Before You Plant Sunchokes, You Need to Read This Post
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Sunchokes (AKA Jerusalem artichokes) are gaining popularity for their health benefits. I’m sharing how to grow sunchokes, when to harvest and how to use them – plus the big mistake that we made when we first planted them.
Table of Contents
What are Sunchokes?
Sunchokes are native to eastern North America. They are also known as Jerusalem Artichokes or Sunroots. They are not related to Artichokes, but they are related to sunflowers. The whole “Jerusalem” thing is supposedly linked to the Italian word girasola, which means sunflower.
Sunchokes are a perennial plant that grows six to ten feet tall. While they do have pretty yellow flowers, most people grow them for their edible roots. Their roots are high in inulin, and eaten raw or cooked.
Historically, Native American valued them as a food source, especially during late winter when food supplies run low.
How do you Grow Sunchokes?
Grow sunchokes from roots or sections of root, planted in spring or fall while roots are dormant. You can grow the plants from seed, but starting with tubers is easier and faster.
For best results, use the following planting guidelines:
- The plants prefer loose, well-drained soil, but will tolerate poor soils. (Lighter soil makes harvesting easier.)
- Space sunchoke tubers 12 to 18 inches apart, 4 to 6 inches deep.
- Space rows 4-6 feet apart (they will be prone to spreading).
- Soil temperature at planting should be at least 50°F.
- Plant in full sun.
- Do not plant in areas that are consistently wet, as wet soil will rot the tubers. Plants are drought tolerant, but produce best will a regular supply of water.
- pH of soil best between 5.8 and 6.2 (neutral soil)
- Preferred growing temps = 65 to 90 F.
- Cover your soil with an inch or so of organic mulch for easier harvesting and root protection.
- Plant in a dedicated bed that can be mowed around for control. Or sink barriers into the soil around the sunchokes at least 24 inches deep to prevent spreading. (More on this below.)
When are they Ready to Harvest?
Harvest sunchokes in late fall or early spring. They require 110 -150 days to maturity, depending on the variety and growing conditions. Light frost increases the sweetness of the tubers.
Unlike potatoes and some other root crops, sunchokes do not store well. Their skin is thin and dries out easily. I keep them in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. They keep best in the ground, dug as needed for use.
In northern areas, a thick layer of mulch may keep your tubers accessible longer. It may also encourage mice or voles to move in and have a snack, but there’s usually enough to share.
For bigger roots, avoid crowding plants and water regularly. You can also cut off flower stalks to encourage root growth. Please don’t cut off all your sunchoke flowers! They flower late in the season, when pollinators have few flower choices.
How do I Eat Jerusalem Artichokes?
Sunchokes are edible raw or cooked, including the skins. They are difficult to peel and turn grey quite quickly, so a good scrubbing is a better option.
Raw, sunchokes are similar in texture to a water chestnut or jicama. After a light frost, they take on a somewhat nutty flavor. For my part, they taste best raw after a frost.
See Jerusalem Artichoke Recipes for easy recipes and cooking tips.
Do Sunchokes Cause Gas?
Sunchokes are loaded with inulin. Inulin is a type of starch that acts as a prebiotic in the digestive tract, feeding our beneficial bacteria.
Inulin is a widely used filler in many foods to bump up the fiber counts. It also increases calcium absorption in the body, and doesn’t spike blood sugar. There are even sweeteners made for diabetics made out of sunchokes.
See Jerusalem Artichoke Benefits: Nutrition, Flavor, and Uses for more information.
Eating a large amount of sunchokes may lead to “mild gas”. They have the nickname “fartichokes”.
I can verify that eating a large portion of boiled sunchokes will give you horrible, gut-racking gas like you have never experienced before… except for that one time when you were pregnant and thought it was a good idea to eat prunes, cheese curds and cucumbers in large amounts all at the same time.
Start slowly when eating sunchokes, and perhaps avoid serving them in large quantities at dinner parties. Give your digestive system time to build up the right bacteria to deal with the extra inulin.
Readers have suggested a couple of different tips to beat sunchoke gas. One suggested that you eat some sunchokes raw, and don’t scrub all the dirt off.
I assume that some soil microbes come with to help aid digestion. Another reader says that harvesting after frost is a big help, as the frost naturally breaks down some of the inulin for you.
A Word of Caution About Growing Sunchokes
“Easy to grow” and “disease-free through heat and drought” are code words for “You will Never Get Rid of this Plant!”
When I first planted sunchokes, I skimmed over the note in the seed catalog that said “they will spread and may be invasive”.
I planted my tubers late in spring, in one corner of a garden bed. There were nine rather wrinkled little roots, and I didn’t think they would all survive. Not only did they survive, they thrived. We tried to harvest the whole patch that first year, but must have missed a few.
The next spring they were back, and they were spreading. We tried to keep up eating them, but the fall was muddy and we couldn’t get in to harvest.
By the third season, we had the lovely thicket of 12 foot tall flowers you see at the post. As I was digging them in fall, I tossed some damaged roots off into the tall grass away from the garden.
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Sunchokes Spread from the Smallest Bit of Tuber
Fast forward to spring. Those root bits haphazardly thrown into the weeds – they’ve now sprouted into plants. There’s a new sunchoke colony.
I decide to get rid of extra sunchokes. Two friends come over.
Four different adults attack the patch. Bushels and bushels of sunchokes leave the garden. The patch size is reduced roughly by half to start the spring.
Time passes. My boys work the bed again. They remove more sunchokes from the same area that the adults have already gone over.
Before I put the transplants in, I work over the same area one more time. THERE ARE STILL SUNCHOKES COMING UP! This area has been gone over by four adults and two kids, and there are still sunchokes hiding in the dirt.
Here’s the main patch. You can see the smaller outliers in the foreground. That area should be clear.
Here’s a nice, innocent looking sunchoke seedling.
Once we dig it up, we see that this single tuber is trying to regrow an entire sunchoke thicket.
Even tiny pieces, no bigger than the tip of my thumb, can regrow entire large, vigorous plants.
They’re virtually unstoppable. Weeks later, and I’m still digging up shoots from among my cabbage seedlings.
Plan Ahead with Your Sunchoke Plantings
I urge you, do not plant sunchokes anywhere else you might like to grow other plants at some time in the future. You will spend very large amounts of time attempting to remove them if you do.
Plant them in their own area that you can mow around, to keep them under control. You can also plant them in pots – as long as they are big pots. Try one tuber per 18 inch diameter pot. Look for varieties that naturally grow shorter, and have an option for providing support if needed.
My neighbor says her horseradish plants are the same way. Plant both at your own risk. Maybe we should plant them next to each other, to see which one wins.
Alternatively, introduce pigs or chickens into your sunchoke area and let them tackle clean up duty. Jerusalem artichokes make a fine fodder crop.
What Tries to Take Over Your Garden?
Sunchokes are good for you. They look pretty, taste okay, and are quite expensive to buy in many areas, if they are available at all.
They’re a “perfect” choice for a new exotic vegetable to try. I just wanted to let you know that you’re likely to have a lifetime commitment with them once they enter your garden. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Are there any other plants you’ve grown that want to take over your garden? Leave a comment to warn other gardeners before they end up fighting them, too.
Also, if you could include in your comments roughly what area you are from, that would be great. Some plants will spread in some locations but not in others.
This article is written by Laurie Neverman. Laurie and her family have 35 acres in northeast Wisconsin. They grow dozens of varieties of fruiting trees, shrubs, brambles, and vines, along with an extensive annual garden. Along with her passion for growing nutrient dense food, she also enjoys ancient history, adorable ducks, and lifelong learning.
Originally published in 2012, last updated in 2026.
Oregano, parsley, and tomatillos. Ugh, the tomatillos. 2 years ago my grandmother gifted me with a bunch of “eggplant” seedlings that turned out to be tomatillos. I didn’t plant a single tomatillo plant last year, but I pulled up around 50. They were *everywhere*! There’s also a mimosa tree in the driveway that was here when we bought the place. I’ve had to make it a habit to patrol the sides of the driveway every time I leave or come home so I can catch any sprouts before they get out of hand.
Laurie, you never disappoint – thanks for this warning. 🙂 I have a great place that is going to soon be surrounded by chicken run, and until then, I can mow all the way around it, so I think I’ll try some sun chokes there.
After reading this, I remembered in Nourishing Traditions where sun chokes are said to “cause a filthy, loathsome, stinking wind within the body.” Have you successfully eaten these without digestive distress since that first memorable incident?
We haven’t planted anything invasive, but we have Himalayan Blackberries EVERYWHERE here in the PNW. They are evil. Pure, delicious evil!
The key to eating sunchokes (and any food high in inulin) is to enjoy in moderation. Smaller portions do not launch an evil takeover of your intestinal tract.
I miss blackberries! We don’t have any patched nearby, but we had some beautiful ones we used to pick when I was a little girl up in northwest Wisconsin. Every once in a blue moon I try purchasing some in the store, and they always disappoint. Nothing like fighting the vicious canes for sweet, perfectly ripe berries!
Read somewhere that sunchokes are best with a bit of protein–maybe that helps lower any effect of whatever the toxin is in them that some advise against?
Since sunchokes are largely inulin, which helps grow gut biotas, maybe it would be better to consume daily probiotics [fermented foods, broad-spectrum probiotics, etc.], before or with sunchokes?
That gives them good cultures to enhance, instead of encouraging whatever badly unbalanced, deficient biotics so many these days, have.
I recently cooked a 2-qt. pot of freshly harvested sunchokes in water, w/ chopped onion, about a handful of [uncured-no nitrites] bacon pieces, in a semi-mashed consistency. Also added: garlic, ginger, and Bragg’s Sea Kelp Delight seasoning powders, and a dab of coconut oil.
Maybe those reduce gas-forming?
That, plus I use a broad-spectrum probiotic + kombucha at least daily.
This batch of sunchokes tasted good to me [or maybe I’m not as picky about food textures and flavors as some are; or, maybe I was just very hungry?].
Hasn’t, so far, seem to produce gas.
We grew ours in a 6′ long watering trough used as a raised bed…some of the dirt in that, was rich compost recycled from the mushroom farm nearby…the plants reached around 6′ tall, loaded with dark blue-black “berries”. Probably will have more return, due to leftover root bits. These absolutely crowded-out anything else in the container, by root-crowding, and by dense-shading.
We have river-rock ground, so any root foods need grown in containers…glad we did~!
I planted sunchokes in the very back center of my fenced garden this year and even with groundhog incursions, they produced well as I just harvested them here in Ohio. They loved to eat the green shoots with only carrot tops, broccoli, spinach and kale being more sought after. So I’m thinking any herbaceous animal would eat them if you had too many. I could even loan you a few groundhogs if necessary (take my groundhogs, please).
lol – we’ve got groundhogs, but thankfully they live up on the hill, well away from the garden. I’ve heard they are pretty good roasted…
If eating the ground hogs make sure to get out the glands by their legs. They make good eating, just cut up and season and fry like chicken, then put in pot with water and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. OF course when my cousin cooked up one, he soaked it over night in salt water and then seasoned and fried it and simmered it. Nice, tender, juicy, dark meat.
Thanks for the tip. Good to know. I know wild meat often benefits from a good soaking before cooking, but haven’t tried groundhog.
Ducks are the answer to problem sunchokes or at least were for us. It takes all season, but they will root out the shallow ones and eat the sprouts off of the deeper ones until they give out. Ours are now surrounded by poultry run, which keeps them from spreading.
That’s a great idea!
Thanks for your article and all the reader comments. My daughter has chickens, pigs and sheep… maybe this is a good supplement feed for them! 😉
It’s abundant, that’s for sure.
What a funny and informative article you have written on sunchokes! One grew in my garden last year. I was puzzled by the knobby growth at the root of a very tall sunflower and found out that it is Jerusalem Artichoke! This year, the one plant has expanded into at least 10. I didn’t plant the original sunchoke, wonder if the seed was contained in birdseed or perhaps a bird planted it. Thank you for the explicit photos and description of trying to eradicate this stubborn plant. I’ll look for the little growths in the spring! Mine also grew in a vacant corner of the yard.
It’s native to some parts of the U.S., so it makes sense that it could easily volunteer in some areas. At least you know you’ve got a secret food stash. 🙂
I would love some sunchokes…apparently I missed ordering them 2 yrs in a row from some company that decided they were not shipping to arizona anyway!! LOL! I’m a new gardener, trying to be as organic as possible. the bane of my existence is goat heads…nasty weeds that have seeds w/sharp points that can puncture tires…my poor dog had a seed or 2 jam in her paws on several occasions. I didn’t use any chemicals but I did try a blowtorch once…the seeds saw it coming & jumped out of the way. I thought I might hurt some poor lil bug walking along minding his own business so I gave that idea up pretty quickly.then I tried laying several sheets of cardboard boxes on top of every free spot of ground. worked for awhile until the rains came & softened the cardboard just enough for these guys to once again rear their pointy heads. now I have the weed paper & several tons of rock on top. seems to be working ok for now. will build a 4th raised bed for the sunchokes & butt it up against the back fence where they are free to roam in peace!! so if anybody has some they’d like to send my way I’d be happy to oblige!! LOL!!! Meg
Would goats eat the thorny things?
oh my, I think they would rip their lil throats…I read somewhere there is a weevil that someone in oregon sells & they have been know to eat them…they are medicinal somewhere in the world also but I haven’t read too much about that. they are actually quite pretty w/their deep dark green leaves & pretty yellow flowers!
How do other locals deal with it?
I have 6 acres of goatheads! I tried the “puncture vine weevil” and I think I just have too many. A woman here in West Texas has invented a device called a Sticker Picker that looks promising. I am picking one up tomorrow.
I just dug an enormous crop of sunchokes – they just kept appearing deeper and deeper in my raised bed. I would be willing to share – I’m in So. Cal so could send (or bring on next trip) or you could try Trader Joe’s – they should have them in the produce dept a lot cheaper than a seed catalog.
I spent 3 years trying to get a nice fat bed of these first the voles struck.I just got them started again. My senile father in law went threw my whole garden weeding only it was not weeds. He destroyed the garden dumped out a huge 15 year old pot of Lillie’s that were on my porch in a hole low spot in the yard. You know when you reach that point where your suspicions that your loved one is not quite right anymore are no longer just a feeling. Yea Bull in a China shop……
Great info. I have a similar, but not as bad, with white calla lilies. It’s difficult to remove their roots as well (again probably not as bad as sunchoke but no fun either).
I don’t remember – can you eat those, or are they for the flowers only?
CANNA LILIES ARE EDIBLE NOT CALLA
http://www.eattheweeds.com/canna-confusion/
PASSION FRUIT TAKE OVER, TOO
I would like to plant sunchokes as I have a big yard and a “special” space for them. How do I start? Do I just plant the tubers that I can buy at the farm market? I am sorry if this is a silly question but I cannot find any place on the web to buy seeds or seedlings for sunchokes.
That should work just fine. I started mine from purchased tubers, but since then I have had them spring up in the overgrown areas where I have tossed roots haphazardly. They are quite durable.
Ok I bought some sunchoke tubers. Now with being the middle of June in central Delaware do you think I should plant them now? I have read where they should be planted in the spring or winter. If I plant them now I am not sure I will be able to harvest. I purchased the red fuseau variety and I hear they take 120 days until harvest which would be the middle of October. Any thoughts or advice is appreciated. By the way I love your site. There is so much good information for gardening! Thank You
My money would be on putting them in the dirt now rather than trying to hold them in the fridge. In your area, the ground isn’t frozen hard in October, right? They sweeten up after light frost.
Yes our Octobers can be mild with no frost until November usually. I know what I am doing this weekend. Thank you again for the help!
Mine have been stunningly durable, so I suspect you’ll be fine. You’re welcome.
Not a plant that would cause too much consternation, I think, but here in Ohio I planted Morning Glories around our shed to “pretty up” the view. Those babies live EVERYWHERE now. They invaded our beans this year, which I wasn’t too happy about. At the time we planted them, someone told me not to because they were a native wild plant and would grow like crazy. I’ve never checked that claim, but they definitely grow like crazy. Pulling them out of the ground in fall makes no difference!
At least they’re not kudzu. 😉
At least kudzu is edible.
And reasonably nutritious. I hope they are successful turning into a cost effective biofuel feedstock – http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/morning_call/2012/06/entrepreneur-at-ua-eyes-kudzu-as.html?
Lived in New Mexico quite awhile… had lots of morning glories. My neighbor called them “bind weed”. After you use mowers or tillers (or anything else with gears) around them you’ll understand the ‘bind weed’ name. They can be nasty… pretty, but nasty!! 😉
I cringe when I see a yard with Morning Glories. They are pretty, but they are the devil to get out of your yard.
At least someone warned you. I planted “Grandpa Ott’s”, an heirloom, and it lives on several years later. I know to pull it away from any shrub or plant I want to live.
Last year the small lamp in front of our house was fully smothered, which was interesting. This year it claimed a chair, which was likewise interesting. At Halloween we yanked the tangle up to hang in dry clumps off our denuded crabapple tree, overhanging the front sidewalk, which added a creepy element to our seasonal decor. Making the best of it! But mostly I keep pulling it up when it’s small.
New here! Found you while googling, “Can sunchokes be used as animal feed.”
Thanks for the article and the link for where to purchase. My husband and I have a small farm in Olympia, Washington. We have zero farming background though so I rely a lot on great posts like this! We’re trying to grow all our animal’s feed and I think sunchokes would work nicely…I originally thought just for our pigs, chickens and ducks but now I’m reading that the goats and sheep will eat the tops…
Do you know, when should I put this plant in? There seems to be a lot of information about harvesting but not so much about when to plant? Would appreciate your thoughts! Thank you again!
I planted mine in spring, but I threw discards into the weeds in early spring, summer and fall, without planting – and those all grew new plants. I’m guessing any time the ground isn’t frozen would work.
I posted earlier about planting chuffa. Just wanted to let you know how they turned out. We harvested them and washed them repeatedly and are snacking on them through thhis winter. They taste kind of like fresh coconut. Just a touch sweet and a bit nutty. Will plant again. Purchased the seed from Baker’s Creek heirloom seeds. Love that place!Your boys might like harvesting them. But plant them in good soil and in containers!
On a new note, do you think sunchockes would do ok in fifty gallon barrels cut in half? A friend gave me some and I do like them. But we have LOTS of winds where we live. I don’t want them speading all over
Enjoy your web site very much. I have a lot to learn and have learned a lot from your site. Thanks for the great work you do. I know it takes a lot of your time to share with us all that you do.
I think they’d do fine in fifty gallon barrels – or just about anywhere else. 🙂
Glad to hear that the chuffa worked out well.
Good to know about the sunchokes, and I read this at just the right time. I have fond memories of my mom’s patch of sunchokes in the 50s and 60s, and it helped keep our family of eleven fed at the time. So I was actually considering a patch – until I read your post. Thank you!
Avoid Pampas Grass. It’s been declared a pest by New Zealand, and Hawaii has it on its Noxious Plant list.
Great to find your site. I’ll be adding you to my Community links (blogroll) page in the Advice section and will contact you asap for an appropriate image for the link display.
Best,
Casey
Sunchokes would be perfect for a family of eleven. I think under the right conditions they are okay (where they can be mowed around, and will be eaten in quantity) – I just would never plant them in a standard garden bed.
Thanks for the note on the Pampas grass, and the invitation to your site.
In the arid mountains of southern AZ, I’m trying to keep my sunchokes alive. I’ve planted them in an 8′ X 8′ area taken over by Maximillian daisies, one of their relatives with less palatable tubers and stems. The Maximillians have an accomplice — Creeping St Johnswort. I’m letting them duke it out, but give the sunchokes a little help by occasionally ripping out a few of the other daisies and St Johnswort. I’m rooting ( bad pun) for the Sunchokes, but only time will tell.
As for my other least favorite invasives, pennyroyal was a huge mistake to plant. It turned out not to be a good medicinal herb and it was worse than mint at taking over a large area. The problem was made worse because it looks like oregano — you need to crush and smell to tell it apart before yanking it out in handfuls. We also bought ‘straw’ for mulch one year. It was apparently made of foxtail barley with a few oat stems for show– it took us almost 10 years to eradicate it from out yard. The sharp hulls penetrate everything, including your dog’s feet, ears, etc. Several expensive vet bills added to the misery.
I’ve never heard of Foxtail barley, and from the sound of it, that’s a good thing. Poor dog!
Orange Trumpet Vine! I planted it in front of a wall with a pretty wrought-iron trellis in a small planting area near my front door. It grew like MAD attaching itself to my siding and even slipping up under it. I had to cut it back all the time and the darn thing never flowered ONCE. I finally pulled it out after a couple of years and planted some climbing roses. The darn thing keeps growing back! It even traveled under a concrete sidewalk to a larger planting bed. My husband thinks it’s hilarious. Now I’ve decided that I don’t like the climbing roses there either. I should have planted a rose bush, not climbers!
Friends or ours had trumpet vine, and that thing spread everywhere! Like you said, under the sidewalk, up the house – not an easy to manage plant.
We’ve had the same problem with english ivy around our house that the previous owner had planted. What would be a good replacement in a hot climate that is edible and not as invasive (vines don’t dig into siding)?
If a vine is strong enough to climb on its own, it’s going to be strong enough to dig into your siding. That’s how they climb. You may be able to place a trellis next to the house and train plants onto that instead to protect the house. I’d check with your local cooperative extension office for plant suggestions, as they should be able to help you identify species that would work best in your area.
We have a trumpet vine, planted by the previous owner which only grew in a heavily shaded area in the back yard. I have noticed a plant growing (for at least 10yrs) about 15-20 feet from it which a friend recently identified as trumpet vine. I would just dig it up and throw it in the trash. I had no idea it could sprout so far. Luckily this is the only spot I’ve seen it.
I did plant a passion flower vine and have seen it cropping up in several places, and have started to be concerned about its capability to be invasive. I harvest the flowers and leaves for a bedtime tea,so I have just dug up the shoots and tossed them. Butterflies and bees love the plant, so I don’t see myself getting rid of it!
I’ve got an assortment of herbs and flowers that volunteer everywhere, which I’m sure would drive many people nuts, but I love how they are always humming with pollinators. I just do some extra pulling when they get too crazy.
I didn’t know you could use them for tea. I love all kinds of tea and tisanes. I’ll have to try that next year. The single maypop a friend gave me some years ago is nice on the split rail fence, but it’s crept into my pathway, and I was just pulling them out. Eat the leaves, enjoy the flowers on the fence. – sounds like a plan!
Maybe you could check out the web site http://www.gardensalive.com They might be able to help you get rid of the sunchocks WITHOUT heavy chemical use.
Rachelle – I’m reluctant to buy from Gardens Alive anymore (I have used them in the past) because I found out that they are linked to Seminas/Monsanto – http://www.garden-of-eatin.com/how-to-avoid-monsanto/
I’m sure that over time I will be able to get them under control – they’re not nearly as bad as some plants – I just wish I had known to put them in their own spot instead of in a garden bed.
Wow. I didn’t know about the Gardens Alive link to Monsanto. I will no longer go to them! Thanks for the information!
It’s very frustrating how a few companies control most of the market.
We plant sunchokes along our back fence to block us from the view of the neighbor’s dogs. They bark incessantly when they see us; the pretty sunchoke “privacy fence” helps to keep them quiet. We have eaten them fried (like potatoes) and made into a pureed soup (again, like potatoes); husband and I liked them both ways and plan to try other ways. They are spreading a little, but it doesn’t seem to be problematic (yet).
As for gas, it did cause some, but nothing painful like you described. I have heard them nicknamed “fartichokes”…guess there’s a reason for that.
I didn’t have a problem with the sunshokes until I tried to remove them. In a spot where they were in their own area, they might be okay. With the gas, I hadn’t eaten many of them before, and I wasn’t yet eating live culture foods, and I ate a *whole* lot in one sitting. Very bad combination.
Roasted in the oven! Just add a bit of oil and salt, Yum! But I’ve learned not to indulge before attending a public function, because “fartichoke” is an apt moniker! And that’s speaking as one who eats a lot of beans.
I haven’t yet harvested from the single grocery store tuber I planted this year, but it sounds like like the time is right. Maybe I’ll try that raw-with-some-dirt-on trick to stoke my gut before I cook them! Interesting idea.
Italian Arum! The previous owners planted it in the flower beds and it is unstoppable! It grows everywhere. It’s spreading into the lawn. It has teeny, tiny bulbs and you can never find all of them. My husband is done playing nice. There is one main area that it is spreading out from. We are considering covering it over with a tarp for several months.
Let me guess, you have no background in farming. Well, I grew up in a farming family so I have some first hand experience on the subject. My father was also an agronomist technician for a major university and conducted experiments with herbicides including glyphosates. I currently have many friends and family in agriculture. I also have some first hand experience with university “research” groups from when I was in college.
Now, where do I begin with what is wrong on that page…
The research that page is based on, focuses on “heavy use” in agriculture, which is year after year after year, not just once or twice as in your application and the quoted researcher DH, conveniently leaves some omissions out of his statements and makes some misleading statements as well.
Any time you plant the same crop in the same location year after year, you have an increased risk of fungal infection whether you use herbicide or not.
That’s why farmers have to rotate crops and why you should alter the arrangement of your garden. It prevents carry over of plant diseases.
The researcher fails to mention the rise in fungal infection rates could be due to farmers planting the same crops on the same land repeatedly to take advantage of high crop prices and/or to maximize the use of their irrigated land. The key omission here is that under the given conditions, an increase in fungal infection would happen even without the use of glyphosate. The research mentioned completely fails to acknowledge this as a potential factor. Until glyphosate came along, it wasn’t possible to kill “volunteer” crops or weeds and then replant with the same crop so quickly. Glyphosate will kill the host “volunteer” plants that carry the fungus, but it does not kill the residual fungus in the soil that will still be there when the farmer plants the same crop a few days after applying glyphosate. And irrigating the soil may allow the fungus to survive longer even if you plant something resistant to the fungus before replanting with the previous crop. Basically, summer fallow and tillage to eliminate weeds used to give the fungus time to die off before the farmer re-planted, but the rise in no-till farming has led to the eliminated those steps.
The impact on animals is definitely a potential problem, however, if you read his comments carefully, you will see he makes no mention of the toxicity of glyphosate itself on the animals. In fact, the toxicity DH mentions is NOT due to glyphosate toxins at all, it is fungal toxins. These toxins have been known to cause these effects in animals for centuries and such toxicity occurred long before glyphosate existed. Another convenient omission on his part and he was very careful to mislead you as to the cause.
The potential accumulation of glyphosate in the soil and damage to future cops is important. What DH doesn’t directly mention is accumulation is caused by use year after year or even use of large amounts multiple times in a single year. Glyphosate bonds with calcium and other minerals in the soil. If those are not replaced along with the repeated use, they eventually become depleted and some glyphosate could remain active in the soil to damage future crops, or crops could be depleted of nutrients. DH appears to ignore the fact that when farmers add calcium, manganese and other minerals back to the soil with their fertilizer, the residual and accumulative impact on soil and potential health effects depleting minerals can cause, do not exist. One of the most basic rules of farming is what you take out of the soil, you have to replace. The research also fails to mention that wheat, corn, and many other plants planted in the same ground repeatedly will deplete the nutrients all by themselves anyway even without glyphosate use. That compounds the problems caused by not rotating crops. Not only do you risk exposing the plants to the fungus by not rotating crops, you make them more vulnerable to it and glyphosate isn’t even required for this to happen. DH never addresses whether the farmers in question had their soil analyzed and replaced minerals as they were depleted. Most likely, they tried to stretch out the number of plantings between having fertilizer applied or didn’t have the soil analyzed so they could apply the proper minerals with the fertilizer they used. Soil analysis and proper fertilization has been around longer that I have. The fact that DH fails to mention any of this is beyond me… unless he has some reason not omit the information.
You will notice that DH doesn’t call for a ban of glyphosate. If he finds glyphosate directly toxic, a ban is in order and his research doesn’t need to continue. He didn’t do that, he calls for “judicious use”. If he finds glyphosate safe, there is no need to conduct more research. He didn’t do that either. He said “There are a lot of serious questions about the impacts of glyphosate that we need answers for in order to continue using this technology. I don’t believe we can ignore these questions any more if we want to ensure a safe, sustainable food supply and abundant crop production.” He is clearly more interested in keeping the controversy going so he can extend his 20+ years of research further. At $100,000+ per year on his grant money for 20 years that comes to at least a couple million dollars in his pocket at the taxpayer’s expense… and counting. Odds are he made even more than that by listing himself as a full time head researcher on multiple grants during that period of time. After what I witnessed in college I will never trust one of these researchers again, especially one that makes omissions and misleads people into making assumptions that are not true. Especially when he advocates “further research” which he himself will benefit from greatly.
Using glyphosate on a few plants once or twice will have none of the long term effects mentioned and certainly qualifies as “judicious use”. You are spraying directly on the plants and not on the surrounding soil as you would in commercial agriculture. You will remove the plants once they are dead instead of working them into the ground, unlike commercial agriculture. Any trace amounts of glyphosate that get on the soil or in the soil through the roots should easily become inert without depleting the soil by a measurable amount. Throw on some bone meal and compost if you are worried, it certainly couldn’t hurt what you grow there in the future.
James – let me guess, you didn’t take the time or courtesy to look at my bio page before launching into your lecture?
I was raised on a dairy farm in northeast Wisconsin. A small farm, to be sure, but a healthy one. The cows were on pasture during warm weather, and we raised most of their food (and our food). My brother and I spent many long hours in the the fields and ponds, catching frogs. It used to be one of our favorite pastimes. Maybe you’ve noticed that frog populations have been devastated in recent years? Glyphosate is toxic to frogs, and I have a number of frogs and toads in my garden working pest control, so thanks, but no thanks, I’ll skip the RoundUp.
Maybe you’ll like these links better, since you have a beef with Dr. Huber – http://www.savethefrogs.com/actions/pesticides/index.html
Check out these deformed leopard frogs – http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/living-green/living-green-citizen/for-kids/deformed-frogs/photographs-of-deformed-frogs.html?menuid=&redirect=1
As for Dr. Huber’s “lies of omission”, I may be mistaken, but I personally figured that much of what you mention is simple land stewardship that any farmer or gardener should know, and doesn’t necessarily need to be spelled out.
RoundUp and other chemical inputs, from my perspective, encourage the use of poor land stewardship, because rather than addressing underlying nutrient deficiencies in the soil with long term solutions, the farmer is encouraged to simply treat the plant with chemical XYZ. If this was not the case, then we should be gaining instead of losing fertility in our soils, which last time I checked, wasn’t happening.
It’s already well established that the extended use of glyphosate produces weeds that are resistant to glyphosate, which it turn has led to the development of even stronger weed killers, perpetuating the farmer’s dependence on the chemical company. My sunchokes are a nuisance, not something I feel I need to eliminate at any cost.
I really can’t imagine that the DH qualifies for nearly as many grants as those who support the heavy use of GMOs, herbicides and pesticides. Monsanto et al have a lot of money backing up their interests. More than once they’ve effectively shut up those who were in open opposition. Is it wrong that DH wants to save his job and his own *ss by speaking cautiously?
BTW, I was in college, too, even managed to get a couple fancy pieces of paper to prove it. Quite well aware of the games that are played to keep grant money flowing in the door.
I choose not to use glyphosate, even though the risks may be minimal, because I don’t like the system that it is a part of and I’d like to keep my frogs.
Well Said! I completely agree with you. To hell with the system AND the chemicals!
Wow, James is a pretentious chap, eh? Thanks for the info on sunchokes. I have a small garden in my city yard and I certainly can’t afford to have it overrun by any single plant. To the farmers market I go! 🙂
That’s one way to put it. One can disagree without being disagreeable, but some people ignore that courtesy. As for the sunchokes, at least I know we’ve got a back up food stash. 🙂
I noticed that you use frogs in pest control…I do too. I even quit eating frog legs because of my high respect for their abilities…I mean they give me countless hours to do anything I want ..just leave the bug eradication to them…..all was fine in my garden until I noticed those dad gum stink bugs….where were the frogs? They left me with not so much as a ‘good bye ‘ letter!Well I will have to go back to the drawing board on that one. Even the lizards left….they were such good playmates for my cats…lol
Oh….the reason for my presence here was information on sunchokes…I gotta get me some. I am a diabetic and also a chemical free gardener. Sunchokes are on my list for next summer. I take it then that because of their apparent HARDINESS I won’t have to care for them much. GOOD DEAL!. …and a hardy thanks ma’am!
They should be very durable and low maintenance. 🙂
There might be some concern about use of fructose for diabetics.
We [medical office] used to promote use of fructose for diabetics, as a safer alternative to sugar, in the 1990’s, when food industries started promoting it.
It came in a familiar white granulated form, was very sweet, and offered some hope of sweetness to those who had cut sugar from their diets. It baked the same as sugar in recipes, too.
But…
It turned out fructose is a Problem for diabetics, on multiple concerns [turns to fat at greater rate; further messes with metabolism; can increase need for more drugs to mitigate it being in the system, etc.].
HIGH fructose is a problem for everyone.
When Agave Syrup came along, people thought the holy grail of sweetening agents had been found…it hadn’t. Agave has more fructose than High Fructose Corn Syrup!
Yes, Fructose acts slow in the body….but…as I understood it, diabetics commonly have somewhat compromised liver function [even with “normal” lab values, can have fatty liver], and, may be carrying too much body fat.
This metabolic imbalance can cause the fructose to be stored as more fat, instead of being slowly burned as fuel.
Now days, it’s being discovered [again], that ketogenic diets actually help reverse or decrease diabetic issues, far faster and better than messing with sugars and carbs.
I remember the push for fructose – and then doing more research and finding out that it’s no miracle sweetener, as you’ve noted.
It’s not the frogs’ fault – stinkbugs may be toxic to them. See “What Type of Insects Should Frogs Eat?“. You can get stink big traps that may help keep them under control.
Have there been any other changes in your environment lately? Usually if frogs are scarce, something has changed to drive them away.
Bravo! Great rebuttal. I too have experience with “agri-business institutions of higher learning” and their partners, the chemical companies. We are in danger of losing our “common sense” when we too readily accept the “quick and easy” or “new” cures for minor woes, like invasive plants. Don’t want it there?… keep it cut!… use a lawn mower to take the shoots right down to the ground level…prune off the re-growth. It’s war..and you can win if you’re not lazy! If the plant is useful…(as you advised), USE it. If you don’t want to use it…find someone who will!
I’ve enjoyed reading this page. I came upon it via google after buying some of the tubers at a grocer. I’m in climate zone 3-4 … that alone may make it easier for me to control…but I think I shall try it in a planter first. I have a few acres so it won’t be a big deal if it decided to settle in.
As Larry Alden points out, the plant can be quite the boom in managed properly. I wouldn’t put it right in my main garden, but I’m perfectly happy to let some of it naturalize. I’m learning more and more about the medicinal and soil healing qualities of many plants that are considered weeds and invasives, like the autumnberry bushes we’ve been having a neighbor cut down for years. It turns out the berries are super high in lycopene, basically making them a superfruit. They’re tasty, too. The fruits are small and have big seeds, so they’re best processed into a puree and then used for something like fruit leather or autumnberry-apple jam. The Wild Wisdom of Weeds talks about 13 wild plants that are found almost everywhere that are useful for food, medicine and healing the earth.
Please check out article in “Entropy” 2013, 15, Pgs. 1416-1463 titled: “Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases.” It explains how glyphosate kills the probiotics in our guts, and link this with information from books such as ” The Gut and Psychology Syndrome” or “Brain Maker,” and you’ll quickly see the reason for the rising tide of inflammatory diseases including autism, diabetes, alzheimers, MS, etc… then learn about high brix farming through ACRESUSA.com
I love Acres USA!
I wouldn’t discount the shortcomings of university ag research; in a Journal of Higher Education article a friend posted on Facebook it was pointed out that ag research publications are the worst research periodicals science offers because they do not require that the authors disclose whether or not they received funding from stakeholder(s) in the outcome or not. There was an extensive article using ractopamine (sp?), which I believe is marketed as Paylean, a growth promoter for livestock that causes fat to turn to muscle. The researcher was actively promoting the product to farmers while on university payroll and writing articles about it without disclosure.
We lost about 1 billion Monarchs in past 4 years due to round up etc. We thought we won battles but Monsanto and others got bored poisoning other Nations…started lobbying since Bush. If it can kill that many Butterflies it can harm all life. Creators gave us herbs for a reason.
Have great week….