Jerusalem artichokes in autumn

As relatives of sunflowers, you can see why Jerusalem artichokes are called 'sunchokes' in the US.

We are trying a batch in the garden. By mistake, I pulled out a root. The choke was tiny, scarcely bigger in girth and length of my little finger. They need more time. Zia told me to cut off the flower heads:

 'Too much energy is going into those and you need it all in the tubers'. 

I shoved the untidy but cheery blossoms into a vase. 

This is a perennial plant that originally comes from the New World, cultivated by native Americans. It isn't as starchy as it tastes, containing inulin. This is a good food for diabetics. The problem is the resulting wind, but if combined with cumin seeds, say in a soup or roasted with olive oil, that should help with the 'fartichokes'. 

Après summer garden catch up

This is the list I sent Zia Mays just now, an update on the garden.

Rose arch gone mad.

Bramble tentacles everywhere.

I need to mow lawn but missed dry weather window.

Planting for winter.

Clearing up for winter.

The tomatoes have been wonderful: dark beefy tomatoes and droopy plum pomodoros

Good amount of jalapeños, froze some, ate some, smoked some. 

 A few padrons, that I've fried in olive oil and sprinkled Maldon salt on.

Not many tomatillos.

No gooseberries.

1 mature fig so progress. Lots of baby fig buds, but there isn't enough season left to ripen them.

Lots of cobnuts but I picked them before fully mature, they were creamy and milky and then- they were all gone. Squirrels?

Tons of grapes, best to pick when not too ripe as they become hollowed out by snails.

Not many blueberries. They hide in undergrowth and are dry by the time I find them.

Saw one red currant? down near fig but wasn’t sure if it was a poison berry.

No artichokes at all. Not a one.

A few wild potatoes.

I’m doing something with the rosehips this year. Update: rosehip and chipotle jam.

Not much fennel. I've picked off the seeds.

Just picked the physalis, quite a few, but ripened late. Ate all of them in one fell swoop. 

No olives again. After cheery potential of flowers but no fruit.