So I ordered some Jerusalem Artichokes from Oikos Tree Cropsto plant for this spring. Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes),Helianthus tuberosusare a native perennial in the Asteraceae (sunflower, asters) family. They are suppose to be a good alternative to potatoes being less starchy. From what I have read about them they are not very fussy and easy to grow.
I ordered 14 Red Rover and 7 White Fuseau tubers. This is our first attempt at growing Jerusalem Artichokes and I’m considering another first………growing them in ahugelkultur bed.
Hugelkultur is a raised bed filled with rotten wood debris. I don’t want to go into to much of an explanation of the hows and whys of a hugelkultur bed (check out the hugelkultur link above), but basically you pill lots of logs and wood, cover with organic material (leaves, compost, etc), cover that with some soil, maybe a layer of mulch, then plant. Hugelkultur beds could possibly eliminate irrigation due to the moisture holding properties of the wood. For more details check out hugelkultur and the videos below.
I will post again soon about the hugelkultur bed building and jerusalem artichoke planting process once it is completed.