I'd read you could transplant them in the fall, after they've died back a bit but before the ground freezes. I finally dug a few out of two local groves and it turns out they're different varieties! My neighbor gave me the okay to plant them (I've been helping him replace his lawn with local plants, and we're emphasizing local food plants in the back). I know they can take over a space a bit, but he seems excited at the idea. He has just about the only bees I've seen in our neighborhood, so he's happy to give them more flowers. And if the sunchokes go too crazy I have a friend who knows how to cook them.
Tucked one in to a sunny spot where someone clearcut along a bike path too. Maybe it'll take off. I've been thinking about trying a little guerilla forest gardening along the path, perhaps starting with edible mushrooms next. I guess they make plugs - you drill holes in dead logs, tuck the mushroom plug in, and you get mushrooms. We'll see.
That's really great information, thank you! I'll check out groundnut next
You're very welcome! Two things - their flowers look like Georgia O'Keefe paintings and we've been happy with what we've received from FedCo. I just like mentioning them because they're a worker owned co-op and they've sent us quality plants.
First question my SO asked after we looked up ground nuts was where to get them. You had us at "worker owned co-op" and "quality plants"