Description
Helianthus tuberosus
A root vegetable which is closely related to the sunflower, and has tall sunflower-like flowers in mid-late summer. The tubers should be buried 10cm deep and 50cm apart in well drained soil in a sunny site. They are harvested in autumn once the leaves start to wither. The plants are extremely productive and can be harvested as required, with the rest left in the ground for the following year. They can be eaten raw – cut into fine slices, or cooked as for potatoes – baked, mashed, fried etc. We love ours fried with garlic in the fat left over from cooking bacon. Unfortunately they do not agree with everyone’s digestive system and have earned the nickname ‘fartichokes’! This inconvenient problem can be avoided by fermenting them first, in the same way as sauerkraut. If you have tubers they need to be planted out in spring, however with our potted plants, anytime of year is fine so you don’t need to worry if you missed the boat in spring!
We have found that a combination of jerusalem artichokes which span the late spring to autumn season, and Alexanders, which grows from autumn to early summer, can between them smother couch grass and provide a year round harvest of first edible tubers then edible leaves.
11cm pot containing 1-3 tubers plus top growth. Certified organic plants.
Freight: We can send up to 6 plants this size (in 11cm pots) for the same freight price or they can be combined with other grades but this may incur higher freight costs.
