A healthy diet can be ideally realized with edible and local tuber vegetables. Numerous species and varieties are cultivated in Central Europe, which you can find in the following list.

In a nutshell

  • Primary shoots form storage organs
  • make shape of tuber vegetable
  • edible and local tuber vegetables are extremely healthy
  • listed tuber vegetables suitable for self-cultivation

Tuber vegetables from A to I

Field garlic (Allium ampeloprasum)

  • Synonyms: field garlic, summer garlic
  • Growth height: flower stalks between 70 and 150 centimeters
  • Flowers: light pink in early summer
  • Harvest time: July to around the end of August
  • Location: sunny to full sun
  • Special features: deciduous, frost hardy, average feeder

Notice: Field leeks are often assigned to leeks instead of tuber vegetables.

Arakacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza)

Like ginger and other exotic species, the Arakacha tuber vegetable is native to North and South America. However, numerous specimens can also be grown in Central Europe, which is why they should not be missing from the list of edible and local tuber vegetables.

  • Growth height: between 100 and 150 centimeters
  • Flowers: yellow or violet-brown petals; rarely blooms
  • Harvest time: between autumn and summer
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady; loamy-sandy; pH between 5.0 and a maximum of 6.8
  • Special features: tubers only reach maturity after eight to twelve months; tuber length up to 30 centimeters; short shelf life

Galangal (Alpinia officinarum)

  • Synonym: galangal root
  • Growth height: between 25 and 30 centimeters
  • flower: white; April; rarely flowering
  • Harvest time: between autumn and summer
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady; warm all year round
  • pungent and cinnamon-like aroma & cinnamon-like plant fragrance
  • Special features: Asian variety; not hardy

Black salsify (Scorzonera hispanica)

  • Synonym: Spanish salsify
  • Growth height: between 30 and 50 centimeters
  • flower: yellow; June to July
  • Harvest time: between October and April
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady; sandy-humic soil
  • smelling of vanilla
  • Shoots and flower buds are edible
  • Special features: easy to cultivate; good neighbor for salads, leeks, kohlrabi

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

  • Growth height: under optimal conditions between 60 and 120 centimeters
  • Flower: yellowish-purple, red; cone-like; in summer
  • Harvest time: from October
  • Location: sunny, warm; in winter store the tuber in the dark at ten degrees Celsius
  • Special features: not hardy; heavy feeder

notice: Ginger is one of the spice and medicinal plants, but is often wrongly assigned to fruit. In fact, it belongs to the tuber vegetables.

from J to K

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

  • Synonym: potatoes
  • Growth height: up to 100 centimeters
  • flower: white or light violet; between June and August
  • Harvest time: early varieties from May/June - late varieties in October
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady;
  • Special features: formation of poisonous green berry-shaped fruits after flowering; heavy feeder; not hardy

Chervil beet (Chaerophyllum bulbosum L.)

  • Synonym: bulbous calf goiter
  • Growth height: 80 to 200 centimeters
  • Flower: white, creamy white, yellowish; in the second year between June and August
  • Harvest time: from July
  • Location: partially shaded; moist, well-drained soil
  • Special features: biennial; little known so far; needs at least six weeks of cold to germinate

Celeriac (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum)

  • Synonym: root celery
  • Growth height: 30 to 100 centimeters
  • flower: white, whitish-yellow; usually only in the second year between June and August
  • Harvest time: from October
  • location: sunny; pH between 6.0 and 7.5
  • Special features: heavy feeder; is grown as an annual vegetable

The most popular celeriac varieties include 'Prinz' with a mildly spicy taste, 'Ibis' with a nutty aroma, 'Mars' due to its resistance to celery rust, 'Biancho del Veneto' as a late-ripening variety, 'Giant Prague' with a sweet taste and very fleshy Consistency and 'Monarch' with a mild, nutty aroma.

Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes)

  • Growth height: 30 to 100 centimeters
  • flower: sulphur-yellow; usually only from the second year between May and September
  • Harvest time: from July
  • Location: sunny to semi-shade; pH between 6.4 and 7.2
  • Special features: three to four-year crop rotation recommended due to clubroot; medium eater

Turmeric (Curcuma longa)

  • Synonym: goldenseal
  • Growth height: 80 to 100 centimeters
  • Flower: white or purple-violet; from July to September
  • Harvest time: in winter
  • location: warm; sunny to semi-shade; high humidity; Winter location dark at 15 degrees Celsius
  • Special features: perennial; middle eaters; not hardy

from L to P

Lotus Root (Nelumbo)

  • Growth height: between 60 and 100 centimeters
  • aquatic plant
  • flower: white, pink; blue; violet; in July; mostly absent in cool temperatures
  • Harvest time: October to March
  • Location: sunny and warm; pond or tub planting; loamy but lime-poor soil
  • similar, slightly sweet taste, like mushrooms
  • Special features: easy to care for; tolerates slight sub-zero temperatures

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)

  • Synonym: horseradish
  • Growth height: 80 to 100 centimeters
  • Flowers: white flower spikes; in summer
  • Harvest time: from October to January (main harvest time November)
  • location: sunny; at least four hours of sunlight; less aroma on sandy soil; Loamy soil promotes fibrousness and woodiness
  • Special features: hardy perennial; extensive variety

Carrot (Daucus carota ssp. sativus)

  • Synonyms: carrots, garden carrots
  • Growth height: up to 120 centimeters
  • flower: white, creamy white; May to August
  • Harvest time: September
  • location: sunny; sandy and well-drained soils
  • Special features: wild carrots much smaller; not hardy

Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)

  • Growth height: up to 100 centimeters
  • flower: yellow, yellowish green; June and July
  • Harvest time: August to February
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady; prefers soil rich in nitrogen, base and lime
  • Special features: hardy; biennial

Parsley root (Petroselinum crispum ssp. tuberosum)

  • Synonyms: root parsley, bulb parsley
  • Growth height: up to 90 centimeters
  • flower: yellow-green; June and July
  • Harvest time: October to February
  • Location: sunny, warm; permeable and nutrient-rich soil
  • Special features: leaves sensitive to frost; Tuber moderately hardy, so protection against the cold is recommended for later harvests

from Q to R

Radish (Raphanus sativus var. sativus)

  • Growth height: between 30 and 100 centimeters
  • Absolutely avoid flowering between May and June, otherwise the tubers will become inedible
  • white, white-red, red, pink or violet tubers
  • Harvest time: from May to October
  • location: sunny; permeable, loose soil
  • raw consumption only
  • Special features: radish subspecies (Raphanus sativus); weak feeder

Radishes (Raphanus)

  • Growth height: between 30 and 100 centimeters
  • flowering: only when plant shoots; between May and June
  • Harvest time: see below
  • location: sunny; prefers nutrient-rich and sandy soil
  • Special features: biennial; conditionally hardy

There are over 100 different types of radish. The most common are the summer radish/white beer radish (Raphanus sativus var. albus), which is ready to harvest between the end of May and the beginning of June, and the winter radish/black winter radish (Raphanus sativus L. var. niger).

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris var. conditiva)

  • Synonym: beetroot
  • Height of growth: between 40 and 150 centimeters with flower stalks
  • flower: hermaphrodite; green or green-reddish; mostly in the second spring
  • Harvest time: from about July/August until the first frost
  • Location: sunny on permeable, loose and nutrient-rich soil
  • Special features: biennial; heavy feeder; can reach a weight of over 600 grams

from S to V

Turnip (Brassica rapa subsp. rapa)

  • Growth height: between 20 and 100 centimeters
  • flower: yellow; usually only in the second early summer or autumn
  • Harvest time: depending on the variety/species and sowing between May and October
  • location: sunny; permeable, loose soil
  • Special features: tuber sizes up to 20 centimeters possible; usually not hardy
  • Popular types: May and Pfatterer turnips, Teltower turnips and autumn turnips
  • flattened to rounded shapes and conical shapes
  • outer tuber colors in black, grey, white or yellow

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batata)

  • Synonym: Batata
  • Growth height: between 150 and 200 centimeters
  • flower: white; from July to August only under short-day conditions
  • Harvest time: autumn, when leaves wither
  • Location: sunny and warm; Hibernation possible in mild regions outdoors
  • originally from South America, but has been cultivated in Central Europe for many years
  • Specialties: annual; not frost resistant; climbing, creeping plant

Notice: The term "sweet potato" often suggests a close relationship with the normal potato. However, this is wrong, because potatoes belong to the nightshade family (Solanaceae) and sweet potatoes to the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae).

Taro (Colocasia esculenta)

  • Synonyms: taro, colocasia
  • Growth height: between 150 and 200 centimeters
  • flower: white; from July to August only under short-day conditions
  • Harvest time: autumn, when leaves wither
  • Location: sunny to semi-shady; damp and warm; at least ten degrees Celsius in winter
  • Special features: perennial, not frost-resistant; established as tub plants

Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)

  • Growth height: between 150 and 300 centimeters
  • flower: bright yellow; from September to November
  • Harvest time: from October
  • Location: sun to semi-shade; lime-poor, slightly sandy soil
  • Taste between potato and carrot
  • bee friendly
  • Special features: perennial shrub; good hardy

from U from Z

Wasabi (Wasabia japonica)

  • Synonym: Japanese horseradish
  • Growth height: between 20 and 60 centimeters
  • flower: white; grape-like; in May
  • Harvest time: often only after 18 months in summer
  • Location: partial shade to shade; prefers moist soil and constant temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius; Winter cool and above zero degrees Celsius
  • Specialties: cultivated in tubs/pots or greenhouses; conditionally hardy perennial

Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius)

  • Growth height: between 150 and 250 centimeters
  • flower: orange-yellow; at the end of vegetation in late autumn
  • Harvest time: from mid-October to mid-November
  • Location: full sun to sun; prefers slightly sandy soil
  • originating from South America and meanwhile also at home in Central Europe
  • Special features: perennial; high crop yields

Yams (Dioscorea.L.)

  • Growth height: between 200 and 300 centimeters
  • flower: orange-yellow; at the end of vegetation in late autumn
  • Harvest time: from July to September
  • Location: sunny, bright;
  • Special features: fast-growing, twining climbing plant

Tip: Yams is not yet "at home" in Central Europe. Nevertheless, as an edible tuber vegetable, it should not be missing from the list, because with year-round temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius, cultivation is becoming more common.

frequently asked Questions

Which tuber vegetables are considered 'native'?

Edible and native tuber vegetables are those that are grown for consumption in Germany or can be cultivated in Central European regions. The "native" therefore does not refer to "typical German tuber vegetables" such as potatoes. In the meantime, there are also numerous exotic species that can be planted and bought regionally.

Why are onion and fennel bulbs not listed?

These two species are not listed as edible and domestic tuber vegetables because they are bulb vegetables. Fennel bulbs (Foeniculum vulgare) have layered storage organs like onions (Allium cepa), which is why they belong to this category. Incidentally, garlic (Allium sativum) does not belong to the tuber family, but to the leek family, despite having a tuber. Nevertheless, it can often be found among tuber vegetables.

Do edible and domestic tuber vegetables keep longer than leafy vegetables?

Not necessarily. That depends on the respective fruit type and variety. The Arakacha tubers (Arracacia xanthorrhiza), for example, only last a few days. Horseradish, on the other hand, can be kept for up to four weeks or up to two weeks when cut. Some leafy greens are in no way inferior.

Category:

Vegetable garden