Although a lot of people loathe Jerusalem artichokes, normally due to their high inulin content which is broken down by bacteria in the colon producing flatulence and in some people gastric pain, I love Jerusalem artichokes. Not only are these one of the few plants to consistently grow well on my plot with minimal effort but they are also one of my favourite winter vegetables which have a slightly nutty and earthy flavour.
During the growing season these plants resemble sunflowers and they can be a bit of a bully as they will rapidly shade other plants and are quiet prone to spreading so if you are thinking of growing them you should be give some careful thought to their placement in a veg garden. Also please be warned that if you decide to move your artichoke bed you will be spending the following year weeding artichoke plants out of the location of the previous bed as however careful you have been trying to remove all the tubers some will manage to escape you.
Jerusalem artichokes harvested from a single plant
At some point I will add an excellent recipe for artichoke soup here.