Gardening Where to plant yacon and sunchoke

[desman]

Two small yacon plants arrived today from Daley’s Fruit Treet farm. Wahoo. I’ve also grown three sunchoke plants from tubers I bought from the fruit and veg shop. Now I just need to plant them somewhere. I have a bad habit of purchasing plants or spouting seeds with no idea where to plant them. I have no spare beds so will have to make new ones. But I really don’t know much about these crops.
Can I grow in pots or some 44 gallon drum halves? Given they’re root vegetables would this work or they need more space to spread underground? Mark, I noticed you grow quite a lot of sunchokes in a large-ish round bed. Any recommendations on the minimum diameter / area that a single plant would need? Are they better off in an open bed where the roots can travel as far as they want or will these plants clump?

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

I don't know about these specifics personally, but I believe you can grow Yakon similarly to potatoes. So a pot could technically work, but you might get less yield. I would recommend a proper bed probably, and along with that it simply means you'll have another bed for future growing as well!

 

[desman]

Thanks Mandy, you’re likely right. I think a lot might cramp the tubers, but I have some really big plastic pots. We live on a 600m2 block, with the house in the middle. So small backyard. It’s a balance between keeping lawn and open areas for the kidlets, and satisfying my gardening obsession 😀. Slowly one terrace of the backyard will be replaced by veggies beds I can imagine.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Thanks Mandy, you’re likely right. I think a lot might cramp the tubers, but I have some really big plastic pots. We live on a 600m2 block, with the house in the middle. So small backyard. It’s a balance between keeping lawn and open areas for the kidlets, and satisfying my gardening obsession 😀. Slowly one terrace of the backyard will be replaced by veggies beds I can imagine.

Haha, more than likely! Gardening is so addictive

 

[Mark]

I'm late to this... But for those who are wondering, I have grown both Yacon and sunchokes aka Jerusalem artichokes in medium to large containers and they grow well as long as you keep the water up to them.

 

[desman]

Thanks Mark. I put the sunchoke in containers and the yacon in a bed with sweet potatoes. Looking forward to harvesting

 

[Robbie]

I've growen the yacon was about 2 metres high about 1 1/2 metres wide it had daisy like flowers for the size of the plant the flowers were very under whelming a bit like where's Wally's the tubers were massive we got close to 10 kg or more when you harvest them go slow digging them up work your way around the they break easy. If you leave them in the sun for a few days they sweeten up they taste a little like an apple. I've heard that if you juice them and reduce the liquid you can use it as a sugar replacement?

 

[HelenCate]

the yacon was about 2 metres high about 1 1/2 metres wide

How wide was the actual tuber growth though?

 

[DThille]

I intend to start a patch of Jerusalem artichoke at our country property next spring…another vegetable I’ve never eaten before, let alone grown.

 

[HelenCate]

I’ve also grown three sunchoke plants from tubers I bought from the fruit and veg shop.

Did you have to do anything special to get them to sprout? I've tried on 3 separate occasions and failed to get them going.

 

[Robbie]

With Jerusalem artichokes isn't there something about the carbohydrate that don't digest properly and ferments in your stomach and causes flatulence, I remember some of the old gardeners I know calling them fartichoke correct me if I'm wrong but I don don't thing I am.

 

[HelenCate]

With Jerusalem artichokes isn't there something about the carbohydrate that don't digest properly and ferments in your stomach and causes flatulence, I remember some of the old gardeners I know calling them fartichoke correct me if I'm wrong but I don don't thing I am.

They contain Inulin, which is great if you're Diabetic, not so good if you have IBS.

 

[desman]

Did you have to do anything special to get them to sprout? I've tried on 3 separate occasions and failed to get them going.

To be honest I chucked them in some shallow crappy potty mix stolen from an old citrus pot. The tops were just exposed, and there was only a few cm between bottom of tuber and bottom
of pot. I just kept them moist but not soggy and they came up easy. The roots took over the pot in a week or so.