Allotments 4 All

I've got JA's growing and I want to increase next year (only had 2 tubers initially.) I've been back through all the old stuff and I think I know what to do - can some kind person confirm I've got this right?  Leave the stems to die down naturally some time in Autumn, then lift the tubers before it gets too cold and replant in early Spring? That seems to be a precis of the advice I can find but I want to be sure not to lose them. l had a lovely stand of them some years ago but the pigs got out and truffled the lot.....

If you lift the tubers now, they will wither and dry out before replanting time. They are best stored in the ground. In the early spring you could dig them out, replant the biggest and best, and eat the rest.

The only problem with this is slugs and pests attacking them in the ground, but JAs are so prolific this should not be a serious problem. I did this for my daughter's allotment last year, and when we dug them up for replanting, each of her three original tubers had developed into a huge mass of really solid tubers. We separated and replanted about 6 and she has HUGE plants at the moment. There is a limit to how many JAs a family can eat......

i think you are able to lift them    and replant in a pot to store over winter ,As the first one i started off my wilderness with had been in a pot all winter

I agree re-potting them would work as well, but I am against extra jobs! There seems so much to do at this time of year.

Are they really rampant? I like them but I have heard that they take up a lot of space. Tempted though...  If i have never had them before, when do I plant them initally? Early spring?

If you don't lift them the tubers get smaller as they get cramped. By repotting... think clamping just chuck in a bucket and cover with compost...
They can get invasive on light soils Antipodes but on our clay they just clump rather than spread...

Thanks all, I'll aim to combine the lifting and replanting early spring.  Now if anyone can predict the winter weather for me please......