Sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem Artichokes, fartichokes, or toot-roots) are a true fall garden treasure. They’re a nutty tuber rich in iron, potassium, and inulin- a pre-biotic fiber thats an incredible way to give your gut health a boost coming into fall and winter.

The pre-biotic fiber is where they get their toot-root nickname- if you're not used to a high fiber diet we recommend eating them cooked rather than raw. If you’re a serious bean and veggie eater- they’re great raw, thin sliced, in a salad.

Our favorite way use sunchokes is to quarter them and freeze them. Then whenever we’re making a soup we like to blend a few pieces of sunchoke with a little water or broth (along with any dried herbs and peppers) and add it to the soup. It adds a subtle nuttiness and also a nice silky texture to our broth.

Sunchokes also make a great roasted breakfast dish: on chilly mornings we like to toss them in the oven with some garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil till they're tender on the inside and crispy and caramelized on the outside (cook at 375 for about 30-ish minutes).

To plant sunchokes, space them about 18 inches apart and plant them 4-6inches deep in either a raised bed or a bed you’ll be able to mow around to keep them contained. We always plant them right after we’ve harvested them in the fall- and like to cover them with some fresh compost and either hay, straw, or leaves as a mulch. Water them in well. They’ll pop up in late-ish spring next year and will be ready for harvest after sustained chilly nights or a first freeze in the fall. Our often grow 9 - 12 feet tall.

Chickens and rabbits absolutely LOVE the leaves and we the stems can be shredded or chopped before composting them.

Here are some great videos on how to cook and plant Sunchokes

Sunchoke Puree