GIRASOL 
—THE LAZY 
MAN’S SPUD 
If someone were to discover a plant “Sport” or if some plant 
breeder could cross sunflowers or corn with potatoes to get a 
plant, the tops of which would make silage and; at the same time, 
produce valuable tubers that would outyield potatoes two or 
three to one, under similar soil and moisture conditions, we would 
hail the result as a wonderful discovery. Girasol will do all this 
and more and yet, it is not NEW for it has been raised in Europe 
for centuries under another name. France alone produced 
1,686,030 long tons in 1928 so our Consul at Paris writes. We 
call this crop Girasol because the name imder which it sometimes 
passes is the same as another vegetable entirely different which 
is confusing. The scientific name is Helianthus Tuberosus; it is 
related to both artichokes and sunflowers; it is a native of Ameri¬ 
ca, not Jerusalem or elsewhere. Girasol tubers will outyield 
potatoes two or three to one under similar conditions. Yields of 
10 to 20 tons per acre are common. Girasol tops are about a 
third or half the diameter of sunflower stalks but usually two or 
three feet taller and yield 10 to 22 tons silage per acre. Girasol 
is not injured by freezing. The whole or a part of the crop of 
tubers may be harvested in the Fall or the Spring following. 
Girasol is propagated by tubers only, not from roots and joints 
like quack grass and thistles so it cannot become a serious pest if 
followed with pasture, hay meadow or good cultivated crops. 
A Single Hill of ‘‘Girasol” 
WONDERFUL HOG FOOD 
All stock and poultry like Girasol tubers^ but perhaps the most profitable use would be as hog feed, 
the hogs doing their own harvesting with no expense. Trials along this line have yielded 744 pounds 
pork gain per acre; this might be considered NET PROFIT. ^The silage crop would be more than enough 
to cover cost of seed, land rental and cultivation expenses. Adding gain to balance, the ration would 
of course help. Every farm should have from one-fourth to one acre of Girasol so that they could turn 
the hogs on It In the fail. It is a big money-maker for hogs. 
Girasol may be eaten raw or cooked, but the inulin in Girasol that replaces starch in most other vegetables need 
not be cooked to bring out its food value. This crop will grow on most any kind of soil but the richer the better 
of course, but it will do better on poor soil than most any other crop. Single tubers often weigh more than a pound 
but the average is smaller and more irregular shape than potatoes. Small tubers, or large ones cut small, do not 
seem to decrease the crop as is the case with potatoes. Choice seed tubers 3 for 40c—6 for 60c—12 for $1.00— 
25 for $1.75—50 for $3.25— 100 for $6.00, Delivered to you Prepaid. 
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