How to Plant Jerusalem artichoke: step by step instructions

Residents of Russia have relatively recently become acquainted with Jerusalem artichoke as a vegetable culture, but interest in growing it in their dacha area is growing. The fact is that this plant yields high yields, is resistant to diseases, endowed with excellent taste qualities, and is of great benefit to the body. So, the substances that make up the product are necessary for people suffering from hypertension and diabetes mellitus. How to grow Jerusalem artichoke in the country and how to care for this plant, we will tell in this article. Also we will tell about the usefulness of the earth pear, we will share the recipes of folk medicine.

What is an earthen pear?

Before you talk about how to plant Jerusalem artichoke, you need to describe the plant so that people can fully realize that eventually grows.

Ground pear - so called Jerusalem artichoke in people for similar taste qualities, is a perennial plant. It multiplies by tubers and seeds. Externally, the plant resembles a sunflower. It is the same high, with a rich green foliage, on the top there is a small flower of bright yellow color. Can be used as a decoration of the site.

Benefit

Jerusalem artichoke during the flowering period will decorate the garden, and its fruits - tubers, will become an excellent delicacy, which will be of great benefit. In biochemical analysis, it was found that there are a lot of starchy substances, minerals and vitamins in the ground pear.

Jerusalem artichoke is almost the only vegetable garden plant that has a huge percentage of silicon in its composition. People of older age begin to feel discomfort in the joints, the bones become more fragile, and all because silicon in the body becomes smaller, and this affects the elasticity of tissues. The balance between the content of silicon and calcium in the body is the health of bones, and it needs to be maintained from a young age.

In addition, silicon helps to cleanse the body of toxins. If you become irritable, quickly get tired and sometimes feel utter impotence, then you know, this is a lack of silicon. Earth pear quickly replenishes its deficiency, it is well absorbed by the body. There is nothing easier than to grow Jerusalem artichoke at the dacha, and maintain the balance of all the necessary substances by preparing food from it. The taste of the tubers is pleasant, when cooking it becomes similar to the taste of sweetish potatoes.

The main advantage of Jerusalem artichoke is its high content of inulin. This substance is the only natural polysaccharide that can be absorbed without insulin. The ground pear is a necessary component of nutrition for people with diabetes.

Jerusalem artichoke contains vitamins C, B1, B2. Their amounts are several times greater than in carrots, potatoes and beets.

How to grow Jerusalem artichoke in the country? When to do this? What are the features of care for this amazingly useful and tasty plant? These questions are of interest to many gardeners, and we decided to answer them in full.

What material for planting to choose?

As it was already written, the earth pear multiplies both by seeds and tubers. If you decide to plant seeds, then by autumn it will not come out to get a big harvest. The bush will grow small, and only a few small tubers are formed, it is from them that it is worth waiting for good fruits, but by the next fall.

There is nothing better than planting Jerusalem artichoke in spring tubers. In the first year you will be able to eat good, large fruits. That is why most often in order to get a full crop, rather than planting material, planting of tubers, or their fragments, is made.

Where to plant Jerusalem artichoke?

This plant is rather unpretentious to the soil. It will develop well if sufficient amounts of oxygen and moisture get into the ground. If there is not enough humus in the ground, then it does not matter. It is easily compensated by properly selected top-dressing.

You should not plant Jerusalem artichoke in a dense chernozem, where little oxygen will flow. In this case, even with sufficient food, the plant will not yield a rich harvest. The soil must be well ventilated so that moisture does not stagnate.

Choose an open area where sunlight penetrates well. And his preparation for the landing should begin already in the autumn, because planting Jerusalem artichoke in the spring is much easier and easier if the beds are ready.

Preparing the plot

When the site is selected, it is necessary to dig it up before the onset of cold weather. The depth should be equal to the bayonet's bayonet. We must remove the roots of weeds. All of them can not be chosen, but do not worry, because the lost parts will freeze over the winter. But not only therefore the plot is prepared from autumn. Before digging to the ground, lay manure, it will be the ideal fertilizer, and before the planting it will have time to perepret.

How to plant Jerusalem artichoke in the spring?

In most areas the plant is planted in the first days of May. How to grow Jerusalem artichoke at the cottage in the open ground, if you live in the middle band? In this case, do not rush, you need to plant the tubers only when the soil warms to at least sixteen degrees. This may be the end of May.

Before planting an earth pear (Jerusalem artichoke), you need to choose strong, large tubers. There should be no traces of pests and diseases on them. The quality of the planting material depends on how strong the plant grows, the autumn harvest of Jerusalem artichoke.

If you do not have the necessary amount of healthy, large tubers, then still do not plant bad ones. They will later give sprouts, and the harvest will be non-simultaneous. In this case, it is better to cut the quality material into several parts so that each one has a healthy, noticeable eye. To the plant is not unwell, the places of cuts must be dried, and before planting, treat it with crushed coal.

We prepare the beds

Dug in the autumn of the site once again to dig up, loosen, smash large pieces, align, and create beds. Rows on the ridges should not be already 70 centimeters, and the distance between trenches is not less than 30 centimeters. To stick to such intervals is extremely important, since the plant can reach two and a half meters in height during the summer, grow, and it will be very difficult for you to make your way through the solid wall of greenery to care for the earthen pear.

An important point in growing is the depth to plant Jerusalem artichoke. The wells should be about fifteen centimeters deep and about thirty in width. The distance between them is half a meter.

Under conditions of warm weather and maintenance of soil moisture, the first stems with sharp, cordate-shaped young leaves will soon be erected.

The mistake of many gardeners

Most people who do not know how to properly plant Jerusalem artichoke believe that you can dig a tuber and near roads where the land is "empty". Such an opinion is held by those who saw that the plant grows on its own, on abandoned wastelands. That's why, even planting an earthen pear by all the rules, summer residents forget about it until the fall, when it's time to harvest. What is their surprise, when under strong, healthy bushes are found only a few "lean", highly branched roots, which can not be called tubers.

Jerusalem artichoke, although unpretentious, needs a specially designated area, and will not fully develop, growing in an unsuitable, unprocessed place. How to plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers correctly, we figured out, now let's talk about proper care of the plant.

Before emergence

The ground pear is not a potato, and it requires the care of even the moment when the first shoots appear above the ground. To get a healthy plant and a good harvest, it is important to follow certain rules:

1. Do not allow the appearance of a dense earth crust, which will not pass moisture and air. For this, the soil gently loosens. In order not to damage the plant, be guided by the ridges that remained when the tubers were instilled.
2. Stable measures are taken to eliminate weeds, that is weeding.
3. Care of the plant lasts from the time of planting to harvesting.
4. Feed Jerusalem artichoke once a month.

Since planting the plant and before collecting the tubers in autumn it is necessary to maintain soil moisture. To do this, try to produce abundant watering if there is not enough rainfall.

Care after appearance of sprouts

At a time when Jerusalem artichoke will actively grow, build up the green mass, which usually occurs in the first half of the summer, it is necessary to introduce fertilizing with compounds that contain a lot of nitrogen. Before planting Jerusalem artichoke, such fertilizers are not needed, there will be enough manure, but in the period of active growth the plant will need this component. With the approach of July, replace the fertilizer with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.

Watering is worth producing, focusing on the weather and the condition of the bushes. This is the most important moment after planting artichoke properly. If the plant does not have enough moisture, it will grow slowly, and the harvest will consist of small, highly branched tubers. In addition, drought can contribute to the attack of pests on the plant. In excess irrigation Jerusalem artichoke is also in danger: it will hit different kinds of rot and slime.

When the plant reaches a growth of 30 to 40 centimeters, it is necessary to dip it. This event will allow the formation of additional roots, which will lead to a higher yield.

Further Care

In the middle of summer, Jerusalem artichoke will grow to a meter, and it will be difficult for him to keep heavy greens on his own. To prevent the stems from breaking down and continue to grow, plantings are divided into bushes, erect strong supports in the form of poles and tie bushes to them with strong wire or thick threads.

To further increase the yield, re-raking is recommended in the second half of July. Approximately at the same time, the plant will start to bloom, do not leave color on the bushes, it will take away all the useful substances from the tubers. Cut them, cutting the Jerusalem artichoke up to one and a half meters. The collected bouquet will perfectly decorate the room, if you put it in a beautiful vase.

Harvesting and storage of crops

It is not enough to know how to plant Jerusalem artichoke and take care of it. You also need to be aware of how to keep the harvest for a longer time.

From the appearance of the first shoots to harvesting takes an average of 120 days. But it is not enough just to dig up the tubers, it is necessary to influence the formation of thick peels, because without it the harvest can not be stored all winter, even if the conditions are ideal.

A month before the planned excavation, stop feeding the plant, and two weeks before harvesting, cut the stems to leave thirty-centimetric cuttings above the ground. These procedures allow the tubers to be even more nourished with vitamins and minerals, they form a thick skin.

Growing Jerusalem artichoke in Russia showed that this plant is very frost-resistant. If the germs were freezing when they appeared, they would not suffer. Tubers can safely overwinter in the ground, and withstand the temperature drop to -40 degrees, but provided that the snow layer will be more than 30 centimeters.

Some tubers are specially left for hibernation in the soil, so that in the first spring days they have tasty, preserved root crops. But for this it is necessary to be vigilant and dig them out immediately after the snow has fallen, otherwise the tubers will begin to germinate. All the fruits are removed from the soil, as they can become an annoying weed.

Stuffed Jerusalem artichoke in a subfield or other basement under the same conditions as potatoes. Before placing the tubers in the basement, they are well washed and dried, spread out on a dry floor under a canopy.

ethnoscience

As we already mentioned, Jerusalem artichoke is not only a delicious, but also a useful treat. To make the plant profitable, you need to know how to use it properly. We offer you to read the most useful recipes for making Jerusalem artichoke:

1. If you have diabetes, you can eat Jerusalem artichoke as follows: collect flowers and stems, rinse well under running water, cut the salad. You can add other vegetables, but without them, Jerusalem artichoke will be a very tasty dish, it is only necessary to fill with vegetable oil. Tubers are also useful for you, they should be eaten at 50 grams for half an hour before meals. Eat directly with a peel, without all seasonings and salt.
2. To adjust the pancreas, increase hemoglobin and lower blood pressure, prepare a decoction. To do this, you need to pour five tubers of Jerusalem artichoke with one liter of water, boil them until soft. The resulting broth is drunk all over the glass during the day. This broth is recommended to be taken three times a week.
3. To enhance immunity, you can prepare a vitamin drink from leaves and stems. The material is collected during flowering, and before it starts, it is dried. After that, 20 grams of greenery is poured with a liter of boiling water, insisted until cooling, filter and drink. You can drink this drink to a liter a day instead of tea. If desired, add jam or honey.
4. From the headache and heartburn will save the juice from the tubers. It is necessary to grate the fruit, squeeze, mix the juice with the same amount of water. Take two tablespoons in the morning, before breakfast. The juice is well stored in the refrigerator in a closed jar.

Conclusion

As you could see, the ground pear is quite simple to grow, it does not require complicated care, it is only necessary to weed, water and tie in time. For your small works on the site you will get a rich harvest, delicious and very useful fruits. We hope that our article on how to plant Jerusalem artichoke and take care of it will be useful to you. We wish you an excellent harvest and good health!