Jerusalem Artichoke Planting Methods and Technical Key Points Explained in Detail

Jerusalem artichoke is also called sunchoke, and its tubers contain abundant inulin, a fructose polymer substance, which has a certain auxiliary therapeutic effect on diabetes, and when eaten it can be pickled with a slightly spicy taste. So, what is Jerusalem artichoke planting?

1. What is Jerusalem artichoke planting?

1. Seed preparation

Propagate by tubers. After harvesting the tubers in autumn and winter, select tubers weighing 20-25 grams for sowing, or store them in sand for seed preparation. You can also dig up tubers of an appropriate size for sowing in spring after the soil thaws.

2. Sowing

Sowing is carried out in spring. Use hole sowing or furrow sowing. The plant spacing and row spacing are 50 cm square. Dig the planting holes, loosen the soil, apply base fertilizer, and then sow, but the base fertilizer should not be too much. The sowing depth is about 10 cm. After sowing, cover with soil and level the holes.

3. Field management

Seedlings emerge about 1 month after sowing. After the seedlings are fully established, apply appropriate topdressing and water. Then carry out intertillage and weeding, and earth up to form low ridges. When it is not too dry, there is no need to water again until the tubers begin to expand, and then water according to the principle of “see dry, see wet”. If the stems and leaves grow too luxuriantly, it is advisable to pinch off the tops to promote tuber expansion. Jerusalem artichoke rarely suffers from pests and diseases, so pesticides may not be used; aphids may occur in extremely dry conditions and can be eliminated by spraying water.

4. Harvesting

Harvest after the autumn frost. After digging them up, wash off the soil and bring them to market. For those planted in idle land, if continued planting is desired, small tubers can be selected and left buried in the soil during digging, and after emergence the next year, thin and fill in the seedlings in time.

2. What is the value of Jerusalem artichoke?

1. Edible value

(1) Eaten as a vegetable

① Fresh tubers can be stir-fried plain, or stir-fried with shredded meat, crisp and delicious.

② Pickling: 50 kg of sunchokes, washed and cleaned of impurities, put into an earthenware jar, place a layer of sunchokes and sprinkle salt, with a salt amount of 9 kg, and after placing them, pour in an appropriate amount of clean water. After one day, turn the contents once, then turn once every two days thereafter, and after about 15 days they can be eaten. The flavor is delicious, and they can be served as a side dish with meals, with a certain auxiliary therapeutic effect on diabetes.

(2) Used as coarse grains, feed, or for extracting starch, making alcohol, etc. The aboveground stems can also be processed into feed.

2. Medicinal value

Medicinally, inulin is extracted for the treatment of diabetes. The rhizome can be pounded and applied externally to treat unnamed swelling and toxins and mumps. In terms of dietary therapy, 100 grams of sunchoke tubers can also be used, washed and chopped, with 100 grams of rice washed clean, add an appropriate amount of water and cook together into porridge, then mix in table salt and sesame oil before eating. It is suitable for people with diabetes, edema, and difficult urination.

In recent years, research has found that Jerusalem artichoke has a bidirectional regulatory effect on blood sugar, that is, on the one hand it can lower blood sugar in diabetic patients, and on the other hand it can raise blood sugar in patients with hypoglycemia.

Studies show that Jerusalem artichoke contains a substance very similar in structure to endogenous insulin in the human pancreas. When sugar appears in the urine, eating Jerusalem artichoke can control urinary sugar, indicating that it has a blood sugar-lowering effect. When a person develops hypoglycemia, eating Jerusalem artichoke can likewise provide relief.

3. Other value

In Liaoning Province, China, there is a plant called “guizi ginger” (also known as Jerusalem artichoke). Ten days after it blooms, the first frost appears in this region. Therefore, people also call it the “frost-reporting flower”.