@MsLookinup from what I've seen, the chemicals must be metabolized and neutralized when digested.

[@robine916]

I have heard if you can harvest after a frost, they have lower inulin levels. Also, if you roast them at a lower temp (325F/163C) for 1.5 hours (sliced, oiled, seasoned, flip half-way) it also helps it break down. My local farm stand has some, so I might give this a try! :D

[@Saved4NewLife]

Wish I could help on how to reduce all the gas you receive from these but I only know that cooking reduces it a bit along with harvesting in late fall or early winter which also helps. Fermenting may help as I've been told. I would suggest that you never eat them raw but you can in a pinch. If you must harvest early then put in a tub layered with dirt. Even layers of dirt, then chokes, dirt then chokes. Keep in a cool place. ( I am always sure to leave some in the ground for the next harvest.) As much as the flowers look pretty, they need to be cut off to produce larger tubers. If not the plant sends to much energy to the flower resulting in smaller tubers. I tried these fried like potatoes but found that mixing in a potato soup was best for us. We also add a small amount of Turnips. Great survival plant with loads of benefits. Grows almost anywhere and in a lot of different climates. When other things don't do well, these always do. Great video. Thanks for sharing.

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Several have covered all that in comments (harvesting late, fermenting, cooking) and say that worked for them while others said none of that made a difference and some even claim to eat them raw. I think much of depends on two things: the variety they are growing and their own make up. Just like with any foods, some can handle certain ones better than others

[@Saved4NewLife]

@@RainCountryHomestead Agreed, I think the variety makes a difference for sure. I also think these things affect certain people but not others. Eating them raw for me is out of the question since they really light me up. I'm sure some people have no issues though. I will eat anything in a grid down situation though. Thanks for the reply.

[@gloriac3506]

Growing them this year for the first year. And from all the research I have done on the net what seems to be the recommended way to cook them and reduce the gas is to use lemon juice during roasting.

[@charlenecole1840]

Many years ago my dad grew these… He loved them! I never tasted them. May try to grow them. Thanks for a great video 🎈

[@twgardenia]

It is always fun to grow something new, to see what it is like :)

[@jeffriffel4364]

I liked them as Hash browns best. South Florida.

[@amanda69]

I love sunchokes they taste really good raw that's how I eat them. I never noticed them giving me intestinal problems.

[@debbiecurtis4021]

There's a worldwide shortage of potatoes this year, so I'll be glad to have my chokes this autumn and winter. They taste like water chestnuts to me. I'll roast mine in the oven with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, sea salt, turmeric, black pepper and red chilli.

[@RainCountryHomestead]

I am thankful we have one of our best years for potatoes this year. This year I am dehydrating a great amount of them in various forms since we do not have a root cellar and I can never guarantee the will stay fresh for long in our pantry. We should have enough to get us through until next year

[@debbiecurtis4021]

@@RainCountryHomestead If possible, please share you potato dehydrating for storage tips, Heidi. Thank you.

[@tagladyify]

I grew mine for the 2000 scare and did not like the flavor/texture. Mostly because they did not taste like a potato. I kept them because some years they are huge and covered in loads of beautiful yellow flowers. I’ll have to taste them again since you mentioned sunflower seed flavor. One word of caution for people: they can be aggressive and hard to get rid of once established. It is supposed to make them taste better and help with flatulence if you leave them to “sweeten” in the ground for a frost or two before harvesting.

[@TrickyVickey]

And then cure them in the sun or an airy place for a week. Inulin turns to starch in a week of two.

[@suzbrewer1766]

I use them as a resistant starch, dehydrated raw and powdered. Pigs will eat them too. Have started several patches in the pasture, but they usually root up all the tubers requiring replanting every year.

[@YaritzaPizarro]

I will definitely look into trying it. Thank you for the video. I always learn something new. 💖 it.

[@jolyanpratt2350]

They took over a whole garden bed in PDX area. Beautiful and gave us privacy from neighbors

[@melaniehopkins7541]

Thanks, Heidi! Another good video. I want to grow them for their flowers.

[@jeannamaynard5037]

So it seems either fermenting or boiling in vinegar or lemon juice for fifteen minutes hydrolizes the inulin and reduces the flatulence.

[@2MulesHomestead]

Yes, boiling in lemon juice definitely helps but for me, I still have a reaction, just not as bad. I used them for a mock potato salad-they’re more crunchy than a potato and have a sort of artichoke taste. Good for flowers too and when SHTF, just in case.🙂👍🏻

[@LB-vl3qn]

Do you boil them in straight lemon juice or water with lemon juice added? Does the lemon or vinegar impart its flavor? I imagine it would. Thanks! ~ Lisa

[@2MulesHomestead]

@@LB-vl3qn I used vinegar and added some water, but mostly vinegar and yes it did have some tartness from the vinegar but it retained its artichoke flavor also. When I boiled it, there was a lot of bubbling, which I guess was some of that gassiness dissipating.🙂

[@LB-vl3qn]

@@2MulesHomestead Interesting, thank you. Lots of bubbles 😆

[@teresanichols1867]

@Jeanna Maynard They keep a couple of months in the fridge and I also dehydrate them. When you rehydrate them they come back as if they werent dehydrated.

[@ecocentrichomestead6783]

I'm trying to track down some sunchoke tubers for my garden. I have the place for them planned.

[@doubleblessings-royalcrowr1669]

They say wait til after freeze to harvest reduces their gas making ability.

[@doubleblessings-royalcrowr1669]

I built an outhouse out of pallet covers that come from the wind tower farms, using a bucket and pine shavings and my old bedside toilet seat inside and an old tonneau cover off a small pickup for the roof. I tried to grow them to camouflage the outhouse like we used to do in the 50s with hollyhocks. I just don't have any luck in this poor soil here. But we keep trying.

[@lyssgreene1708]

Yaay! Check farmer's markets, it's where we found some! It made my stomach pretty uncomfortable, but I loved the texture and taste.

[@baneverything5580]

I paid about 3 dollars each for 5 small round tubers to get them planted here as an emergency food source. They resemble small eggs. I wonder what type that might be? I`m not a picky eater and have gone hungry in the past so these will be part of my survival food plan. Just received a brown turkey fig tree too...very tiny...but in the future I can grow more as I prune it.

[@blessedbloominghomestead9134]

I loved this video! I don't think I'll be feeding any to Mike, but the idea of fodder for the goats and chickens makes it worth it. Many Blessings!!

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Trying to avoid the aroma of unproperly digested tubers are you? haha

[@blessedbloominghomestead9134]

@@RainCountryHomestead You got that right! 😂🤣

[@RainCountryHomestead]

@@blessedbloominghomestead9134 🤣

[@knogues]

Is it only the leaves or will they also eat the dried stalks?

[@tracycrider7778]

@@blessedbloominghomestead9134😂😂😂

[@kleineroteHex]

Been eyeing them!!! So now I will find out more😊

[@sabbyjones2308]

I live in Oregon. I just buy mine at the grocery store and plant them. I usually slice them thin in stir-fry because they are so much like water chestnuts and I also ferment them

[@Starlight22215]

We call them Jerusalem Artichokes, although renamed as Fartychokes in our house. They make lovely soup but good grief the stomach pains. Not just farty, but excruciating pain. I then spent ages trying to rid the bed of what seemed like never ending growth. Never again.

[@TheTraderPatrick]

Hi. Im growing for the first time and one YT vid said boil for at least 25 minutes so that the inulin is not a problem. Im wondering about your thoughts on this if you could reply please. Thanks .

[@ashleyparker1203]

​@@TheTraderPatrickI grow them. I really recommend lacto-fermenting them in a salt water brine. My family has very finicky tummies and didn't have any problems eating them this way. We put them on sandwiches and salads. I can also cook with them, but once fermented they will add a slightly sour/vinegary taste to the dish. I think they taste like water chestnuts!

[@ediemurray1692]

Ty

[@witchofthewildwoods3496]

I love sunchokes and have tried several times to grow them with no success. I’m in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and have no idea why it didn’t work for me but I’m going to try again!

[@mattbarker4921]

I plan to grow these soon. Interesting you mention intestinal distress when eating them. From what I read our JADAM farming, they use the sun chokes as a herbal pest control spray.

[@tinnerste2507]

I grew these, but they didn't thrive in my garden. They only grew waist high and then fewer and fewer Evey year till three years later they died out. I grow yackon successfully though and it has inulin in it and I seem to be immune from the digestive distress you mentioned for both the plants. By the way I've been growing marshmallow based on your recommendation and harvested a plant for the first time this year. I use it like a hair gel to keep the frizz in line.

[@thistlemoon1]

I have some growing in a garden box so they stay put. I didn’t dig them up the first year I left them to overwinter. I didn’t think they were coming back but they did. This year they’re in half the box. I’m in Georgia

[@tracycrider7778]

I’m in Georgia too! How’d they do??

[@tracycrider7778]

@thistlemoon1☝️

[@thistlemoon1]

@@tracycrider7778 they did great!

[@debbiecurtis4021]

I put kitchen scraps on the soil under my chokes. I water with 1:10 urine and rainwater.

[@lindawells2120]

They taste like artichoke hearts, I love them

[@jeanettecollis5653]

I grow them. However, I only eat them after fermenting and never fresh out of the soil! The inulin can cause havoc with your gut. I find fermenting stops this problem. Mine grew about 10ft.

[@betsyburton538]

I love sunchokes. But just as you said they don’t love me. I peel everything and they are difficult to peel. I tried fermenting them to help reduce the gas but it did not work. I just eat very small amounts at a time and deal with it. They are great with roasts, soup and fried with herbs. I grow them because it is free food. I have a designated place and let them thrive. I dig them up when I want to use them. If I don’t use them the next year I have more that grow. If I had animals I would definitely use more of them for their food. In a Shtf situation they would be very helpful to supplement nutrition and have one more free food to harvest. If you have a view you want to block grow them there. They do get nice and tall and will help to eliminate noise. You can always pick the flowers in October just for something pretty inside when everything else has faded.

[@ColRubyDimplesManacha]

Thank you Heidi! I'm gonna give these a try!

[@patriciagreen7037]

Love your opinion. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@joyces.9021]

I have read that they are popular for gardeners into permaculture.

[@rfarmstead3087]

This video came at the perfect time. My neighbor gave me some sunchokes they are in a bag in my refrigerator. Now I know I will not plant them in my main garden and I will probably plant them near the chicken coop.

[@Marra7777]

UK here. North area. They have only flowered once. But produce well. Cut down to three feet to allow energy to swell the tubers if that why you're growing them

[@knogues]

About how many days before the first frost would you cut them back?

[@chanelle8226]

I grow them and I only used them to make pickles but my sister loves eating them raw as you said I only planted them one’s years ago

[@stevenatoli3872]

You're funny! Thanks for the heads-up.

[@connienelson3162]

Planted some again this year but in 1/2 wine barrels. Hope when I start digging they grew well. Got tired of feeding the gophers.

[@dooleysmichiganhomestead8339]

Thumbs up from the Dooleys of Michigan

[@itatane]

Ah, the good old Jerusalem fartychoke. I love growing them, but never got a decent harvest yet. Apparently, they hate growing where swamp pin oak trees used to be. Northeast Ohio either has really good soil, or silty, rocky clay, there's no real in between.(Hyperbole, but you get my point. My place used to be damp forest, so there is precious little topsoil and very poor nutrients for plants. I am trying Bio-char this year.) Cold storage supposedly converts the inulin starch to fructose.

[@tinnerste2507]

Interesting! Mine didn't do well either and I live in Highland swamp land. We do have pines here but few oaks.. I was surprised how poorly they grew when they have the reputation of growing well everywhere.

[@tinnerste2507]

Ps. I'm also adding heaps of charcoal to my beds and have so far mixed results, but probably because I charged each batch differently. The biochar i charged in my chicken coup did best. But I think il have a better idea how helpful it is next growing season

[@MichaelR58]

Good video , thanks for sharing , God bless !

[@lee.m.506]

Mountains of New Mexico - jerusalem artichokes gone wild! We don't eat them that much but they are very pretty. After blooming the cut dried stalks spread out on the ground prevent weeds - or whatever, from growing (I forget the official term for that). Something I have considered but never tried is slicing the artichokes thinly, dehydrating them, then powdering them in my coffee grinder to use in place of wheat flour, or in a flour blend. Has anyone out there tried this? Or probably not worth the effort?...

[@RainCountryHomestead]

That would be interesting to know how well that would work. I would think it would be similar to potato flour

[@juneday1605]

I use to buy pasta that was made from sunchokes. It was a delicious pasta. Just can't find it locally any more. I don't recall it having any other flours. I think it would be worth the effort. If you Google sunchoke flour you will find a good deal of information.

[@donnamayton412]

The inulin is an excellent source of prebiotics which your body needs especially after large doses of antibiotics and need to use probiotics to to re-establish gut flora, as they feed the good bacteria

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Yes, but just like with anything, too much at once can be hard on the gut. For example: oregano can be good for gut health as it helps kill candida but too much can also kill healthy bacteria needed for digestion. Many natural foods have inulin that our bodies have no issue digesting but sunchokes are higher than most, thus it is a bit too much at once for most people

[@latriciacagle4873]

A nearby grocery store sells the tubers. I haven’t found a lot of information about growing them in zone 9B other than the best time to plant is Dec-Feb. I’ll try eating some and plant the rest. Even if I don’t like the taste, they could have other benefits in the garden.

[@deborahmcsweeney1650]

I was told if you wait to harvest after a few freezes it will not cause the tummy issue. I harvested mine after one mild freeze last year and it did not work!Lol!

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Yeah, I have read conflicting information on that but I wonder if it depends on the variety and/or the person

[@charlenequinilty7252]

Have been growing for a couple of years for the flowers. I really did not care for the eating of them. Grows well and tall here in Louisiana

[@patkonelectric]

I'm in zone 5a. Love my sunchokes. Harvest them ever year. I ferment them. This totally eliminates the disgusting issue. I like putting them in the air fryer. Real brings out the flavor. My son said they taste like pizza.

[@MFV77]

Do you have any secrets for cleaning them? I grew them for the first time last year, and quickly tired of trying to scrub out all the little nooks and crannies.

[@patkonelectric]

@@MFV77 A little bit of dirt can hurt you. I can tell if there is a little bit of sand though.

[@MFV77]

@@patkonelectric thank you!

[@sabaof8]

They are marvelously crunchy raw in salads.

[@karenbuckner1959]

They came up in the garden of our new homestead. I wasn't sure if that's what they were until the flowers bloomed this fall. Heidi, can they winter like potatoes? I'll have to dig them up and try them next week.

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Yes, they can be left in the ground as long as you want

[@CraftTeaLady]

I had the exact issue (pnw). I grew them in a pot and they only got 3 to 4 ft (I'm sure it had to do with their limited space to grow). Looking forward to seeing any suggestions as to cooking. They really were tasty... Just hard on the tummy.

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Mine did get to about 10 feet but I could not find any of the photos of them I had, I even took one after they had bloomed but cannot find those photos anywhere. I am guessing the reason yours only got that tall is because they were in a pot

[@CraftTeaLady]

@@RainCountryHomestead my thought exactly. Most plants do so much better in ground than pot. Thanks for the info!

[@jeffriffel4364]

I agree I like potatoes more but they aren't bad

[@NewYorkJennifer]

I'm not nuts about them, but I keep them around for SHTF situation. They just grow too easily!

[@tpaw6908]

Sounds like they multiply a lot. But beneficial effects might out way. I've heard alot but not sure about intestinal distress

[@hakator4696]

In Czech republic (maybe in Europe) we call it sunflower topinambur or Jewish potato ;-)

[@zakkrueck2362]

i will be planting sunchokes in 2023. i don't know if this has been said but i heard that they suck a lot of nutrients from the soil.

[@mylovebelf]

Unrelated topic but it might make a good video for you to do: How do you clean all of your glass jugs and jars? I've been watching a lot of your other videos and I noticed that they all look really clean but for the life of me I cant figure out how I would clean them if I bought some. Especially the ones with the small mouths. Thanks! Love your content! God bless!

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Did one last year: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6TKoXV7jdqHhLs

[@mariejohnson8840]

I found some plants on my fence line on my property. Was not sure what they where but very lovely when flowering. I haven’t tried them yet. Are they good in stir fries? Wondering if they can be canned like potatoes?

[@janmclellan8963]

I am growing sunchokes and they are doing well I live on Vancouver Island in the Lake Cowichan area in the mountains so we are plaques with wild life and insects I am amazed that the wild life don't attempt to come and eat the veggies but the insects are horrific! I use tulle so I won't harm the birds and organic insecticide but my sunchokes have not flowered and wonder why can anyone tell me why I have one that is over 6 ft in a bucket so I can collect the tubers when I want to after they die back.

[@bayoutown1990]

I have been growing sunchokes for years and I have yet to have one tuber! They make loads of plants that multiply with sunflowers galore. So tall are the stems that they fall over but not one tuber not ever! I have pulled and pulled those things up and dug up the roots but they keep coming up and multiplying. The more I pull, the more they multiply. It's been a very frustrating experience!

[@RainCountryHomestead]

That is very odd! Are you at last able to use the rest of the plant for fodder?

[@red-baitingswine8816]

Were they supermarket sunchokes? Would that make a difference?

[@takishasallbeautyzone]

Thanks for the info. I actually really dislike the taste of hazelnuts. I know I'm in the minority with that one, but I always have. I used to eat other tree nuts before I developed an allergy. But as soon as you said some people think they taste like hazelnuts, I was like "NOPE 😖". Lol! Great video though.😊

[@scottjosephgaffney7347]

I'm with you on the hazelnut, if roach spray had a taste hazelnut would be it, lol it's smells like bug repellent to me and my kids eat the spread like it's the best chocolate in the world so i keep trying to enjoy the nut but after 40 plus years i don't think thats happening

[@heidimisfeldt5685]

I tried growing some of those sunchokes in a large container, and they didn't survive winter, I was really surprised. 🍁

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Probably because the container did not insulate it well enough as being in the ground would

[@honeytoone8610]

I heard fermenting then helps!

[@heidimisfeldt5685]

I love all those squashes there behind you....🎃🎃🎃🎄 Probably from your garden, right.

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Yep, I plan on canning some of them here soon

[@trumpetingangel]

You can ferment them, boil them with lemon juice in the water, or try one of many other techniques. Just do the research! They are easy to grow and you would never starve! And delicious. Start small; don't eat a big serving the first time. Add more little by little. And try lactofermentation! No more gas! Don't diss this wonderful food.

[@trumpetingangel]

You can mow new sprouting ones if you don't want too many.

[@rhondamontiel3827]

I fermented mine and I had no problem with the digestion that way. More like a pickle

[@WendyK656]

😀Heidi, I don't need intestinal problems! so no thanks in trying them.

[@RainCountryHomestead]

🤣

[@user-rd4gz1nc4e]

So , question. If leaving in the ground for a freeze, to help with flavor and also to mitigate the inulin ? Why not grab a handful and put in a plastic bag and freeze them yourself if you have space? I'm just asking.

[@RainCountryHomestead]

I am not the big sunchoke person, only did that for a year but yes, that may be a good option for some, especially if you have year round warm weather, but leaving in the ground means not taking up freezer space or the need for plastic

[@venidamcdaniel1913]

Could you use the leaves in a dried mixed greens?

[@debbiecurtis4021]

My nosey neighbour keeps demanding I cut mine down so he can see into my front garden, incase "robbers are hiding there". Mine are 10ft tall in September. I'm going to let many flowers go to seed. I'll keep seeds for guerilla planting.

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Haha! Robbers, mmm hmmm. We used to have some very tall hedges on the back side of our property but they were the neighbors and he took t hem ALL out! I HATE IT! Even though he does have a beautiful garden, I really hate not having my privacy. My marshmallow get really tall though and make a good privacy fence for at least the summer months. I am trying to decide what kind of every green to plant back there so I can have year round privacy

[@attheflattrackraces4662]

Mine taste like a weak radish. I haven't tried cooking them yet. I planted 12 two years ago, didn't dig them last year. This year i bet i have 200 of them.

[@richardmclendon8314]

From my research, they actually are sunflowers. And, there are ways to reduce or eliminate the inulin in them.

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Yes, they are very closely related to sunflowers but also are unique. Regular sunflowers do not get tubers like the Sunchoke does.

[@abmrose]

Heidi! What’s that yummy looking recipe at 4:11?? 😮

[@RainCountryHomestead]

I do not know. As noted in the video, most of the photos are not mine as I never took pictures of what I had cooked with them and had very few of the plants. I gathered most of the photos online but did not look up recipes

[@abmrose]

@@RainCountryHomestead thanks so much for your reply ❤️