Plant · P-259

Jerusalem Artichoke

Helianthus tuberosus

Jerusalem Artichoke is a native perennial whose tuber stores itself in the ground through winter, getting sweeter after a frost - dig what you need from November through February instead of harvesting and storing separately. Its tubers and greens also make good pig and cattle feed, and letting pigs root through the bed after the winter dig cleans up the stray tubers that would otherwise sprout as weeds next year. It spreads aggressively by both rhizome and self-sown seed, so it wants a dedicated block with a mown margin rather than a spot in a mixed bed. The tubers are mostly indigestible fiber rather than calories, so it earns its place as bulk food and forage, not as a potato substitute.