The one vegetable that always raises chuckles amongst those in the know is the Jerusalem artichoke. Eating them induces wind because the carbohydrates are not broken down by the intestines. Because of this the Jerusalem artichoke is not taken seriously, yet it is a delicious vegetable, extraordinarily productive even in poor soil, and it requires just the minimum amount of work. It stores well, providing valuable roots right through winter. Use it as the basis of warming soups, deep fry to make chips, and bake or combine it with sweet, dried fruits and spices in pies and other desserts.

In a good year its monumental stems – they can be up to 1.8-2/lm (6-7ft) high – are decked in yellow flowers. There’s also lots of strong branching growth making an effective summer windbreak for an exposed site. When the foliage collapses after the frost, the knobbly tubers can be left in the ground and harvested as required. They are frost-hardy but shoveling a few centimetres of earth over the bed provides adequate insulation if conditions are severe. This is by far the best way of storing them. And any tubers left in the soil will grow again, so if the ground is needed for different crops, every trace of them must be removed.

All that is needed for a new planting is a few healthy tubers. They can be bought commercially but most people who are already growing Jerusalem artichokes will pass on a few. Although plants will grow well if muck or compost is added to the planting trench, it might well promote vegetative growth at the expense of tuber production. The flowers are insignificant so nipping out the growing tips, and therefore the flower buds, is sometimes recommended to help the plant concentrate its energies on tuber production – as if it needed any help!

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