Will sunchokes stay viable in the freezer?

I’m wondering if I can store fresh sunchoke tubers in the freezer and have them stay alive for planting for as long as I want. If I can do that, I could keep tubers in my freezer to swap with people anytime, and not be limited to sending them only when they’re dormant during the winter.

It seems plausible it could work, since they’re hardy to zone 2 and therefore must be okay with sitting in frozen-solid soil all winter. I’ve also left them outside on top of the snow during a snowstorm, and they’ve frozen solid, and been perfectly fine a few days later when a thaw came. (In fact, I’ve been really lazy and left them outside lying on top of the soil for weeks in January before, and they’ve frozen solid every night and thawed completely every day, so they’re probably pretty unbothered by freeze-thaw cycles, too.)

Have any of you guys tried storing sunchoke tubers in the freezer for awhile and then planting them later? If so, has it worked?

2 Likes

No I haven’t. But it should work. I’ve kept them out of the ground and forgot them, they shrivel up and die. Drought seems to be more of a problem.

Yeah, for sure. I can leave them out of the ground in the snow, and they’ll be perfectly happy. Out of the ground on a hot, dry day . . . not so much!