Growing Sunchokes in Your Perennial Vegetable Garden

 

Growing sunchokes in your perennial vegetable garden is a great way to add variety to your garden. This perennial vegetable will produce hardily year after year. This article will provide you with detailed instructions and tips on growing sunchokes in your perennial vegetable garden.

Sunchokes are also known as Jerusalem artichokes although they are not grown in Jerusalem or related to artichokes. The flavor of this tubular vegetable is similar to the flavor of the artichoke. The tubers produced by the sunchoke are delicious vegetables that are low in starch.

Sunchoke tubers should be planted in your vegetable card about 3 weeks before the last frost date. Sunchokes take 100 days to harvest, but they produce many vegetables. This perennial can be planted in winter in warmer climates, and the soil they prefer to be planted in will be a temperature of about 59 degrees ferinheight.

This hardy vegetable is a perennial that can grow up to 10 feet in height. Sunchokes can deal with frost well, and they can even survive a very hard frost if they have a layer of mulch covering them. Sunchokes should be planted in full sun, and they enjoy loose soil that drains well. Adding sand and compost to the soil will increase the production of the plant as well as increase the ease of harvesting.

When deciding where to plant this vegetable in your perennial garden it is important to choose a place that will not be disturbed because your sunchokes will remain there for many years. This perennial spreads quickly, and they will take over any area they are planted in. Sunchokes should be planted in rows that are at least 3 feet apart. They should also be planted about 3 or 4 inches deep and a foot or so apart. Water them regularly, but make sure drainage is adequate. Too much water will cause the tubers to rot. Sunchokes are drought tolerant, and can be planted in containers as well. A large container is required for these plants because they spread very quickly.

When growing sunchokes in your perennial vegetable garden it is recommended that flowers are removed when they first appear. This will allow the tubers to receive the majority of the energy produced by this plant. When harvesting sunchokes you should wait for the leaves to die back. Leave tubers in the grown to produce a new crop in the following season.

Growing sunchokes in your perennial vegetable garden is fun and easy. This perennial vegetable is easy to grow and will spread fast with little care.