Has any one attempted a jerusalem artichoke grex/landrace project? With minimal research skimming through an article or two, I gather that they are self-incompatible and so you need multiple varieties that will cross pollinate if timing coincides. My understanding is limited when it comes to scientific explanations but.. it seems difficult with limited space/variety/time. Here’s a good write up i found:
I found sunchoke seeds for sale on etsy from two different sellers that I might purchase since the tubers would have better genetic diversity compared to the no name sunchoke tubers I planted from a nursery earlier this year that have been cloning for who knows how long… Figured at the very least I’d get some more variety in my harvest and hopefully have a better chance at collecting seed!
Wow! I don’t have my lab coat or my clipboard with me so i cannot even begin to wrap my head around that article. I really should have stopped at “colder climates fat chance". My head hurts. It would be pretty awesome if someone came up with a self compatible variety that throws vigorous seed everywhere though. Good luck with it! I’m happy to even have gotten a single potato to grow from TPS this year.
Oh, glad your sunchoke project is working out for you! Appreciate your insight on varieties… That’s where I am a little discouraged, as it gets pretty expensive to ship sunchokes, atleast here in Canada. A few tubers is $30-50 for only one type so I imagine it’ll add up quickly if i want to broaden the diversity. That is why i was hoping buying sunchoke seeds would be a headstart to things.
Thank you for letting me know about Josephs sunchokes, I will definitely order some of those!
What other kind of tuberous sunflowers are you adding to your mix?
Ahh shucks. The limitations of being across the border. So close yet so far… i attempted to order some tubers but the shipping is restricted to US only. Tricky sometimes, eh?
If I remember correctly, I included seed of H. strumosus, H. maximiliani, H. hirsutus, and Helianthus x laetiflorus (which is a natural hybrid of H. tuberosus and H. pauciflorus)
I collected some Joseph Lofthouse sunchokes a few years ago, and I’ve been letting them cross with my Beaver Valley Purple cultivar I had already. I have seeds now, which I’m planning to plant and select from. So all you need is a few fertile cultivars (several phenotypes from Joseph’s landrace would do it!), and your project will be a go!
Thanks for the encouragement! Glad to know it isnt too difficult. I was just debating buying a few beaver valley purple tubers from a seedswap online.. they’ve been good for you then, eh? Oooh if i could get my hands on Josephs sunchoke landrace that would be amazing! But itll be fun to tackle from scratch as well. I’m grateful for the generosity pooled in for next seasons canada gts seed, nice to have some of the US varieties available for us up north
Just one warning: sunchokes don’t seem to make very many seeds (I’m lucky to get one seed per flower, on average), and birds love to eat them, so . . . if you have a lot of birds in your area, you may want to put bags on the flowers to keep the seeds safe!
Mind you, a single plant can make six to twelve flowers, so if you have a few dozen plants, you could still end up with a few seeds, even if the birds are scavenging around. Just make sure you grab the dried-out, finished seedheads as soon as they’re ready, and don’t leave them on the plants all winter in the blithe assumption that the seeds will still be waiting for you four months later — like I did my first year.
Awwe of course the birds like em! Extra special sunflower seeds lol. Thanks for the tip, I’ll make sure to keep the seeds safe and give the birds something else to enjoy
