Now don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with my little house and my tiny little garden. So what's the problem? Well, one of the previous tenants must have thought it a good idea to grow some Jerusalem Artichokes . Oh boy, what an absolutely BRILLIANT idea that was.... Last year we replaced the fence, and since I had to remove all the plants in the border anyway, I tried to dig up as many tubers as I could. To no avail, they came back in force! I've heard the only way to get rid of them for once and for all is moving house. Is this true? (In this picture you can also see the difference in height between an ordinary sunflower in the foreground and the "chokes" behind it. Monsters!) Jerusalem Artichokes summer 2009 ( photo / image / picture from gardenelf's Garden )
Dig them up and eat them, they taste very good! You'll get rid of them eventually. Please remember to share your bounty with your neighbours. The tubers don't go down too deep, at least not here. Don't forget to cut off the blooms before they self-seed. They're good at that too.
Thanks for your reply, Droopy. Unfortunately, digging them up is no option, as they always pop up right under my established plants at a time they cannot be lifted. As for the depth: I find the tubers both right at the surface and also very deep, i.e. over half a meter down. Maybe this is also due to the variety, because mine are the red ones with long tubers rather than round (up to 10 cm's). If my garden were bigger I might leave some of them to grow and flower, they are quite pretty and cheerful as cutflowers in a vase. A bit of a hairy adventure on a ladder, though, to get to them . (the fence in the picture is 1.80m, the ordinary sunflower is 2m. That makes the "chokes" about 3.5m )
Heavens! Have you considered cutting the entire stalk down for your cut flowers? I think I would. I'm scared of heights. Also, I am a rather eccentric gardener who belives firmly that the time for lifting plants is when I have time to lift them. When it comes to invasive plants or weeds like ground elder I stop at nothing to get at the roots. We've got the yellow variety with round tubers, and we keep it in a tub. It's doing very well and isn't going anywhere either.
Like Droopy said eat them,, ask the neighbors and offer them free if they will just come dig them up. Throw a plastic bag over the seed heads and tie them tightly to prevent self seeding. Then cut them down. You could probably sell the seeds easily. Womder if they will grow in Texas ? Hubby makes me plant giant sunflowers every year. Went back and looked at the pic again,, they are tall arent they ?? Can you cut them before they get that tall? Then spray the remainder with vinegar straight from the bottle might help kill it !!
Droopy, I'm not letting them get to the 'stalk'-stage, I pull them up when they're still tiny. This leaves the tubers in the ground & means that I can't harvest any, but this year other (smaller) plants are allowed to steal the show. Maybe next year I'll give them another chance. Mart, apparently they are widely grown in Texas, so there shouldn't be a problem growing your own. Maybe a good idea to do as Droopy does, grow them in a tub. Don't forget, once these monsters are on the loose, they really run wild Tried the vinegar last year without success, seems these chaps withstand just about anything! Also trimmed a few right down before flowering, just to see if they disappeared all together. Chance will be a fine thing.... They just grew back twice as wide with even more flowers, taking up even more precious space. (they compete with other plants in a border sized ±3.5m x 1m) One of my neighbours has them in her garden, too. She's a very nice person, but is far too busy to do any gardening, leave alone prevent the chokes from spreading. Thanks again for all your input, looks like I'll just have to live with (and maybe make the most of) them! :-D
I do envy you the ability to grow them without trying! I bought the tubers last year, carefully planted them according to their instructions. I kept going out to check on them, waiting impatiently for the shoots to emerge..... Nothing! Noons here seems to grow them, and they had been special ordered! Sigh....
Debbie, what a shame you're all the way over there in Oz, otherwise I would have gladly shared my J. Artichokes with you! Did you plant the tubers straight in the garden, or in a container? A container gives you more control over growing conditions, as you can move it around. Oh, and could the tubers have been old? Once they get too dry, they won't grow any more. (In fact, these days I let them dry in the sun to make sure they won't start growing in the rubbishcontainer. They have done so in the past! )
Ok, now I'm just sad. They didn't look too dry, but I do use mulch everywhere, otherwise too much water is needed. Could they have just rotted? Wish I had a green thumb. Mine seems to be a sort of sickly yellow colour these day.
Could be too much water !! They are like weeds so try letting them go a bit dry !! Only water when leaves seem to sag and look limp !!
Oh dear, Debbie, don't be sad! You 've probably just had some bad luck. I'm sure your thumbs are a bright shade of green, because you love plants & gardening. I agree with Mart, in fact, last year I too lost two tubers which I had planted in a container (on an experimental basis ) and over-watered. As for finding the sunchokes, have you tried your local fruit & veggie market? I've just read that some people use the sunchokes they buy there to grow on in the garden, but I guess they must really be fresh ones. Good luck, and do let us know how you get on
