This is yet another tuber from South America. Huw Richards has just voted it as his plant of the year. It rightly deserves a place in you garden being tough, pest resistant, edible and vigorous but controllable. I planted mine in a fairly shady corner where it had to compete with stinging nettles and a passion fruit climber. It happily climbed over a trellis and draped itself over a raised bed wall. The leaves look like nasturtium leaves, but I find their flavour is much milder and makes a good filler for a salad. It produces these prolifically through the summer.
After the first frost, the plant dies down. You can then harvest the roots which tend to be just under the soil in a clump. The roots can be eaten raw when they have a sharp, radish like flavour, or are good roasted when they become soft inside with quite an aromatic flavour. Keep one of more in slightly damp compost in a dark place over winter, then plant into a pot in March ready to plant out after the last frost. You will then have a crop for life!
In the USA, there are lots of different varieties for sale; orange, red, pink, white, striped, stubby, long etc. In the UK, there is much less choice and what there is gets sold out pretty quickly. I have white ones with purple eyes.
Price is for 3-4 tubers depending on size.
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