We Have Artichokes

Love artichokes or not . . you have to admit they’re an amazing plant to grow. I had never grown them and last year our garden center had seedlings so I bought 4. I had never thought about growing them but I came home and began to read about them and several articles I found said they grow in all states except Florida and Texas. Oops!

Then I read that they like mild winters and cool, foggy summers. Oops again! But hey . . I’ll try anything once. I happened to have some artichoke seeds so I planted a few of those seeds. Of the 4 plants and 4 seeds I planted, I ended up with 5 surviving artichoke plants.

They survived last summer and that was about all I had hoped for. This spring, I was ready to see what they might do and then I read “If your winters are mild with just a few frosty nights, cut them back and mulch them heavily and they’ll survive the winter.”  Oops! I had read that last year and totally forgot to cut them back and totally forgot to mulch them and we had quite a bit of ice this winter.

Well .. they looked fine. I planted a few more seeds and they seem to be doing fine.

Last weekend we were at the garden center and I was talking to the owner and we were looking at the artichoke plants he had.

Me:  Are you sure these grow here?
Garden Man: Yes!
Me:  Do you know anyone who grows them?
Garden Man:  Yes, there’s a guy in this county that grows them every year.
Me:  Really? How many?
Garden Man: Bushels!

Oh, I was excited. I came home and looked around at my 5 surviving plants from last year. They looked good but nothing interesting was happening.

Last night I was out making my evening walk through the garden and I peeked down into the center hole and what did I see?

Whoa! That looks different. I think it’s a little artichoke! I moved down to the next plant.

Definitely an artichoke! I was so happy. I walked briskly back to the house (notice I no longer say “I ran”) to get Vince. He was in the shower.

Me: You HAVE to come outside!
Vince:  Can I finish my shower?
Me: Yes!
Vince: Can I put on clothes?
Me: If you hurry!

He was pretty happy to see them too because he didn’t think they were going to grow here. I told him “I want to plow up the whole garden and plant artichokes everywhere!” He didn’t seem real positive about that idea. I love artichokes and will be so happy if we make a few.

You may never want to grow them but here are some interesting facts:

1. They’re related to the thistle family. The plant looks a lot like a giant thistle.
2. The edible portion is really the flower bud. If left uncut, it will grow into a giant purple flower.
3. Once the early summer buds are harvested, if the whole plant is cut back by about 1/3, it should produce a Fall harvest, especially in southern zones.

I do think they’re an amazing and beautiful plant to grow.