I was really excited to discover my knee-high sunchokes (aka “Jerusalem Artichokes”) on our main farm lot. Aaaaand, so were the deer. LOL! The next time I saw my sunchokes, they were nothing but green sticks coming out of the ground. Our four-legged neighbors didn’t miss not one leaf! The plants were stripped bare. I’m hopeful that they’ll recover this season though. If not, I’ll just leave them in the ground to (hopefully) pop-up and try again next Spring.

Over at our second farm lot, Uncle Bill had told me that the neighbors were debating what kind of weed I was “letting grow wild over there” along the fence line. He told them he wasn’t sure what it was, but knew I wouldn’t have planted a weed. He was right.

The ginormous “weed hedge” in question are SUNCHOKES! This farm lot is mostly fenced and surrounded by houses (rather than woodlands like our main lot) so the deer don’t dare venture here. I had heard that sunchokes grow tall, but WOW they’ve exceeded my expectations.

That farm lot is a whole new experience now. I was working over there the other day and didn’t have my neighbors sitting on the porch watching me. What a difference a stunning plant makes! Now, my neighbors will enjoy the entertainment of watching the wild sunflowers sway in the wind or following the pollinators as they buzz from petal to petal. I’ve yet to have the pleasure of harvesting their delicious and nutritious root crop, but I know I’ll continue growing sunchokes for the added privacy screen benefit alone. They are a KEEPER and will, for sure, be expanded next year!