A friend of mine has a diabetic daughter and hearing that jerusalem artichokes can be beneficial for diabetes, she wants to grow some. The drawback is she says they seem very expensive and was wanting to know if anyone had found any gardening catalog/site that might have them at a reasonable price... So I immediately thought of you guys, of course! Anyone here ever grow these, and do you have any thoughts or tips on their cultivation? (she's a newbie gardener) Anyone found a good source?
Hi Primsong. I hope this helps. Here goes: As far as I know the Jerusalem artichoke will grow in well-drained garden soil. It is a perennial that will look great in your garden even after ten years. The edible part of the Jerusalem artichoke is the tuberous root, which is harvested in winter. You should plant the tubers about 6 inches(10 cm) deep and 18 inches (40 cm)apart during spring. And do not forget to space the rows about 2 1/2 to 3 feet apart. I never knew about the benefits that artichokes hold for diabetics. Does this go for both types of diabetes?? Hypo- and Hyperglaecemic diabetes?? A little more detail: The Jerusalem Artichose is the Helianthus tuberosis. In fact it originated in North America. The foliage is much finer than that of the globe artichoke. About 14 days after the plants showed up above the ground, you can feed them with a slow release general fertilizer - use about two tablespoons of 3:1:5 (Slow-release fertilizer: - these types of fertilizer are formulated to release their nitrogen at a steady pace. On the packs of this fertilizer that are available commercially it will usually be depicted as 3:1:5 (SR) where the SR indicates slow-release.) Then, after three weeks, you can follow it up with a more general fertilizer. Water very well after fertilization. I used to mulch the plants with compost also. Do take out the tubers before the new growth season starts. (They have a tendency to take over.) Though the Jerusalem artichoke is a hardy perennial and quite tough, you need to watch out for the usual garden pests.
Thanks, Palm! She's found a fellow who will give her some starts for free, and a lady on craigslist who lives near her has some much cheaper than she'd found before. Here's her update about the diabetes info: Thanks for the info! If you want to share, this is what I found out so far about the diabetic benefits... I guess the different effect on type 1 & 2 diabetes would have to be tested out. "Jerusalem artichoke can also help with weight control, not through better metabolism of fats but through better management of sugars. The tuber of JA contains inulin, which is an oligosaccharide - there's a name for you. Oligosaccharides are dietary fibres and have sweetening properties, but despite their sweetness they don't need the pancreas to produce insulin to deal with them, so they don't have an adverse effect on blood sugar levels like most sugars do. When eaten the insulin in the artichokes converts into fructose not glucose which makes it safe to eat for diabetics." She's looking partly for something they could store for longer periods as a sustaining food, living in a place that can get potentially snowed in, etc. rather than something that would be a part of daily meals.
We used to grow these and lost them over time to drought and possibly voles. They multiply fairly rapidly as you can cut them up into "eyes" and plant them like you do potatos. They are not related in any way to regular artichikes but are members of the sunflower family. They were supposedly eaten by Native Americans. They have been "likened" to water chesnuts but have a flavor all their own. I liked them raw but hubby liked them better cooked. We fried them, steamed them and roasted them. The flowers smell like chocolate. Now that I'm reminded of them I may have to get some again.
Thanks for the great information Primsong. I must tell my sister about it as she also suffers from Diabetes. And from what I can gather from your info, she can definitely benefit from it since she struggles greatly with her weigt and of course the Pancreas being very inactive. In fact she is dependent on insulin injections. And Bethie is so right - it is indeed a Helianthus -which is sunflower. I never had them raw - what do they taste like raw??
Palm Tree, they are one of those flavors that are unique to themselves. Kind of like how asparagus doesn't taste like anything else. If you like raw veg. in general you would probably like them too.
I will certainly give it a try next time. :-D I do eat most vegetables raw, but I was never that adventurous. I have tasted and liked cauliflour, Broccolli, courgettes, corn spears, onions, chillies, ginger, many more, and yes, even asparagus, and liked them all.
