You probably already grow dahlias in your garden, but do you eat them? It might be time to give them a try. After all, they were originally imported from their native Mexico not as an ornamental plant but as a root vegetable.
“When we planted them and they grew these spectacular flowers, everyone forgot what was going on below,” says Hutchings.
There’s no need to buy tubers. “Dahlias are easy and cheap to grow from seed,” she says.
Sow from February to April, germinate at 20–30C on the surface of damp peat-free compost and just cover to a depth of around 5mm. Grow on in cooler, well-lit conditions for 10–15 days before planting out after all risk of frost, 30cm apart.
“When you dig it up you can take off some of the large tubers to eat. They are like a new potato but more fragrant,” says Hutchings, “and you would approach cooking them in the same way.”
Over winter the rest of the cluster of tubers and replant in spring. Then you’ve got a perennial root crop.
“They make a fantastic rosti,” says Cotterill. “You don’t have to peel them, they’re very thin-skinned. Just rub off the worst of the soil.”