I gave up waiting for a serious frost and harvested the first of my jerusalem artichokes today. Might as well do it while the weather is still good (JA harvest is for me synonymous with frozen fingers!). With the long mild autumn, the yield of Dave’s Shrine (long red, spreading variety) was above average, although the plants didn’t manage to flower (they sometimes almost flower, but nowhere near it this year).

I found the following description on the net from “Taylor’s Guide to Heirloom Vegetables”:
Dave’s Shrine (Judy’s Red or Wolcottonian Red) was collected by Dave Briars of Craftsbury, Vermont. Long (3-4 in.), fat tubers have beautiful bronzy purple skins; ivory –coloured flesh contains lots of dry matter, which gives this variety a “saltier”, more meaty taste than other chokes.

The white variety is Stampede which is probably identical to Bianca and Norwegian Dagnøytral (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=2669)

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