Jerusalem Artichokes - my, how they spread!

Last year, I planted 2 small patches (about 5 each) of jerusalem artichokes close together.  As seen in the main picture of the post, I have previously had many plants.  In my opinion, they are a very pretty "ground cover" and will eventually reduce the amount of lawn I mow.  The flower is not all that much on its own, but quite pretty in larger bunches.  Well, to be truthful, I like them even with just a few but not everyone does.

I knew they would multiply quickly.  They are related to the sunflower (same genus: helianthus) but actually grow edible tubers beneath the ground ... like potatoes.  Well, they look more like ginger but multiply like potatoes.

Where each tuber formed last fall, a new plant shot up this year!  So each patch of 5 artichokes have turned into about 35-45 artichokes plants this year.

My plan was intentional - plant these and let them spread to cover a wide space.  Even without flowers, they are prettier than poorly maintained lawn which is the best I can usually manage.  But spread they will ... and they are only 30 feet from the neighbouring property.

I did not bother to harvest any last year as there were so few and I wanted to encourage growth.  But it won't be more than a few years before I will be offering bags to co-workers in order to manage the spread. 

I look forward to some interesting recipe options in the fall.  If anyone has good jerusalem artichoke recipes, please share!