How to Plant and Grow Artichokes in Your garden

Artichokes develop into thistlelike flowers if not harvested.

The artichoke is an edible thistle, producing flower buds rather than fruit. The overlapping, fleshy scales of the artichoke bud are often served steamed with butter or the very centers are pickled and served in olive oil. Expensive in grocery store produce aisles, you can grow perennial artichokes in mild climates and as annuals where the weather is cooler

Things You'll Need

• Seeds
• Seed-starting trays
• Soilless seed-starting mix
• Trowel
• Shovel
• Compost
• Fertilizer
• Knife

Instructions

1. Fill small peat pots with seed-starting mixture about eight to 10 weeks before last frost.

2. Sow one to two artichoke seeds per pot, 1/2 to 1 inch deep. Plants should germinate in about one week. Thin out the weakest seedling if more than one emerges per pot. Highest germination is assured if seeds are stored in the refrigerator for two weeks to help break dormancy. Select a variety recommended for annual growing, like Imperial Star, or the purple-tinged Violetto, if your lowest winter temperature drops below 20 F, recommends Colorado State University Extension

3. Dig a generous amount of compost and a high-phosophorus fertilizer into an area of the garden that receives full sun.

4. When seedlings are about 4 to 6 inches tall, after last frost, plant them in the garden. Set seedling 3 feet apart in rows spaced 3 feet apart. Artichokes grows best in cool conditions. Warm weather forces flower buds to open prematurely.

5. Give your artichokes plenty of water. Artichoke plants wilt when they are deprived of water. The soil should always be kept moist, but not soggy. Control weeds regularly, and fertilize during the growing period.

6. Cut flower buds from their thick stems with a knife when they are still young. If allowed to mature, they develop into the purple flower blossoms. Buds can be harvested when they are the size of tennis ball or larger. Cut buds while they are firm, just as the lowest scales start to open.

Tips & Warnings

• In areas where artichokes are commonly grown as perennials, plant portions of root or shoots that develop on the side of established plants.

References

• Colorado State University Extension: Artichokes Can Learn to Like Colorado
• Arizona State University Extension: Backyard Gardener - Growing Artichokes
• University of Florida Extension: Artichoke, Globe — Cynara Scolymus L.