Move over potatoes, there's a new spud in town

Beneath a sky dotted with pink cotton candy clouds, I assess the gardens, excited by what I see already above the ground, curious about the plants I do not.  And so, like any normal five year old, I grab my handy dandy garden claw rake, decide on my first victim, and dig.  I know, I know, that's a huge no-no, but I really need to know what's going on.  Did my tubers get too wet?  Did they freeze?  Did they rot?   Did the squirrels get them? In under a minute, I find a tuber. Still as fresh as the day I received it. So now I'm puzzled.

• Did I plant them 2 to 3" deep?  Check.  
• Planted 2' apart?  Check  
• Plant as soon as the ground was workable?  Double check.  
• Are they rooting?  No.  No they aren't.  

 I  tuck the tuber back into the dirt, and pat the soil down lightly.  Back to the drawing board, or rather Google, to do some follow up research.  

A little backstory here.  I've been exploring perennial vegetables that are fast growing and prolific producers. This resulted in the discovery of tubers, and hence, the Jerusalem Artichoke. This is not an actual artichoke, but a relative of the sunflower.  It's also a wonderful perennial that will return year after year, like it or not.  Known to be invasive, it's a good idea to dedicate one area of the yard or garden to Jerusalem Artichoke and to maintain that area so the plants don't take over. 

Further research tells me that I should:

• Start new plants in spring 4 to 6 weeks after the last frost for an autumn harvest. So I may have gotten a bit of an early start.  Patience, grasshoppa, patience.
• Optimal planting soil temperature is 50°F to 60°F (10-16°C). The soil certainly wasn't 50 to 60 degrees at the time I set the tubers.  In fact, the ground had recently thawed after a nice, hard freeze.  In my defense, the instructions that were sent with the tubers indicated to plant them any time.  And so, I did.
• Optimal growing soil temperature is 65°F to 90°F (18-32°C).  With this in mind, it seems I need to hurry up and wait and watch.  Our days are only now heating up, so perhaps a few more weeks.  

Strategically, this member of the sunflower family will reach 6' to 10' tall, creating a beautiful, natural,  privacy fence with it's dainty yellow flowers.  Living on a highly visible corner lot, privacy is key.  And, since the tubers can be harvested in late fall or early winter - after a frost or two, I'll have natural privacy for the best part of the year.    

This, my friends, is what I call "edible landscaping".  Much like the Okra plants growing in my tree garden in the front. I refer to them as "shrubs", but that's a story for another time.  

Meanwhile, here's a  little nutrition information for you:

"One cup of sliced, raw Jerusalem artichokes (about 150g) has 117 calories, 3.0g protein, 26.2g of carbohydrates, 2.4g fiber, 14.4g sugar, and no significant amounts of fat. Jerusalem artichokes are an excellent source of potassium and a good source of iron." 

It took a bit of digging (see what I did there?) to locate Jerusalem Artichoke tubers online, but I succeeded.  They're currently selling on Etsy, Amazon, and Ebay.  Gurney's Seeds (who has been around for as l long as I can recall) and Johnny's Selected Seeds have them as well. You might also check area markets, like Farmer's Market, Sprouts, etc.  There isn't one specific source that I use, so be sure to do your research.

If you'd like to learn more about this wonderful tuber, check out this article:  7 Health Benefits of Jerusalem Artichokes complete with references.