[Eristic]

I must confess that I've never grown them to 5 mtr but many old books talk about 16-17 ft. They are sunflowers don't forget. The tallest I've had them is around the 12ft mark, say 3.5 mtr but they have always had to be chopped to keep stable. I think 5 mtr is easily doable if you wanted to grow them tall.

After having the tops chopped off, they immediately make loads of side shoots with more leaves so this action may itself increase the yield.

The biggest problem is siting them so that they do not cast a heavy shadow across cultivated land.

[Sadgit]

Where can i get Jerusalem Artichoke roots from -I  haven't seen anywhere to buy em and i want to try

You can get them online at most places and ebay, ebay is a bit of a rip off for them mind you. Plus there are 2 different types of JA's

Fuseau = smooth and no nobbles = easy to peal
normal = nobbles and hard to peal.

[supersprout]

T&M are selling them for about £8 plus about £2 postage

[shaun]

and what about the spacing eristic ?

[muntjac]

20 inches was what i was told mate as tyhey get a load of top growth and need the space to grow

[Eristic]

I plant mine 1 ft apart in the row and have 3 rows with 18" between. This is one crop I've never bothered to do any yield trials with. I just plant them, they grow. I dig them up, eat my fill, give some away, replant some and there is always some left over

The better the quality of the soil, the bigger and better the tubers.

[supersprout]

The better the quality of the soil, the bigger and better the tubers.

Absolutely, I treated mine well this year and the difference was staggering. If you save your smoothest and largest tubers from the most prolific plants for sowing, you'll gradually improve yield of smooth tubers too (choose smooth over large). I plant like squash, 1m apart each way.

[supersprout]

6 inches deep cover the roots and forget them mate . a really dug bit ground and manured is a bonus as you get loads according to the chap i got mine from

I give them a good mulch (8" of straw, layered with lawn mowings, raw compost etc.) so you don't have to weed them. Although I know lots of people who swear by them as windbreaks, I always need to stake mine. Cut them down to 3 ft 6 last year, had loads of flowers and shoots, and the crop was the best I've ever had. Still had to stake tho' :shock:

growmore, ask in the seed swap section and you might find someone who could send you some

[freyaluck]

I am sure I saw some in wilkos the other day, will have a look when I next pop into town, actually might take a wonder down later.  I will let you know.
Frey