How to save Jerusalem artichoke for planting in spring

Planting and growing Jerusalem artichoke

Briefly about the technology of growing Jerusalem artichoke. At first glance, it is quite simple and similar to the technology of growing potatoes and, at the same time, has a number of specific features. The row spacing is 70 centimeters, the distance between plants in a row is 40 centimeters, about 35 thousand plants are planted on one hectare. Due to the fact that the plant is perennial and is used in industrial plantings for 4-5 years, the main costs are incurred in the first year when planting a plantation. Therefore, it is advisable to apply 50-100 tons of manure per hectare or complex fertilizers (NPK) at the rate of 60-90 kg of active substance per hectare before preparing the soil (plowing). Subsequently, it is recommended to annually introduce 100-200 kg (in physical weight) of ammonium nitrate at the beginning of the growing season. This will help to increase the yield of the crop.

Planting is carried out with a two-row potato planter BOMET (Poland). Planting dates depend on the ripeness of the soil, weather conditions. Usually this is the last decade of March - early April. Principle - the sooner the better. Variety Interest has a long growing season - 180-200 days. One of the biological features of Jerusalem artichoke is that it begins to germinate when the soil temperature is above + 5 ° C, that is, in early spring. At this time, it is impossible to enter the field, and Jerusalem artichoke is already growing. Therefore, to obtain the maximum yield, it is preferable to plant in the winter. Landing can be performed with the formation of ridges directly during the operation or a ridgeless landing. The absence of ridges will allow pre-emergence and post-emergence harrowing to control weeds.

With ridge planting, depending on the presence of weeds, it is necessary to perform 1-2 hilling

Here it is important to perform this operation in a timely manner, which will give the plants a successful start, and then, if there are already 5-6 pairs of real leaves, the rows close and the Jerusalem artichoke is not afraid of weeds. Cultivation (hilling) can be carried out with a row-crop cultivator KRN-5.6 with three hillers in the middle of the frame, since sowing is carried out with a two-row planter

It is possible to use a light two-row hiller of Polish production. This completes the care work in the main. The next stage is harvesting.

> VIDEO Jerusalem artichoke - a remedy for all diseases!

Dried Jerusalem artichoke

For the preparation of some dishes, dried Jerusalem artichoke is used. In this form, it can also be stored for a long time.

1. For drying, you will need to peel the vegetable and cut into thin rings.

2. Then the crushed earthen pear is sent to a warm place with good ventilation. Or you can use a conventional oven, preheating it to 60 ° C. If you decide to use the second method, then the chopped vegetable will need to be previously held for about 15 minutes in salted water.

3. Then the dried plates are sent to glass containers and covered with lids.

Dried Jerusalem artichoke can be used to season a variety of dishes. It is enough to grind the plates with a mortar or food processor.

Jerusalem artichoke in any form retains vitamins and nutritional value, even if dried or ground.

Dried or ground Jerusalem artichoke can be stored for 2 years.

In the fall, it is necessary to dig an earthen pear in order to have time to make preparations for the winter. Using any of the described storage methods, you will preserve the product and can add it to dishes during cooking in the winter.

When to dig up Jerusalem artichoke, how to store it correctly, can it be frozen

In order for the tubers to be large, there is no need to rush to harvest.Some gardeners are afraid of the onset of rains and dig up the root crop in advance, when it is still quite small and practically tasteless. It is better to postpone the harvest for a while, and let the fruits gain moisture and gain flavor.

As soon as the fruits are removed from the ground, they are immediately transferred to a shaded area. The sun's rays and hot air will cause the root crop to deteriorate.

Jerusalem artichoke belongs to unpretentious plants that do not require special care. So, it is enough just to plant the tubers and moisten the soil from time to time

However, it is important to keep the timing of the harvest, i.e. need to know when to dig Jerusalem artichoke

Despite the fact that the plant is not whimsical, you should pay attention to some nuances when caring for it. The main ones are:

The main ones are:

In order for the root crop to give a good harvest, it is recommended to prepare the soil in the fall. To do this, you need to dig up the area to the depth of a bayonet, remove the roots of weeds, apply fertilizer; Root crops should be planted in early spring with the soil warming up to 16-18 ° C; Planting time is the first half of April or early May; For planting, it is better to choose tubers without mechanical damage or signs of disease.

It is important to remember that the quality of the crop directly depends on the quality of the seed; Before direct planting, the beds need to be dug up again, loosened and leveled; The row spacing should be 70 cm; The depth of the hole for the tuber is 15 cm, the optimal distance between the holes is 30-50 cm

Trench cleaning

If it is not possible to leave an earthen pear for wintering in natural conditions, and there is simply nowhere to store it at home, then trenches will always help out.

They are prepared in autumn, when the ground is not frozen yet. Dig a hole or a short trench 50 cm deep. Sawdust or dry leaves are poured at the bottom. Dry, undamaged Jerusalem artichoke tubers are laid in two layers. Pour 20 cm of soil, sand, straw on top, cover with a thick film, press on top with another layer of soil.

For added convenience, you can put each bush in a separate rag bag or wrap it in burlap.

Now you don't have to worry, the roots will live well until spring. It will be very easy to get them in winter. Raise the edge of the film and scoop out the required amount, close it back.

The main danger with this storage method is mice. They also love to feast on juicy tubers. There are two ways out:

1. Put special poison in the straw. Inhumane, but very effective.
2. Dry burdock inflorescences are thrown into a trench mixed with an earthen pear. Effective and humane. Mice really do not like it when something clings to their fur and will no longer come.

Advice. To prevent melt water from flooding the mini-storage in spring, a shallow ditch is dug in a circle at a distance of 40-50 cm from it.

Storage of Jerusalem artichoke tubers

The best way to store tubers is in the soil during the winter. Unlike potatoes, Jerusalem artichoke has a thin, delicate skin, which is inevitably damaged during harvest. Therefore, after digging it, you can store it for no more than two months at a temperature not higher than +5 degrees.

But on the other hand, tubers are preserved in the ground remarkably, and the overwintered ones become even tastier, and after thawing, they completely retain all nutritional and taste qualities, as well as growth properties.

The yield of tubers harvested in spring is 10-15 percent higher than those harvested in autumn. This is another feature of Jerusalem artichoke is that the vegetation of the plant continues at the expense of the stems until they are completely dry, and then at the expense of the juice of the stolons. Jerusalem artichoke grows in one place for 4-5 years, that is, it is not necessary to plant it in subsequent years - just cultivate and harvest.

Storage of Jerusalem artichoke in the cellar and in the beds

If a large crop is harvested, then it is convenient to store it in the basement in plywood boxes.The fruits are carefully placed in a container, sprinkling each row with sand or sawdust (wet). For storage, bags made of dense fabric are also used, tubers are stacked in them, abundantly sprinkling them with sand or wet sawdust. The air temperature in the basement should not exceed + 4 ° С, and the humidity in the room should not exceed 80%.

You can cover each tuber with paraffin melted in a water bath before laying. After this treatment, the vegetables are placed in the basement on the shelves.

If there is no cellar or basement, then part of the crop is left in the ground, sprinkling the plants on top with branches and earth. In this case, the question of how to preserve Jerusalem artichoke in winter will disappear. The vegetables overwintered in this way will become softer and sweeter by spring. In warm winter, you can dig up the required amount of fresh Jerusalem artichoke at any time.

For long-term storage, a hole previously dug on the site is also used; a dry place on a hill should be chosen. Tubers are laid in several layers in a pit and carefully covered with straw or sawdust. You can dig a trench in the ground, cover the bottom with branches for insulation. In winter, such storage must be covered with snow.

In the spring, when the ground thaws, vegetables can be dug out in the required volume at any time, but only before the start of a new vegetation of the plant.

How to freeze at home in the refrigerator?

An earthen pear can be frozen in different ways:

• entirely;
• in pieces;
• grated.

It is placed immediately after washing in the freezer or blanched. Moreover, you can blanch with steam, in water or in milk whey. It all depends on what you will cook later.

The ways

• It's just freezing.
• Blanching with water or milk curd whey.

Advice

Reference! Blanching - immersing the product for a few seconds or minutes in boiling water or other solution. You can also do this on steam. Then the product is cooled in ice water or in air. Blanching is very good before freezing. With this preparation, the roots retain their color and shape.

You can freeze any fresh root vegetables. Damaged and dark spots will do.

Preparation

Root crops:

1. Select suitable ones.
2. Wash, clean.
3. Cut into small cubes or noodles.

Inventory for different freezing methods:

• Pot.
• Colander.
• Silicone mat.
• Storage container.

The easy way

1. Put the washed, dried, chopped or grated root vegetables in a plastic bag, let the air out and put in the freezer.
2. Another option: chopped or grated vegetables are carefully laid out on a silicone sheet, frozen, then poured into a container and left for long-term storage.

For storage in the freezer, you can use any small container suitable for freezing.

Blanching

You will need:

• Pot.
• Colander with handle.

Important!

Interesting! When blanched in milk whey, the vegetable has a slightly sour, pleasant taste.

Blanching freezing process:

1. Pour milk whey or water into a saucepan.
2. Heat to 100 degrees.
3. Put root vegetables diced or noodles in a colander.
4. Dip a colander into a saucepan so that the chopped pieces are in the liquid.
5. Secure the colander to the saucepan.
6. Blanch for 9-10 minutes.
7. At the end, take out, cool, let dry.
8. Place in a container or any container suitable for freezing food.

Lay out in portions as needed to consume at a time.

Ways to keep fruits fresh at home

There are several ways to preserve Jerusalem artichoke fruit. Each method is good enough. But the ideal option is still to store the tubers in the ground. If, of course, the climate in which you live allows.

How to store in the cellar in winter?

The tubers of the plant are very delicate, you should not especially carefully clean off the soil from them and often shift them from place to place. If you damage them, the fruits will start to deteriorate within a few days.

Why is the basement good in terms of storage? This method does not require much time and effort, but the storage times in it will be short.

There are several options for keeping Jerusalem artichoke in the cellar:

1. Use a place where you store carrots.
2. Place Jerusalem artichoke there and sprinkle with sand.
3. Do not separate the excavated tubers from each other.
4. Without shaking them off the ground, place them in a container of a suitable size.
5. Put the Jerusalem artichoke in regular boxes: wooden, plastic, whatever you find. Cover the top with moss, sawdust or peat.
6. Lubricate the tubers with clay and let dry. Place in a bag and tie tightly to leave as little air as possible.
7. Place the tubers in bags of soil.
8. Each root can be treated with paraffin. To do this, they need to be dipped in melted paraffin, allowed to dry, then removed to the basement.

Check from time to time to ensure that the crop does not rot

It is important to observe the temperature regime not higher than 5 C. In the cellar, it can be stored for no longer than a month

Do not store Jerusalem artichoke next to potatoes and beets.

Can I freeze my home in the freezer?

The advantages of this method are that you do not need to think about the fact that the skin of the fruit will suffer. There are no drawbacks to storing Jerusalem artichoke frozen.

Peel the fruit before placing it in the freezer. Cut them in whatever way is convenient for you to eat. The sliced ​​fruits can be placed in plastic bags or containers. Due to the fact that the plant tolerates low temperatures well, it will retain its beneficial properties even when frozen. Jerusalem artichoke should be thawed in cold water in order for this process to be gradual.

The freezer will keep the fruits for up to three months.

Drying

The advantages of this storage method include the fact that all the useful properties of the plant are preserved. Although many people mistakenly believe that after drying the tubers lose them. Difficulties can arise only at the stage of preparation. Use a ceramic knife for cutting, the metal oxidizes the tubers. Remember that Jerusalem artichoke does not like direct sunlight, so store it only in a dark place.

You can dry the tubers cut into strips in the oven or outdoors in the shade. Dried Jerusalem artichoke is stored for several months, if the conditions are not violated.

Waxing

This method allows the tubers to remain juicy for a long time.

It is very important to do the waxing procedure quickly, as Jerusalem artichoke does not tolerate overheating.

1. Tubers should be cleaned from the ground very carefully, without damaging the skin.
2. Dry a little.
3. The tubers are dipped into the prepared paraffin and left to dry. The procedure should be carried out in a cold room so that the fruits cool quickly and not overheat. Otherwise, it will be detrimental to the earthen pear.
4. Further, the tubers can be placed in the basement in boxes, or left in the apartment in a cool place. They will be stored for no more than a month.

Natural shelter in the ground

Storing Jerusalem artichoke in the ground is the most successful of all methods. In the ground, it will remain until spring. The disadvantages of this method are that if you live in a climatic zone where it is very cold and the ground freezes deeply. It will be difficult to dig it up when the need arises.

You can cover the fruits for the winter with grass, cardboard, plywood. In March, it is already possible to dig out the remaining harvest, since with warming, the tubers will begin to sprout.

Trench method

This method is suitable for those who have nowhere to store it in the house, no cellar or space in the refrigerator, for example.

Storage in trenches - approximation to natural conditions in which Jerusalem artichoke grows. The disadvantages are rodents, which can enter trenches and ruin crops.In this case, you can put the poison, or lay burdock inflorescences next to the tubers.

The trench should be prepared in the fall, while the ground is soft enough. Its depth should reach 50 cm. The bottom is covered with straw or sawdust. Good, intact fruits are placed on the bottom of the pit and covered with earth, sand, straw. Cover with foil and add another layer of earth.

The earthen pear will be stored until spring.

Jerusalem artichoke cleaning

Since Jerusalem artichoke is a multifaceted culture, we can literally use both tops and roots. It is possible to harvest Jerusalem artichoke for green mass for feeding to animals or for ensiling. In our conditions, livestock can be harvested for feed in late July - early August, for a greater yield of green mass, when the plants grow up to one meter and more. Green crop harvesting can be done with silage harvesters. We harvest tubers either in autumn, in late October - early November, if weather conditions permit, or in spring. With a long spring in harvesting, a situation is possible (and we encounter it almost every year) when the dug up tubers have 1-2 seedlings, which will interfere with planting with a potato planter. Therefore, the sprouts break off when collecting tubers, further development occurs due to dormant buds.

In any case, before harvesting, dry stalks are mowed with a KIR-1.5 mower with a minimum low cut and with scattering of the crushed mass over the field. It is considered optimal to mow the stems in winter on frozen ground in order to minimize the ramming of the aisles. We carry out harvesting with a single-row mounted potato digger of Polish production. It is preferable to remove Jerusalem artichoke with a single-row potato digger L-651 made in the Republic of Belarus, since, unlike the Polish one, it has two successive bar conveyors with a total length of about two meters. This allows for better separation of the tubers from the soil. The tubers are harvested and packed manually.

Upon completion of harvesting, we discard the planting area with a light harrow BDN-3 or an LGD-5 cultivator in one track to a depth of 10-15 cm, then cut the ridges with a hiller to determine the rows.

It is almost impossible to select all tubers from the soil. The number of tubers remaining in the soil exceeds the sowing rate, especially many small ones. Therefore, immediately when the first shoots appear, we carry out several inter-row treatments - hilling in which weeds and extra plants in the row are destroyed. Further care is the same as in the first year of planting. A unique feature of Jerusalem artichoke is the ability to significantly increase the yield while providing it with optimal conditions - nutrition, moisture, temperature. The yield from one bush ranges from 0.5 to 2 kilograms, the yield from 1 hectare is from 20 to 70 tons. On a pilot site in Azerbaijan, in 1981, a crop of Jerusalem artichoke of the Interest variety was obtained 101 tons per hectare.

Is it possible to eat Jerusalem artichoke in the summer. What time is it harvested for eating?

There is no need to rush to collect the entire crop of the earthen pear. The tubers do not have a long fresh shelf life. They can be stored unchanged for 1 month. After that, their appearance, chemical and biological composition changes, moisture is lost, and decay begins. They cannot be canned or dried.

The way out is in the peculiarities of the tubers not to lose their medicinal properties and appearance during wintering right in the beds. In soil under snow or a small layer of dry earth, they can withstand air temperatures below -30 degrees. It is necessary to use this opportunity to preserve the harvest. Therefore, the best solution would be to remove some of the tubers in late autumn (after the first frosts), and leave the other part to winter in the soil, sprinkling it on top with a layer of dry soil or snow.

Is it possible to harvest an earthen pear in spring? In spring, for food, the crop can be harvested as the ground thaws and in the amount necessary for food for a week, a maximum of two.You should try to dig up the entire remainder of last year's harvest before the tuber overgrowth begins, when the new growing season of the plant starts. The main thing is not to miss the deadline. The dug tubers are immediately used for spring planting.

Reference! Experts believe that tubers left for wintering in the soil taste better in spring compared to the taste of tubers in autumn harvest. But the sweetness is felt stronger.

Step-by-step instructions for digging tubers

The following scheme for digging tubers is recommended:

1. From the beginning of October (or even from the middle of September), dig up useful roots for preparing salads and other dishes as family needs.
2. In late autumn, harvest part of the crop for food or animal feed, calculated for 1.5-2 months.
3. From late autumn to spring harvest, use wintering tubers (if they can be easily dug out). In winter, the body simply needs vitamins!
4. In the spring, vitamins are needed even more due to the inevitable seasonal vitamin deficiency of the human body. Therefore, a garden bed with natural vitamins in the garden will be of great help to health that has weakened over the winter (what exactly is the benefits of Jerusalem artichoke root for the body and human health, you will learn here).

Jerusalem artichoke is collected in this way:

1. Before harvesting Jerusalem artichoke, you need to cut off all of its bushes throughout the entire area. Regardless of whether part of the crop will remain under the snow until spring or not, leave a stump from the stem of each plant 30-40 cm long. This shoot will serve as a guideline for the subsequent digging of tubers in the fall or spring. The shoot will probably almost rot before spring and will not help in extracting tubers even from loose soil, but it will indicate exactly where they are.
2. Further - a matter of technology, well known to all from many years of experience in harvesting potatoes. You can dig it with shovels, but it is more convenient to do it with a pitchfork. The pitchfork should have a not too wide space between the teeth (Jerusalem artichoke tubers are much smaller than potatoes). It is easier to dig with a pitchfork, and the tubers are less damaged when working with such a harvesting tool.

The tubers are folded into buckets or small boxes, and then transferred to a place of permanent storage. If the soil is dry during harvesting, then drying the crop is not necessary. In the case of wet soil, it is required to dry the Jerusalem artichoke before storing it. But in no case should you wash the tubers!

From special publications of our experts devoted to the use of such a useful vegetable - an earthen pear, you can learn about how it is used in dried form, how its flowers are used and syrup is prepared from a root vegetable, and we will also tell you what benefits and harms Jerusalem artichoke can bring the body.

How to keep Jerusalem artichoke in an apartment

Root crops are stored in the apartment:

• in fridge;
• in the freezer;
• in a cool dry place in the form of chips or canned food;
• on the balcony.

It is better to stick to the latter option, but only if the space is not heated. Before storing Jerusalem artichoke at home in winter, choose a suitable place according to 2 criteria: the temperature is not higher than +5 ° C and the humidity is 85%.

On the loggia

When harvesting, try to keep the tubers in their original form - do not tear off the fruits from the root, do not shake off the ground. Get rid of only vegetables that are rotten and damaged during gardening. Do not leave in the air or under the sun for a long time, put the perishable product for storage.

Place the Jerusalem artichoke in boxes filled with sawdust, peat, or bags of soil. Take it to the balcony or loggia without heating. Periodically, carefully check the earthen pear, remove spoiled food.

In fridge

For storage in the refrigerator:

• select whole root vegetables, wash gently;
• wrap each in a damp cloth made of natural fabric;
• place on the shelf next to the freezer or in the “fresh zone” where the temperature is kept at zero.

In this state, an earthen pear will last up to 20 days.

To prevent the fruit from drying out, wrap it in a damp cloth before storing it in the refrigerator.

In the freezer

There is no fresh Jerusalem artichoke after the freezer - the fruits will secrete juice, become watery and tasteless. In thermally processed dishes, tubers can be used. The product will not lose its nutritional value, it will be as useful as in the fall.

Before freezing, "potatoes" are sorted out, washed and peeled. The pulp is chopped into pieces, the size of which depends on the requirements in the recipes. You can cut it into cubes, slices, wedges, or grate with a knife.

Place small root vegetables in plastic containers with a lid or zip bags and send them whole to the freezer. Arrange the pieces in one layer on a baking sheet or a suitable plate and freeze in shock or at maximum temperatures.

Then pour into the same bags or containers. Try to lay out in portions and eat the container at a time. Re-freezing is not recommended. You can store the product at -18 ° C for up to 3 months.

Canning and drying

To preserve the benefits of Jerusalem artichoke for up to a year, the product can be canned or dried. For drying, the roots are washed and cleaned. Immerse in cold water with citric acid, cut into thin plates and return back to the liquid. The solution will prevent the slices from oxidizing and darkening.

When the slicing is finished, the plates are removed and dried with paper towels. Spread on parchment in one layer, put in a dehydrator or oven at 60-80 ° C. To avoid burning, you can turn on convection or open the door. Drying time depends on the power of the appliance, check and remove at the stage of slightly toasted chips.

Let the workpiece cool down. Season to taste and place the dried Jerusalem artichoke in glass jars with a lid. Store in a dry place, otherwise the chips will damp and spoil.

Earthen pear is canned separately, with spices or in combination with other vegetables. For a classic recipe, take:

• 1 kg of washed Jerusalem artichoke (wash with a brush, fruits with peels are preserved);
• 2 medium cucumbers;
• 2 small carrots for flavor
• 4 tbsp. l. salt;
• 2 liters of water;
• favorite spices for pickling cucumbers (bay leaves, dill umbrellas, parsley and celery roots, peppercorns are suitable).

A three-liter jar and a seaming lid are thoroughly sterilized. Fill the container with vegetables and boiling water. After a minute, the water is sent to a saucepan, boiled again and poured into a jar. Add spices, roll up and set upside down. For half an hour, for better sterilization, canned food can be wrapped in a blanket, and then it must be put in a refrigerator or cellar.

Preparation for drying fruits

Waxing

Jerusalem artichoke is stored in paraffin longer than without a protective layer. For processing, root crops are cleaned of the ground, washed and dried with paper towels. They try not to damage the skin, otherwise the product will rot. For 2 hours, the treated specimens are left on the table so that the surface is completely dry.

At home, food paraffin is melted in a water bath or in a microwave. Each "potato" is dipped into the mass, removed and transferred to a smooth surface. When the paraffin has hardened into a crust, the earthen pear is laid out in boxes or boxes of straw. Store in the basement, on a cool balcony or under the bed, away from heating appliances.