BC Living
How to Support BC Wineries Now
Embark on Culinary Adventures: 5 Must-Try Solo Dining Experiences Around BC
You Gotta Try this in April 2024
4 Tips on Balancing a Nutritious Diet with a Side of Indulgence
Choosing Connection: A BC Family Day Pledge to Prioritize Presence Over Plans
Embracing Plant-Based Living this Veganuary and Beyond
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
Travel Light, Travel Right: Minimalist Packing Tips for Solo Explorers
A Solo Traveller’s Guide to Cozy Accommodations
Local Getaway: Relax at a Hidden Cabin along Jordan River
Films and TV Series that Inspire Solo Travel
B.C. Adventures: Our picks for April
Cooking Classes
8 Gadgets and Gear for Your Solo Adventures
A Solo Traveller’s Guide to Souvenir Hunting in BC
Sḵwálwen Botanicals – Changing the Face of Skincare
If you need a natural windbreak, or to provide shade from sun, sunchokes (Helianthus tuberosus) may be your answer!
These fast growing perennial vegetables grow to six feet by mid-summer. (They are also known as Jerusalem artichokes for reasons unbeknown to me). They spread rapidly by underground shoots that grow into tubers and will become a permanent fixture in the garden once planted. I grow two varieties, one with red tubers and one with white tubers which produce showy yellow sunflowers in October. The red variety is a lot more prolific than the white one.
Easy to grow, sunchokes thrive in any garden soil, but the best tubers are grown in good soil in full sun. Tubers should be planted early in the year in March or April, before they take root, and can be left to grow until harvested in late fall, once the tops die down. They are sweetest if left until after hard frosts, and can be harvested from the garden as needed throughout the winter.
Try eating them peeled and sliced with a veggie dip (crunchy and refreshing), or drizzled with olive oil and roasted for 25 minutes (sweet and nutty).
Back to the Victory Garden Program.