Sunchoke

Aspects: Running herb, edible tubers, full sun, moist well-drained soil

Also called Jerusalem artichoke, sunroot

Plants grow 6-12 ft tall; sunflower-like flowers in the late fall.

Dwarf Sunray variety is better suited to small gardens; grows to 6 ft tall; tubers grow close to the base of the stems for easier harvesting; flowers much earlier; less prone to blowing over in strong wind.

Tubers benefit from a bit of frost which sweetens them, best after first hard frost; harvest last years crop in the spring for a super sweet treat.

Plants are very productive, producing as much as four times the yield of potatoes; tubers are crispy and sweet; can be smooth, or knobby and harder to clean some as large as medium-sized potatoes.

Tasty raw, but become sweeter when baked. Can be used like other root veggies but get mushy when fried.

Can be persistent and aggressive in the garden and will spread to form large colonies if not harvested regularly; once planted they are difficult to get rid of; easier to remove in midsummer when the tubers are small; thin and harvest all or most tubers every year to keep plants producing a good crop.

Full sun to light shade.

Tall dense growth makes them a poor companion for most vegetables.

Tubers store best in the ground; store in the fridge for a few days; leave the dirt on them until right before cooking.