Gourmet Roots Collection

FROM £17.99

A great selection of unusual potato substitutes

High in carbs and vitamins

All easy to grow and no potato blight!

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12 Jumbo Plug Plants (3 of each variety)

~~£18.59~~ £17.99 Save £0.60

12 Super Plugs (3 of each variety)

£20.99

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This selection of unusual and easy root vegetables will keep you well-supplied with nutritious, potato substitutes without the fear of potato blight!

Gourmet Roots Collection comprises 12 x 12cm Super Plugs 3 of each of the following varieties:

Chinese Artichoke - An excellent addition to the veg plot: unusual, prolific, low maintenance and perennial. Not many vegetables could boast such claims! They are very popular in French cuisine where they are known as Crosnes. This hardy perennial from the mint family produces 20 to 30 knobbly white tubers from each plant ready to harvest from November to March. The tubers have a delicious nutty flavour and crispy texture. They add crunch to salads, can be lightly steamed and sauteed with herbs, or used as an addition to stir fries in place of water chestnuts. Height: 45cm (18”). Spread: 30cm (12”).
Jerusalem Artichoke ‘Papas’ – With reddish-purple skin, these knobbly, nutty tubers are one of the most rewarding vegetable crops. A close relative of sunflowers, tubers are produced in abundance and can be roasted, baked, or sautéed. Simply cut the stems down when they have been blackened by the frost and harvest. Leave some tubers in the ground for next years harvest. Height: 3m (10'). Spread: 90cm (36").
Oca ‘Giggles’ – Oca provides both starchy tubers and edible leaves, known as ‘Peruvian Wood Sorrel’, which can be used in salads. Prepare Ocas just like potatoes – mashed, boiled, roasted, and fried, or grate raw Oca tubers into salads. Add them to soups and stews. They have a sweet and nutty flavour. Height and Spread: 50cm (20”).
Yacon ‘Inca Red’ - An unusual and delicious tuber, widely grown in South America for its crunchy texture and sweet pear-like flavour. Similar in appearance to a sweet potato but with the texture of water chestnuts, yacon makes a fabulous addition to stir fries and salads or try tossing it in olive oil and roasting with other root vegetables. The juice from yacon tubers can also be simmered to make a sweet syrup similar to honey or maple syrup. Containing an indigestible sugar called Inulin, both the tubers and syrup are suitable for diabetics and yacon syrup is virtually calorie-free! Yacon makes a particularly attractive crop in the garden with bushy growth and large, lush leaves which lend an exotic feel to borders or the vegetable plot. Height: 1.8m (6'). Spread: 100cm (39").

Harvest Months

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Codes
12 Super Plugs (3 of each variety) (KC4745)
12 Jumbo Plug Plants (3 of each variety) (KC7429)

Grow plugs on in cool but frost-free conditions and plant out when all danger of frost has passed.

Chinese Artichoke – Plant in rows about 30cm apart in a sunny position with moist, well-drained soil which has been amended with plenty of organic matter. Protect young plants against slug damage. Water well during dry periods. Weed regularly to avoid competition but take care not to damage the tubers. Remove any flower spikes to concentrate energy into tuber production. Harvest from late October as and when you need them. Top growth will be killed by frost, but the tubers are hardy. Leave some in the ground to provide the following years crop.

Jerusalem Artichoke ‘Papas’ – Plant 30cm (12") apart, leave 90cm (3') between rows. Simply cut the stems down when they have been blackened by the frost and harvest. Leave some tubers in the ground for next years harvest.

Oca ‘Giggles’ – Perennial grown as an annual in Northern hemispheres. Frost sensitive, plant out in late May allowing 90cm (36”) between each plant. Harvest tubers in late November when top growth has died but before the first heavy ground frosts as tubers will rot. Protect with fleece to extend the season as flavour improves the longer tubers are left. Dry harvested tubers on a sunny window sill.

Yacon ‘Inca Red’ – Plant outside in late May allowing 90cm (36”) between each plant. Cut the leaves back to about 4 inches above the crowns and lift whole plant with a fork. Separate the crowns from the tubers. The crowns are frost tender – pot up and grow on in a frost-free place to plant early next year. Brush the soil off tubers and leave in sun to dry for up to two weeks.

Seeds and garden supplies will normally be delivered within the time period stated against each product as detailed above. Plants, bulbs, corms, tubers, shrubs, trees, potatoes, etc. are delivered at the appropriate time for planting or potting on. Delivery times will be stated on the product page above, or in your order acknowledgement page and email.

Orders for packets of seed incur a delivery charge of £2.99.

Orders which include any other products will incur a delivery charge of £6.99.

Where an order includes both packets of seeds and other products, a maximum delivery charge of £7.99 will apply - regardless of the number of items ordered.

Large items may incur a higher delivery charge - this will be displayed in your shopping basket.

Please see our Delivery page for further details, and more information on different charges that may apply to certain destinations.

For more information on how we send your plants please visit our Helpful Guide on plant sizes.

Van Meuwen strives to ensure that all its plants are delivered to you in the perfect condition for planting. While the majority of our nursery plants cope well with slight delays in intransit, sadly, the time it takes to deliver to certain locations in the UK means that we can't guarantee this for some of our smaller plug products and tender bedding and vegetable lines, which do not respond well to the extra journey time. So regretfully while we offer the majority of our live plant offering nationwide, we are unable to ship plugs, begging plants and tender vegetable plants to the following areas: HS, IV41-IV49, IV51, IV55-56, KW15-KW17, PA34, PA41-48, PA60-PA78, PA80, PH40-PH44, TR21-TR24, ZE1-ZE3.