Gerard is a red skinned french variety. Easy to grow and crops after the first year. Jerusalem artichokes should be planted on arrival.
How to grow:
Jerusalem artichokes are very easy to grow. Put them in a permanent site between November and March. They will do well in full sun or partial shade. Prepare the ground well. You can plant in a trench if you want a straight line or individual planting holes for more staggered planting. The trench should be 60cm wide and 30cm deep, put in some compost or well rotted manure and plant your tubers horizontally 15cm deep and 30cm apart. The plants will reach up to 2 meters in the growing season. Jerusalem artichokes are related to sunflowers and daisy like yellow flowers will appear at the end of the summer. Cut the stalks down in early Autumn and chop and compost them. Dig the tubers as required. Either leave some in the ground to regrow or dig them all and replant some tubers each year.
How to cook:
Jerusalem artichokes are a versatile vegetable. You can mash, roast or fry them, make gratin and soup. We like to wash, peel and slice them for stirfries, their crunchy, nuttiness is similar to water chestnuts. Jerusalem artichokes can be a bit knobbly and difficult to clean so you can give them a bit of a scrub and then boil in their skins for about 5 minutes, then, when cool enough to handle, you can easily remove the skin and continue cooking your chosen recipe.
