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I’ve been a bit slack of late with the actual gardening and since this is blog called the Catalan Garden it’s time for a post about growing something – today it’s the rather wonderful Jerusalem Artichoke.

If you are looking to buy Jerusalem Artichokes (tubers for planting) email thegardener@catalangarden.com

Why Grow Jerusalem Artichokes?

• Firstly, because they are easy to grow, look after themselves and once you’ve located your first supply they are a self sustaining – never buy another type vegetable.  This is the kind of gardening we are really keen on as it’s bordering on the self sufficient!
• Secondly they’re super duper good for you and very low in calories.  The special sugars and lack of starch make them particularly good for diabetics.
• Thirdly, they actually taste rather lovely in risottos, soup and the like and they are a great way to bulk up and improve mashed potatoes – as we’re having to buy potatoes at the moment I cook Jersualem Artichokes with them every time so I halve our potato costs!
• Forthly, they don’t actually cause the wind people say they do – well not in our house anyway but maybe we’re used to such things with all the cabbage being consumed!

Growing Jerusalem Artichokes

They aren’t that fussy, though they don’t like the soil to be too heavy and will crop much more prolifically with a good addition of muck or compost to the bed.  They will grow just about anywhere too.  So here’s how:

• Firstly ensure the soil has been improved with some muck or compost.
• Plant in late winter – early spring – here February is planting time.
• Plant each tuber in a hole around six inches deep around 18 inches apart.  We plant them around 12 inches apart in a deeply dug bed so there is less chance of them drying out in the hot weather.
• Start harvesting in the autumn.  Unless you live somewhere with particularly hard frosts just leave the plants in the ground and dig up tubers as required.

They really need very little attention – just a bit of weeding and water if its really dry, they survive the Spanish summers really well growing to about 6 foot without too much fuss at all.  Each year you just need to keep a few tubers to replant or alternatively you can rely on the fact it is highly unlikely you will manage to dig up the entire crop and they will come up again next year without any interference from you at all.  This is my preferred no action gardening method!

The Jerusalem Artichoke crop usually has no problems with pest or disease and in late summer / autumn produces a fine head of sunflower type blooms prettying up the veg plot which is rather lovely.

If you can, give over a patch to them indefinitely to make your gardening easier.  Our plants look very sad above ground at the moment but you can see all the lovely healthy tubers nestling underground anyway.

Getting Started with Jerusalem Artichokes

You just need some good healthy tubers, once, to provide yourself with years of veg.  So go on, scrounge some from a friend growing the crop already or buy some tubers and get planting.  You shouldn’t need many, we only planted nine tubers last year and this season have had more than we can easily consume.

In fact if you would like to buy a few good healthy tubers of an unnamed white variety (more flavour than the red skinned ones) drop me a line and I will see what I can do.  Email thegardener@catalangarden.com .

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