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Unusual tubers (veg)

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  • 11-03-2018 6:33pm
    #1
    bolgbui41
    Registered Users Posts: 701 ✭✭✭


    Hi all. Does anyone have any recommendations for where I could buy some of the more unusual tubers (oca, mashua, Jerusalem artichoke, yacon ect.)? I can't find them in any local garden centre, and I'm not sure where the best place to buy them online might be. I'm willing to buy from the UK if anyone had any sources there. Thanks!


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    #2
    macraignil
    Registered Users Posts: 3,443 ✭✭✭macraignil


    bolgbui41 wrote: »
    Hi all. Does anyone have any recommendations for where I could buy some of the more unusual tubers (oca, mashua, Jerusalem artichoke, yacon ect.)? I can't find them in any local garden centre, and I'm not sure where the best place to buy them online might be. I'm willing to buy from the UK if anyone had any sources there. Thanks!


    I have Jertusalem artichoke in the north Cork area if you want some. I used to sell them to restaurants but found them a bit labour intensive and gave up a few years ago. They keep regrowing when they are not dug up so probably have a couple of tonne in the ground. They will be starting to sprout again in a few weeks so pm me to let me know if you want some and I can dig some up. After they re-sprout they would not be suitable to move to a new site until the shoots die back next October. Not sure about the other roots as I've no experience with them.


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    #3
    whelzer
    Registered Users Posts: 577 ✭✭✭whelzer


    bolgbui41 wrote: »
    Hi all. Does anyone have any recommendations for where I could buy some of the more unusual tubers (oca, mashua, Jerusalem artichoke, yacon ect.)? I can't find them in any local garden centre, and I'm not sure where the best place to buy them online might be. I'm willing to buy from the UK if anyone had any sources there. Thanks!

    Jones garden center in Donabate, Dublin has Jerusalem artichoke for sale, €3.75 per pack of 3. I bought some yesterday, not sure if they sell online.


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    #4
    bolgbui41
    Registered Users Posts: 701 ✭✭✭bolgbui41


    Thank you both - I actually managed to get the artichokes in Springmount garden centre in Wexford, so hoping they come to something now!


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    #5
    whelzer
    Registered Users Posts: 577 ✭✭✭whelzer


    bolgbui41 wrote: »
    Thank you both - I actually managed to get the artichokes in Springmount garden centre in Wexford, so hoping they come to something now!

    Haha, I bought mine in Dublin to plant in Wexford. Put them in snowy ground last Monday! That or wait a few weeks until down there again. First time growing them so looking forward to seeing what happens.


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    #6
    my3cents
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,764 ✭✭✭my3cents


    macraignil wrote: »
    I have Jertusalem artichoke in the north Cork area if you want some. I used to sell them to restaurants but found them a bit labour intensive and gave up a few years ago. They keep regrowing when they are not dug up so probably have a couple of tonne in the ground. They will be starting to sprout again in a few weeks so pm me to let me know if you want some and I can dig some up. After they re-sprout they would not be suitable to move to a new site until the shoots die back next October. Not sure about the other roots as I've no experience with them.

    The plants are a weed in some soils, they spread like mad, need supporting, are hard work to dig up, leave loads of stems to get rid of ,are hard to clean before cooking and if you eat them make you fart like mad. Whats not to like :D


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    #7
    macraignil
    Registered Users Posts: 3,443 ✭✭✭macraignil


    my3cents wrote: »
    The plants are a weed in some soils, they spread like mad, need supporting, are hard work to dig up, leave loads of stems to get rid of ,are hard to clean before cooking and if you eat them make you fart like mad. Whats not to like :D

    A weed is a name for a plant in the wrong place. It has nothing to do with soil type. A strawberry plant in a wheat field can be seen as a weed. I have not found them to spread like mad but they do regrow where they are not dug up. They don't have the spreading lateral root growth of something like bamboo and any spread in the field I'm growing them in has not been very noticeable.

    They do get blown over by strong wind but if you are not worried about root yield this is not a problem. They are tall enough to provide a quick growing wind break if grown in a deep enough row. They can be harvested with a potato harvester but I agree to hand dig them does take a bit of work as does cleaning them before use. They contain a complex form of starch called inulin that is not broken down by our own enzymes so the inulin goes on in the digestive tract to provide food for microbes in the colon as it does with onion and garlic which have a lower percentage inulin content. This can initially cause farting if consumed in large quantities (as you could expect if you ate a large onion) but this effect is reduced when the colon microbes adjust to the increase in soluble fiber. This soluble fiber is said to be very important to our gut health and I find I benefit from adding them to my diet.

    The area I have planted with them was previously a large clump of stinging nettles and the area provides a windbreak for the garden next to it and habitat for frogs and pheasant so while it would be a bit of work to get rid of them I have no plans to do so. I think there are quite a lot of things to like about Jerusalem artichoke.


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