A Seed Saver's Garden

[heirloomgal]

Be careful; they're toxic raw or undercooked (actually, this is this is the first time I've heard of anyone trying to eat them; they're usually a curiosity ornamental.)

Oh, and it's a tropical vine/climber, so you'll need a greenhouse/indoor space with a LOT of room.

From what I've researched there are two types, wild and cultivated. It is the wild ones that are toxic, I imagine the cultivated ones have been bred away from that trait, the way lupini beans have been bred away from bitterness.

Sadly, I don't have plans to grow it, they'd never make it here. I posted the clip because I thought it was incredible how huge they can get and they don't even need to be planted in the ground. You just put one on top of the ground and it grows into a vine that produces these tubers, which most people say taste as good or better than potatoes.

 

[heirloomgal]

The most marvelous mail arrived today from the UK! It amazes me the generosity of seed savers worldwide . Did a wee trade - or so I thought - and today I found this in the mail! I would not have guessed they'd survive!! It has been quite a week of wonderful mail surprises!! Just 6 hours after planting and they seemed greener already!

I am thrilled beyond the beyond right now!!!! Top left packet has little bulblets in there!!!

Small problem occurring. The sunchokes sent to me in the mail over a month ago, that I've been overwintering in the fridge in pots with peaty soil - they're sprouting! And I can't plant them out until June?

 

[ducks4you]

Gonna have to pot them up and put them in a window for awhile.
At least they will make inside oxygen for you.

 

[heirloomgal]

Gonna have to pot them up and put them in a window for awhile.
At least they will make inside oxygen for you.

If I take them out of the fridge now and put in a window I don't think they'll make it. These are very tiny tubers, they probably don't have much energy in them to keep producing greenery in a too small pot. Last year I started them in pots pretty early not knowing what else to do with them because I got them in the mail in May, and because they grow so fast they got oversized pretty quickly. For now, I'm going to let them keep sprouting in the fridge and hope that slows them down enough to buy me some time. I guess this means if they were in the ground they'd be sprouting down there. Hard to imagine though, we had a lot of snow last night and the ground is hard as rock still.