If you can manage to grow sunflowers you can probably manage to grow their tasty relative – the Jerusalem artichoke. Like sunflowers they are tall plants reaching up to 3m high.
Plant the tubers in the spring, about 30cm/12″ apart and about 15cm/6″ deep.
Jerusalem artichokes are hardy, so you don’t need to worry about late frosts killing them off.
When the stems reach about 30cm/12″ high you can ‘earth-up’ the plants by mounding up the soil around the plants to a height of about 15cm/6″. This helps stabilise the plants, because the stems can grow to 3m/10′ high. You will still want to provide some support for the stems as they grow.
Harvesting Jerusalem Artichokes
Dig up the tubers between November and April. Prepare them as you would potatoes and enjoy!