jerusalem artichokes

[QuakerBear]

That's what I've found, that once they're extablished they're there for good. I was just wondering though if they were susceptable to anything like blight or aphids. I know they're in the sunflower family but I've never grown sunflowers before.

[Smooth Hound]

they seem to be hardy enough , i havent suffered any attacks with mine, ive grown them for a few yrs now, although im not syre if they like sodden soil not for long anyway.

[maggienetball]

When we took over our current allotment there was a JA patch. The tubers we dug up were full of holes and inedible. I'm not a JA expert but they looked similar to the ones you can get in potatoes.
That said, the JA's had probably been in the ground for a long time. I've not seen any damage to ones we've grown since.

[Smooth Hound]

could it have been slugs?

[maggienetball]

I suppose so. I didn't take much notice at the time and only mentioned it realy because someone was asking about potential pests/diseases. Slugs certainly leave those little holes in potatoes don't they.

[red]

some of ours that were near the suface got some slug holes.. but the deeper ones were fine.

[SarahJane]

I have never grown them before but like anything else, would like to give them a try. How much space would I need for just a few? Space is a real problem I have but would like to experiment.

And do I just buy them from the market/supermarket and jus plant them?

[marshlander]

I used to grow them at the back of the flower border, SarahJane. They come up really tall and have pretty yellow sunflowers (relative).

[frozenthunderbolt]

One of my books, Semour? said that they make great pig food if you are raising pigs.
If you do want to get rid of them from an area then take what you can find then fold you piggies on top. they will root out the rest and eat happy while providing and inilital tilling and fertilisation of the plot ready for what ever goes in next.
The trick to making this work real effectively is apparently to put them only on a very small area at a time and they work it over thouraly, and then to move them onto the next section.
Forget about stamp in electic fences though they are about 80-90% ineffective with pigs, better to find someone who makes temporay movable fencing of some sort - be it metal or hazel hurdles and use those to make your tempory pens.

just another use for JA's - i wager that pig products taste better and make you fart less

[marshlander]

Soup made with 1lb JAs and 1lb carrots (+1 med onion and 1.1/2 pints stock,) doesn't appear to have the same, ahem, effect as JAs alone and is jolly tasty.

[Jean]

I know this is a slightly ignorant question but when are JA's harvested?

Also how many are produced from each plant?

Thanks

[possum]

I usually start to dig them up when the tops start looking raggy, don't dig them all up at once as they don't keep very well out of the soil.
I guess I will be digging mine up in a month or two (NZ)
I was really surprised that they appear to have done so well here. As it is so windy here and they get a prevailant sea breeze (only about 800m from the sea(, I was unsure if they would all snap off as a lot had doen in the UK, but no, I think only one has fallen over, but then I did plant them in a block rather than a row

[Jean]

I've just found my French veg magazine and it says they love all weather, all soil types and are ready for harvest around November.

They also said planting 10 tubers was enough for a hedge for ever.

Not sure I want the "for ever" though!

[possum]

I was wondering if they would be worth planting as a hedge here, anyone know how much water that they need, the ones in the veggie patch get a fair amount of water. As they have done well this year, I had wondered about trying to create a walled garden effect

[marshlander]

anyone looking to buy one source is taymar organics see http://www.tamarorganics.co.uk/pages/ca ... S&prod=576

Just got my seed order - boy was I optomistic when I ordered!