29 May 2010

Tubers

I was given a box-full of young Jerusalem artichoke plants a couple of weeks ago and planted them on the day I received them. Since then, they've been looking progressively sick, with only one of them retaining its original set of leaves. Here's a typical example of the others:


It's been very hot and dry here, so I've been watering them regularly, but was beginning to think it was a waste of time. This morning, though, I noticed some of the stems sprouting new growth:


Not all of them, but a fair proportion, are showing similar signs of life.


In other tuber news, the greenhouse-sown potatoes are flowering (and beginning to shade out other plants), so I lifted one of those this morning and got a pound and a half off it: our first potatoes of the season. I've learnt that it's best not to sow any outside until early May, so the outdoor ones are going to be a few weeks behind these. Here's how they look right now:

3 comments:

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

It is not easy to understand why some choose to live, and some choose to die.. At least, you have a few growing.. have a great weekend!
~bangchik

Linda said...

The jerusalem artichokes will surprise you and send up new shoots. I've got them, moved them and they are hard to get rid of.
My potatoes are about as high as yours, but I don't grow mine in the ground I use bushel baskets for no dig potatoes!

Amanda said...

So perhaps it would have been more news-worthy if the artichokes had all died?!