A Seed Saver's Garden

[heirloomgal]

It was a big day today - my first time cooking up the Jerusalem artichokes. I sauteed them in butter, added a bit of salt and pepper, popped a lid on the pan for a few minutes and that was it. I sliced them fairly thin, because I wanted them to cook fast. And I didn't peel them because the variety I dug up is too knobby and bumpy. I have been waiting for this moment for 365+ days, because last year at this time I replanted all my tubers instead.

OMG. It was absolutely & utterly delicious. Totally blew away any expectations I had. I think on some level I thought they might be somewhat watery, like zucchini. Raw, the tubers are crunchy and watery. These had substance, they were buttery and creamy. A little like a refined potato, or a potato that crossed with another creamy vegetable. I loved the crusty brown exterior they developed. I could have eaten a much bigger plate of them. DD, a tough critic, agreed that they were wonderful. The texture may have been a wee bit better with peeling, but really it wasn't that noticeable. How did I ever live without these in my gardening life!

For anyone who hasn't tried them, this is how I'd describe the taste. If a lightly toasted sunflower seed were a baby potato sized vegetable, this is what it would taste like cooked. Hot, with butter. The most common descriptive for it seems to be 'nutty' and I can see why, but I'd narrow it down further. I'd call them 'sunflowery' or even 'sunflower seedish'. A seed is basically a nut anyway I guess. It shocks me that these aren't more common, though I realize the break down process can be troubling and this may be why.

Of course I was very interested to see what my body thought of these tubers. Absolutely no effect whatsoever. Not a flicker on the screen of anything unpleasant. Of course, my portion was perhaps too modest. And it has me wondering if volume eaten is really the main issue with the choke digestion issues? I can see how it would be very easy to overdo it with a vegetable this abundant, delicious and easy to prepare?

 

[Decoy1]

Congratulations on your lack of flatulence! That’s a gift as I agree that they’re totally delicious.
The tendency to be over-vigorous and take over is their other drawback in my mind. When I decided that the indigestion was just too much and so wanted to get rid of them, it took me four or five years of digging them out before they stopped popping up among other things. Keep a careful eye on their spread would be my suggestion. In the meantime, enjoy!

 

[flowerbug]

the delayed digestive effect may happen later, but starting with a smaller portion is usually a good idea when introducing new items to the system. which is what i recommend with dry bean cooking too for people who aren't used to eating many of them. just add a few spoonfuls to a meal and then gradually increase and your body can adapt to them. as for smell, it is usually more related to the spices and fats added to them than the beans themselves. when i eat them fairly plain the poots are too. happy sailing (@digitS' fault again - he's got me thinking of sails in the breeze this morning ).

 

[heirloomgal]

Congratulations on your lack of flatulence! That’s a gift as I agree that they’re totally delicious.
The tendency to be over-vigorous and take over is their other drawback in my mind. When I decided that the indigestion was just too much and so wanted to get rid of them, it took me four or five years of digging them out before they stopped popping up among other things. Keep a careful eye on their spread would be my suggestion. In the meantime, enjoy!

I see what you mean already, the place where I planted them last year (and didn't replant any this year) sprouted a bunch of plants! So whatever I failed to harvest clearly made some new plants, and that is a difficult spot too, right where the back of my garden meets the forest. I'm surprised they were able to grow through that tangle of wildness.

Do you think I could be right, that I didn't experience any issues because I only had a smaller portion? I wanted to cook some again today but never got to it. I'm a little worried that if I eat a bigger plate it might not go as well. I'm quite shocked really that I didn't have any side effects since it seems so common that people have trouble.

 

[heirloomgal]

I took a break today from tomatoes and that was weird. I feel like I've been working daily at getting these piles down for weeks. Thank heavens for the longkeepers, they're preserving my sanity right now. So many tomatoes to contend with. But I'm close to the end. Boy did I overdo it with the toms this year. I really need to stop myself doing this next year.

The only things left in the garden are carrots, jumbo ground cherries, amaranth, the kales, some flowers and the sunchokes. My one little window box of 'Ho Lan Dao' is growing little peas with bumps right now. It was probably a big mistake to replant those this year, from the small handful of seeds I harvested from the early summer plants. I really hope they can make it to seed and all will not be lost! I'm more worried about the shortening days/light than lack of heat.

Been bagging dried bean pods every night too. I'm not shelling for right now, I'm really letting the pods get brittle dry and will shell everything when this crazy time is done and I can enjoy the process. My world is an explosion of carboard flats full of pods and trays of tomatoes - e v e r y w h e r e. It's a wonder that everybody puts up with me!?

My alien seed pods have been super freaky the last couple of days. The remaining immature green ones I put on the windowsill, in case they can ripen that way. A few mornings now I've woken up to find where there was once a green furry desiccating pod there is now a big black pod bug! They change fast, and they move or maybe even 'jump' when they split. I always find them somewhere near where they used to be!

A picture of this week's dried 'Midnight Black' fava beans. Maybe there is something wrong with them, because some of them are actually mottled brown and not fully black?