Sunchokes

BARE ROOT TUBERS

Helianthus tuberosus

Hardiness Zones: 3-9

Soil: Does well in most soil. They even do surprisingly well in dense clay although it makes harvest time more difficult. Excessive moisture can cause tubers to rot.

Space Required: 2-3 ft wide, plants can reach up to 8 feet tall. Plant where you can regularly mow around them as tubers can spread underground.

Light Requirements: Full Sun

I have a lot to say about this beautiful plant. It is a type of sunflower that grows delicious edible tubers under the ground. And it produces an INSANE amount of tubers in a season. I started growing these from a single tuber of each variety and got 20 lbs or more of sunchokes from each tuber in the first season. They really don't care what soil they grow in either so long as they don't have wet feet. Softer soil is better at harvest time, but the plants can get very tall (sometimes up to 10 ft), and are more prone to blowing over in a strong wind.

The tubers have a flavor reminiscent of artichokes when cooked. They can be used many ways; roasted, in soups, boiled then fried, some people even cut them up raw and put them in salads. They contain a high amount of the prebiotic fiber called inulin, which can make some people extra gassy but they are actually quite good for you. Cooking them also dissipates the gassy effect.

Besides providing tons of food for us they also produce a lot of food for our native pollinators. They start blooming in late summer through to the end of fall and get covered in tons of bright yellow sunflowers.

One word of caution with this plant. It does not stay where you plant it. I found tubers almost 4-5 feet from the plant. And they're very sneaky, you could dig all day and think you found them all and I guarantee you that you did not. So the best thing to do is either use a tall raised bed, or plant them somewhere in your yard that you would regularly mow around them and any unwanted plants will get chopped down. With great production come great responsibility.