Tracey Bool Garden Writer
  • Home
  • Photo Gallery
  • In The Garden
    • Australian Native plants >
      • Brachychiton populneus
      • Correa pulchella 'Little Cate'
      • Correa pulchella ‘Ring A Ding Ding’
      • Eremophila racemosa
      • Grevillea iaspicula
      • Indigenous Foods and a World of Wonder
      • Lomatia myricoides
      • Lovely Locals
      • Lovely Winter Natives
      • Olive Pink: A Life in Flowers
      • Photographic guide of Native Plants
      • Poa labillardieri
      • Wahlenberia stricta
    • Fruit, Veggies & Herbs >
      • Green Zebra Tomatoes
      • Grow. Food. Anywhere
      • Growing Blueberries
      • Growing Chillies in Pots
      • Growing, Eating and Enjoying Radish
      • Growing Garlic
      • Growing Passionfruit in Canberra
      • Kembla Cherry Orchard: Seasonal Winter Maintenance
      • Maintaining Blueberries
      • Preparing veggie seedlings for planting
      • Pumpkin Tree Green Hubbard
      • Reaping the Harvest: Broad Beans
      • Scented Geranium
      • Snowpea 'Oregon Sugar'
      • Summer Hardy Perennial Herbs
      • Summer Savory
      • The Seed Savers' Handbook
      • The Vegie Box
      • Tomato 'Honey Drop'
    • Garden Creation & Maintenance >
      • Adhoc Gardening Tool Box
      • Bokashi Composting
      • Biofumigant Seed Crops
      • Canberra Soils
      • Clay Seed Balls
      • Comfrey Tea
      • Composting
      • Creating a Wildlife Friendly Garden: Reference List
      • Gardening Down-Under
      • Green Manure Crops
      • Growing and Maintaining Windbreaks
      • Handy Organic Sprays
      • Handy Tip: Plant Gazebo
      • Hardwood Cuttings
      • Let There Be Light
      • Local Invention: Downpipe Garden
      • Maintaining Citrus During Winter
      • One plant or Many, creating harmony in the garden
      • Photography in the Garden
      • Plant Selection and Design Considerations
      • Protect Your Garden from Jack Frost this Winter
      • The Art of Pruning
      • The Key to Successful Seed Germination
      • Tree Borers
      • Tree selection with Christine Rampling
      • Winter Maintenance and Preparing for Spring
      • Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental
    • On The Forage Trail >
      • Chickweed
      • Fat Hen
      • Foods of the Forest: Canada
      • Fruits of the Forest, On a Roadside Near You
      • Native Raspberry
      • Purple Salsify
      • Shepherd’s Purse
      • Sticky Weed
      • The Overlooked Bounty - Free Food
      • Wild Salsify
    • Ornamental plants >
      • Arbutus unedo
      • Loropetalum chinense 'Burgundy'
      • Pineapple Sage
      • Plants of Nepal
      • Taxodium distichum
    • People & Places >
      • A Garden for all Seasons with Deb & Adrian
      • Aquaponics and Natural Beekeeping in Suburbia with Karen Dahl
      • Botanical Artist Cheryl Hodges
      • Cacti and Succulent Extravaganza
      • Canberra City Farm
      • Community Gardens Abroad
      • Crookwell Seed Potatoes
      • Edna Walling
      • Good Life Permaculture
      • Gardens on the Move with Barbara
      • Gardens to Visit in Vancouver BC
      • Goulburn Community Garden
      • Handy Resource for Eating Seasonally in Canberra
      • Historic Calthorpes' House
      • Historic Kentgrove Goulburn
      • Kembla Cherry Orchard Royalla NSW
      • Lanyon Homestead
      • Melliodora Permaculture Gardens
      • Parkesbourne Produce
      • National Bonsai and Penjing Collection NAC
      • Out and About in Namadgi
      • Permaculture Systems with Organic Gardener Christine
      • Plants, Bees, Veggies and a Preserving Wonderland
      • Revered Bonsai Artist Tony Tickle Visits Canberra National Arboretum
      • Richard and Pheap's Garden
      • Royal Sydney Botanic Gardens
      • Roogulli Garden
      • Shona's Garden
      • STEP into Canberra's Local Plant Space
      • The Crisp Galleries
      • Village Life in Nepal
      • Westbourne Woods Arboretum
      • Wynlen House Farm
    • Permaculture >
      • Borage
      • Bringing in the Good Bugs
      • Comfrey my garden Back to Life - Symphytum officinale
      • Grown & Gathered by Matt & Lentil
      • Jerusalem Artichoke
      • Marigold
      • Pip: Australian Permaculture Magazine
      • Queensland Arrowroot
      • RetroSuburbia
      • The One Straw Revolution
      • The Weird and Wonderful World of Compost Brewing
      • Urban Homesteading Goulburn Mulwaree Library reference list
      • Yacon
    • Preserving the Harvest >
      • Preserving the Harvest
      • Preserving Rhubarb
      • Rosehip Tea and Cordial
  • Recipes
    • Baba Ganoush
    • Barbara's Passionfruit Muffins
    • Chocolate & Feijoa Muffins
    • Curly Fries Slinky Style
    • Double Choc & Raspberry Muffins
    • Luscious Berry Ice Cream
    • Mediterranean Roast Vegetables
    • Quince Jelly
    • Rhubarb Chutney
    • Seasonal Garden Salad with Bocconcini and Sourdough Bread
    • Spicy Apple Muffins
    • Spicy Pumpkin Soup
    • Tabouleh-inspired Barley Salad
    • Warm Tomato Salad
  • Open Gardens
  • Resources
  • About
  • Contact
  • Past Events
    • 5th Ainslie Open Houses and Gardens
    • Bonsai demonstration with Mauro Stemberger
    • Build living soil workshop at Curtin ACT 19 May 2015
    • Braidwood Open Gardens
    • Open Garden: Christine's Garden
    • Crookwell Potato Festival
    • Environmental Film feature at Palace Electric Cinemas
    • Fetherston Gardens Open Day
    • Lanyon Plant Fair
    • Open days at Melliodora Permaculture Farm
    • Open Gardens Australia – Jackie & Bret’s Garden
    • Open Gardens Australia – Terroux Garden
    • Preserving the Harvest with Permaculture eXchange: Food Preserving using Sugar and Vinegar
    • The Weird and wonderful world of plant collectors
    • Urban Agriculture Australia springs back into action!
    • Workshop: Planting a Medicine Garden
    • Wynlen House - Garden to Plate Slow Food Lunch
                                   Jerusalem Artichoke
                                        (17 April 2014)

Meet the truly outstanding Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) – this prolific plant is anything but an unassuming wall flower. I must admit I haven’t been this excited about produce since I made my very first batch of lemonade last winter. But before rambling on about the taste of its tubers, let me tell you a bit about the plant itself. Jerusalem artichoke is a hardy, easy to grow, herbaceous tuber of up to 3m in height, with cheerful yellow flowers during early autumn (it hales from the daisy family). It reaches maturity in around six months, producing copious quantities of edible tubers at harvest time.

 
Jerusalem artichokes grow well in full sun to partly shaded positions and tolerate exposed sites, including those which receive high winds. In fact, these plants are commonly used to form wind breaks and offer protection from hot afternoon sun to more vulnerable plants in the veggie patch. On the soil front, these gems require a nutritious, well-drained soil and reliable moisture to form good-size tubers for eating. Otherwise, if grown for ornamental and mechanical purposes only (a crime, I know), they will tolerate relatively dry conditions and still perform well. A word of warning though: these plants are exceptionally apt at reproducing and therefore are best grown in an enclosed bed or a permanent planting site.


You can begin harvesting Jerusalem artichoke tubers around 4 weeks after flowering commences – they don’t keep well so just dig up what you need as necessary. And for the part you are no doubt waiting on the edge of your seats for – preparing and promptly devouring the tubers – Jerusalem artichokes can be grated raw when fresh and used in salads, roasted, boiled whole, mashed, or I suspect, but am yet to try, used to make gnocchi. Go easy on the quantities consumed though, as these babies are fondly known as ‘Fartichokes’.


The best part is you can eat these amazing morsels guilt free and with the knowledge that they are exceptionally good for you. Jerusalem artichokes are high in iron and are a natural source of Thiamin, Phosphorous and Potassium. Unlike potatoes, they are free of starch, which makes them a great alternative for those suffering from diabetes.

 

 

 

Picture
Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.