[colliewoman]

does anyone out there grow these?
i went to the sunrise off grid festival on saturday, and the have used these as a green screen all round the grounds. they looked amazing, can be harvested like potatoes and the green bits can be fed as fodder to sheep and goats apparently. i have a patch of land between the goats and the brook, so would be a doddle to keep them watered and not far to carry the cut greens.
 i only have one problem....
i cant find any tubers of the bloody things anywhere!
if anyone one here grows them, could i please buy/swap some tubers from you pleeeeease?
thankies
donna

[darkbrowneggs]

Whereabouts are you - if you can get to Worcestershire you can have as many as you can dig.  They are the nice un-knobbly ones and a good flavour,

PM me if interested

[Hopewell]

Ours have great big stems at the moment and I'd be surprised if there was much tuber in the ground yet. They usually bulk up during the Autumn as the stems and leaves are dying back. The best time to start would be the Spring when you plant the tubers. Most of the big name garden catalogues have them - often in the section with potatoes, onions, shallots etc. The old un-named sort is very knobbly and a pain to have to clean peel etc especially on our heavy clay soil, but there are other named varieties such as Fusea which is long and another one we have tried which has a reddish skin and is rounder - these are much easier when it comes to having to prepare them in the kitchen.

[colliewoman]

thankies all!
darkbrowneggs have pm'd you
hopewell, thanks for the info, very usefull!
unfortunately (?) i can't mail order as you have to have a credit or debit card as it seems cash is no longer a viable currency
unless anyone knows of a company that is different?

[Plantoid]

Collie,

I have two month old plants six foot high  in my front garden .
A pal sent me three tubers .. don't know how they are growing underground..
Our front garden is hopefully soon to be landscaped ( we have just done the back forty acres  ) 
They are growing in rubbish ground of heavy coalmine bluish  clay heavily manured with horse muck so should do well in most places. They are the round type.

 As mentioned I've bee told to harvest them when the tops start to die back ..drop me your address if you want a few FOC when I take them up and replant  some of the harvest.

 David

 PS.
 I'm told that once they get established they are like weeds and very hard to eradicate , they evidently make a good summer screen if planted  in three rows two foot wide.

[Hopewell]

Collie,

 I'm told that once they get established they are like weeds and very hard to eradicate

Definitely true - once you've grown some even when you think you have dug up all the tubers there always seems to be a bit left that will produce a plant next year.

[MelRice]

Good luck to the future landscapers..getting rid of them I mean...once you have got them, they are there to stay. Not too invasive very nice to look at, tasty, flowers cut for the house fairly well, BUT you will find digging them up for good difficult, think hard about where you are going to put them and enjoy!!

[SallyintNorth]

I have heard of following jerusalem artichokes with pigs - they will find and eat every last tuber...!   

[northfifeduckling]

yes, do plan carefully where you want them! But I must say, give me an edible weed any time!
Collie, if you plant them in October/November, you will have some to eat next year, similar ratio as potatoes. Plan with care what you have on after the day after the meal - they are not a vegetable that enhances your social life , my kids call them fartichokes