Anyone with Jerusalem Artichokes for trade??

[gardenboy]

Was looking to substitute Jerusalem Artichokes for potatoes. Does anyone have any? I can trade you heirloom tomato or pepper seeds or sunflower seeds for them. Thanks in advance.

[GardenRN]

Unless someone recently got a batch, I don't think you'll have much luck with this one. I was trying to find some earlier this spring and nobody had any. It's pretty hard to find online too.

I got a few suggestions to try small Asian markets. If they have really fresh produce, they'll likely have some of these and then you can just plant the tubers. Do some research, I don't know if you have to divide the tubers or not.

Good luck!

[gardenboy]

Big Thanks for a reply so fast. There is a seed company that carries the tubers in October. Will look around in Asian market also. Thanks for the information.

[GardenGnome]

I found a some online. But iim looking for some also.

[GardenRN]

Be aware of the sites you are looking at when you are looking for the tubers. I found some online as well, but they were in Canada or the UK, I don't remember which, and they were not permitted to ship the tubers overseas.

I never found a site that sold them that was located in the U.S. If you do, PM me the web address!

[rainbowgardener]

I have lots of Jerusalem artichokes... once you have a little, you rapidly have a lot, it spreads fast. Every fall, I pull ALL the JA's out of the flower bed they are in. The small tubers that break off and are accidentally left behind are plenty to repopulate for the next year.

But be careful about substituting them for potatoes. The JA's are extremely gas producing. For this reason they are sometimes known as "fartichokes."

Here's what wiki says about them:

Jerusalem artichokes are easy to cultivate, which tempts gardeners to simply leave them completely alone to grow. However, the quality of the edible tubers degrades unless the plants are dug up and replanted in fertile soil. This can be a chore, as even a small piece of tuber will grow if left in the ground, making the hardy plant a potential weed. In fact the plant can be pernicious. It can be destructive to other plants and gardens and can overtake huge areas if left untamed. Commercial fields growing sunchoke which then change to other vegetables or crops often must be eradicated with roundup (sometimes twice) to stop the spread of the sun-chokes. Each sunchoke root can make an additional 75 to as many as 200 tubers by fall end.

he tubers are sometimes used as a substitute for potatoes:[5] they have a similar consistency, and in their raw form have a similar texture, but a sweeter, nuttier flavor; raw and sliced thinly, they are fit for a salad. The carbohydrates give the tubers a tendency to become soft and mushy if boiled, but they retain their texture better when steamed. The inulin cannot be broken down by the human digestive system,[6] which can cause flatulence and, in some cases, gastric pain. Gerard's Herbal, printed in 1621, quotes the English planter John Goodyer on Jerusalem artichokes:
"which way soever they be dressed and eaten, they stir and cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body, thereby causing the belly to be pained and tormented, and are a meat more fit for swine than men."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_artichoke

MyHoney has trouble with gas anyway. After I served the JA's (mixed with potatoes), two days in a row, I had to promise NEVER to do that again. Made me pretty jet propelled too, and I usually do not have trouble like that.

I have heard that if you do not harvest them until after fall frost, the inulin starts to break down and they aren't as bad.

[cynthia_h]

Pickling JAs also helps vs. the gas production. Many vegetables which cause problems for people can have said "problems" minimized, esp. via lactic-acid fermentation, a la cabbage ==> sauerkraut. Personally, I can't abide raw cabbage based on early experience, but sauerkraut (well rinsed) is just fine.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[j3707]

Check the grocery stores. I have found tubers at Whole Foods and Safeway.

[gardenboy]

The Whole Foods market here in town did NOT have any. We don't have Safeway in FL. It is a fall item so I will check back in Oct from another member here on site and also website online has some in October. Thanks!!

[j3707]

Good luck!

[iragoodman]

For those of you looking for Jerusalem Artichokes, I have plenty from last year's harvest. I would be interested in your heritage tomatoes and I am open to other suggestions.

[GardenGnome]

http://www.maddogfarm.ca/j_art.html
Has some $6 for ten dallors

[bodyworkz]

I have the tubers fresh for eating and seed stock nearly all year, even out of season.
I would trade for stuff (I have many interests), just not looking for garden seeds though.
I have these available on ebay aswell as on my website if anyone wants to purchase rather than workout trades.