Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus), also called sunchokes, grow really well in my garden, and I’ve planted some in the food forest as well.

I’ve grown them for a number of years – they don’t require much care, just a sunny spot and perhaps occasional water, they’re terribly prolific, producing a whole bunch of delicious tubers with a nutty flavor and a wonderful crunchy texture, a little bit reminiscent of water chestnut.  I like them best raw straight from the ground, but they’re also good in soup.

Every year in the fall, I pull up all the plants In my original sunchoke bed (in the garden proper), harvest most of the tubers for eating, while returning a few handsful (or handfuls, if you prefer) to the bed for next year, and then throw the stalks in the compost pile.  Every year the plants return, in some years producing more tubers than in others, but always more than I can eat.  According to everything I’ve read, they can be an invasive nuisance in some parts of the world, but they’re quite well behaved in my conditions, I think because of the relatively hot, dry summers.

Plants for a Future has good information about sunchokes, and has lots of other interesting information about woodland garden species, albeit information about species that do well in England (home to some of the most celebrated food forests).