JANETS GARDENING TIPS

                                                                                   FOR ORGANIC & SMALL SPACE GARDENING!

                                                                                      By Natural Health Researcher Janet Vargas

 

 

Image description

 I'm not an expert but I find some excellent INFO from those who are!


As a Natural Health Researcher, I know that Beets (beetroot) and Jerusalem Artichokes (sunchokes) are

excellent for your health! At first, I became aware that Beets are good for you some years ago

through friends from the Middle East and 20 months ago, my mother asked me to research them.

I was delightfully surprized what I found. This year, they have been a regular part of my diet.

I add cubes of them to other steamed veges like red cabbage, capsicum and eggplant

then add a little butter or drizzle a bit of olive oil on them and lightly add some vege-herb salt and toss.


Beets have a myriad of Health Benefits while Sunchokes have Anti-Aging Benefits

it is Good to have Both!!!


I am glad you've come to this page.

I will place the Sunroot INFO here first



Nutritional Info for Sunchokes


Sunchokes are very rich in inulin, a carbohydrate linked with good intestinal health due to its prebiotic (bacteria promoting) properties. Inulin breaks down into fructose instead of glucose during digestion, making it a good substitute for diabetics or folks trying to eat fewer carbohydrates. However, not everyone can digest inulin so well; my favorite quote: “the food can have a potent wind-producing effect.”* So try a little bit first, or don’t make plans for the rest of the afternoon!

Sunchokes also contain vitamin C, phosphorus, and potassium and are a very good source of iron.


When in Season and How to Store & Prepare


How to store: Place, unwashed, in a plastic bag in the bottom of the vegetable drawer of your fridge. Depending on how long they were sitting at the market, multiple sources I read said they’ll keep 1-3 weeks. I read about one person who kept the tubers for a couple of months in a cold storage root cellar, and I kept mine for about 5 weeks and they were fine — no degradation of flavor or texture. So I’m guessing they’ll keep quite a bit longer than 1-3 weeks, but if you’ve had yours for a while and aren’t sure, cut a thin slice, try it, and if it tastes fine, use them; if it tastes differently than when you ate them fresher, discard them.

How to prepare: Scrub thoroughly, no need to peel.


How to Grow Your Own*


Where to get the tubers: You can plant sunchokes you’ve bought at the market as long as the buds (they look like big potato “eyes”) haven’t been cut off. Or you can order tubers from mail-order seed companies

How & when to plant: Best time to plant is March or April, but you can plant whenever the soil isn’t too wet (if it is wet, refrigerate the tubers in a plastic bag in the fridge until the soil is ready). Choose firm, unblemished tubers and plant 2 inches deep, 1 foot apart, in a place that won’t shade other plants as they’ll grow tall. Water well. Two to three tubers per person is plenty unless you plan to use them as a staple starch

How & when to harvest: In late summer, the plants will likely begin to bloom, but even if they don’t, they’ll still produce edible tubers. When the leaves brown in October, you can dig up the tubers. Harvest only what you need and leave the rest in the ground. In March, dig up the remaining tubers, dig organic matter into the bed, and re-plant the biggest tubers for the following year.

*Adapted from Golden Gate Gardening by Pam Pierce


I grew sunchokes this past year, and they produce more than any other comparable vegetable I’ve ever grown. I planted one small tuber, probably three inches long and one inch wide. I had what I would guess to be at least 100 times as many sunchokes by weight, maybe more.

Make sure you dig up every tuber, as they will keep coming back year after year if any are left in the ground. They can take over.


https://togetherinfood.wordpress.com/2010/12/10/weekend-brunch-snack-sunchoke-hash-sunchoke-chips%C2%A0recipe

 

Image description


Careful where you place them in your garden - they're permanent.

Here is one gardeners experience in growing them!


Otherwise known as Jerusalem artichoke, neither of which has anything to do with because it isn’t from Jerusalem nor is it an artichoke, this member of the sunflower family has a powerful tendency to run amok, which would explain how that “hedge” of them developed at my grandmother’s. Once it got established at my house, it started showing up farther and farther away from where it was originally planted.

Somehow it got into one of the beds several hundred feet north of the front yard and with the entire width of the house between the two. This year, I saw that it had jumped from that locale and found its way into a newer bed a few yards farther north.

It turns out that not only is the plant a willing self-seeder, it also can reproduce via that tuber not-so-carefully hidden in its name: tuberosus. For despite my best efforts at weeding it, it always comes back, for it can grow a whole new plant from just a piece of the tuber.


Marching armies could not be more invasive.


That is why it is rather funny that I bought Jerusalem artichoke tubers this spring to plant in the vegetable garden.

For the sunchoke, as it is also known, is edible. At least the tuber is.

And a very tasty one it is.

I tried sunchokes a few years back when I came across them at a farmers’ market. The tubers tend to resemble ginger root, with knobs and nubs all over it. That can make it a challenge to peel, but it is worth the effort.

While the root is often compared to potatoes - probably because it can be prepared the same way -  it isn’t starchy like a potato. Instead, most of its carbohydrates are in the form of Inulin, which is best known as a source of fructose. That makes it a good food for diabetics because fructose doesn’t have the same effect as carbohydrates that turn into glucose.

First published in the Bangor Daily News on Sept. 29, 2012.

For Janine’s full story go to


http://gardenmaine.com/2012/09/29/sunchokes-root-bound-and-reaching-for-the-sun


 

I DECIDED TO GROW THEM IN POTS - YOU CAN DO THIS!

Here are the best YouTube videos I found for your convenience.


Grow Sunchokes in Pots by Connie Oswald Stofko

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOEkXU2qny8

 

Yield 8 Pounds of Edible Sunchoke Tubers from a 3 Gallon Nursery Pot

Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io_rtAaXbSw

 

How to Store Sunchokes AKA Jerusalem Artichokes for the Winter

Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeiaHSg3f2o

 

Jerusalem artichokes: Nutrient content, gardening experience

Dr. Karin Dina, D.C.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx1nCVULmMw

 


sunchokenutritionandrecipes.pdf You will find some Nutrition Info and some Good Recipes here!



BEETS ARE COMING!


 

 

Make sure you click on my special  Site Map - You will be glad you did.

The WebPages are Organized in Groups spaced apart (not so crowded)

I have made categories for each group. See the difference!