These delicious and nutritious tubers are grown in sunny Colorado organically, without any added chemicals. These are the Red Fuseau variety but to my surprise, I moved them to a new east facing bed this year and they grew in pale! They were absolutely abundant, however, and even more tasty and tender. The tubers grew as a mix of traditional-looking, spindle-shaped Red Fuseau sunchokes and long, pale, but blushed with pink tubers -- from the same plant! I don't think anything has changed with the variety, but it's possible they were a bit too crowded. It's also possible that the eastern light affected them differently. They should grow up just fine into beautiful plants and delicious tubers. They were unbelievably abundant, so I'm offering them for a lower price than the more conventional looking Red Fuseau.
This is a crispy sunchoke with very good flavor. No side nodules so it is easy and quick to clean. They
taste a bit like a water chestnut, but they also soak up sauces and other
flavors easily. This variety is a vigorous tall plant which will grow up to 10
ft. tall. It has beautiful flowers in late summer, blooming earlier than the white
mammoth variety.
This listing is for 2 ounces or 4
ounces. Feel free to buy more than one set for a bigger space, but be sure to
give each growing point plenty of space and keep in mind that this variety
sends root runners before it sets its tubers, so to fully harvest you will need
to be able to dig around the plant in all directions about two feet out.
Planting: If your soil is not 100%
frozen solid, you can plant them upon arrive. Plant them 3-4 inches deep,
ideally with a cover of mulch. Leave about a foot of space between nodes. If
you can’t plant them outside upon arrival, you can put them as packaged in the
fridge. Or you can take them out, wrap them in tin foil, then a loose plastic
bag (like a produce bag from the supermarket) and put them in the vegetable
compartment of your refrigerator until the ground warms up enough to dig
into.
They are slow to sprout in the
spring - often not until mid to late May - but they will grow quickly once they
get started. These are best planted as early in the season as possible.
These grow into lovely plants about 8 to 10 feet tall with hundreds of pretty,
sunflower like blooms at the tail end of the season. Butterfly and pollinator magnets!
The plants are not frost hardy, but they will come back unless you dig up all the tubers. Be careful where and how you plant them as they will spread. That’s part of why they’re such excellent low-maintenance ‘edimental’ (edible and ornamental) plants for a diverse garden.
Facts about Sunchokes
Sunchokes are the bulbous tubers of
the plant known botanically as Helianthus tuberosus, a variety of
sunflower. Sunchokes are also commonly known as Jerusalem artichoke, sunroot,
earth apple, and topinambour. The plant is propagated primarily for its root,
which can be consumed both raw and cooked. Originally an American species, they
were cultivated by Native Americans long before being introduced in Europe, and
their high inulin content made them a traditional remedy for diabetes.
Applications: Sunchokes can be used in place of potatoes in any recipe, though they have more moisture and no starch, so cooking times can differ. The tuber is great roasted, though it can be served raw in salads, baked like fries, boiled and mashed or pureed into a soup. Serve raw sliced Sunchokes in a crudité with creamy or oily dips. Sunchokes will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month if wrapped in plastic.