2023 Preorders ship late Fall, 2023. Back by popular demand for those planning ahead of the winter rush. Get them while they last!
Sunflower relative indigenous to North America that produces beautiful yellow flowers and an edible, potato-like tuber highly prized by chefs worldwide. Listed as Waldspinel, Wald Spine 1, and Waldspindel, with varying physical descriptions, although most agree that the cultivar was originally selected in Austria. Translated from German, "forest gem" makes sense for this one! Prolific, early maturing, and relatively small, spindel-type tubers made great snacking before and during other harvests. Sweetest in Spring. USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9.
IMPORTANT:
Timing and climate matter. Sunchoke tubers sprout best after an extended period of moist cold storage. Sunchokes are resilient! But without this cold period, we have found that tubers we purchased from other farms in warm, dry climates never sprouted on our farm (USDA Zone 5b). We have cold winters and -- while this means our seed tuber inventory is sometimes frozen in the ground during peak availability -- it also means your sunchokes are ready to go come spring!
Customers from Northern climates with cold winters should plant tubers in-ground as soon as possible this fall and overwinter them for Spring 2024 growth.
Live in a warm-winter climate? Consider 1. refrigerating the tubers in moist (not wet) peat moss or sand for several months and checking often for signs of developing dehydration (add water) or mold (rinse, dry, and repackage) or 2. purchasing in late 2023/early 2024 (while supplies last).