VISITING Hugh and Liz and their family at Kensons Farm for this month’s Green Living feature was not only a fantastic opportunity to see behind the scenes at an organic vegetable farm, but also where the seasonal vegetables I buy are grown.

Though I would dearly love my allotment to provide me with fruit and vegetables all the year round, the reality is different, and there are many lean months in the year that are supplemented with Kensons produce.

One vegetable that does produce delicious nutty flavoured tubers during the leaner winter months is the much maligned Jerusalem Artichoke. I say much maligned because the vegetable is near impossible to get rid of once established, as any tuber or bits of tuber that are not harvested take on new growth in the spring.

Three years ago I made a big mistake on the plot and grew a whole row, thinking they would make a good windbreak or screen on the exposed site. As they reach nearly three metres in height in the summer with dense foliage and thick stems, sadly they also cast too much shade over the sun-loving courgettes.

The following March it was a mammoth operation to get every single bit of tuber out to clear the ground, and bits of Jerusalem Artichoke kept on popping up through the rows of lettuce.

But success was achieved and I selected just six egg-shaped tubers to replant in a confined corner of the plot, though removing every tuber is still a challenge.

I have tried to find out how this vegetable got its name as it is not a type of artichoke, but with little success. Jerusalem Artichokes are actually members of the sunflower family (Helianthus tuberosus), producing lovely, bright yellow flowers in the summer, and tubers that can be stir-fried, sliced thinly in salads or added to soups and stews from October to March.