Artichoke Advice
I am not in love with the makeshift wire fence that protects our vegetable garden from the marauding flock of chickens that we let loose into our backyard every morning. So, I’ve decided to disguise the fence by planting a row of artichokes all along the outside of it later this spring. My hope is that the big, silvery plants will cover up the fence by mid-summer and make for a dramatic—and delicious—entrance into the garden.
My only problem is I’m a little worried my vision won’t become a reality. I grew artichokes for the first time last year and they never really took off. I only got three small artichokes and the little buggers flowered before I had a chance to harvest. I suspect that they didn’t love the rocky, dry soil I planted them in.
My plan this year is to really loosen up the soil in the new artichoke beds and dig in an inch or so of composted chicken bedding before I plant the seedlings. I’m also considering underplanting the artichokes with nasturtiums because they are so pretty and make a great living mulch.
Have any of you had success with artichokes in the past? Should I foliar feed with fish emulsion? When is the best time to harvest? If you’ve got advice, please share. I’m all ears!
Artichoke Beginning to Flower
I dont have much experience, but I tried growing them last year and mine did fairly well. I added lots of compost (we relandscaped our yard and added compost everywhere), and gave it lots of room. It grew to about 5′ and we ended up with 2-3 larger ones and a bunch of small ones that I picked and ate once it started to get cold. We plated in last summer and got the artichokes in the fall, then I cut it back and it doesnt look like much now, but I hope it will come back. I will look forward to seeing photos of your garden again this year.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:57 pmO how I love artichokes. But for $3/each (or more $), I usually don’t buy them. I wish you all the luck with growing them!!! They are so deliciuos.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:44 pmI have read that artichokes need fertile soil and a lot of water, but we grow them here in the Languedoc where the climate is Mediterranean – dry and hot in summer. So do all our neighbours. We find that the leaves wilt a bit when it’s very dry and then we water them. We haven’t put much manure in the soil where they grow, but I’m thinking of adding some this spring. I don’t know where you are and what your climate is like, but here the small artichokes start to grow at the end of April and we harvest them in May. You must cut them before they start to open or they will flower. They’re delicious when they’re small as you can eat the central choke as well. For hiding your fence – be patient, the plants will grow year by year, and they will spread so that you can take off the new plants and replant them. Here the leaves die back in the summer and then grow again when the rain comes in September, but in wetter climates they should carry on all summer. Good luck!
March 12th, 2009 at 1:42 amChaiselongue–Thanks for your advice and encouragement. Your garden sounds like it must be lovely. My climate is cool and rainy for much of the year, but we have very dry summers.
Nurit–The cost of artichokes at the store is what led me to plant them last year. Hopefully my harvest will be better this year and I’ll see a return on my small investment of seedlings.
Juliana–I think that I will definitely add more compost this year. And I will certainly post pictures!
March 12th, 2009 at 11:46 amI am also growing artichokes this year! I was going to plant them with our blueberries, but when I discovered that they needed to be kept quite moist, I decided not to not plant them with the thirsty berries. I am intrigued to see how yours do. I am in the Greater Seattle area too.
March 12th, 2009 at 4:02 pmI’ve grown artichokes for many years in Seattle (and in fact have some divisions in pots that survived our cold winter, if you want some), and the three things they seem to want are full sun, regular water and compost. And dividing every few years.
As I recall, they did take a couple of years to naturalize before they started producing, so don’t give up!
I treat my artichokes to a spadeful of my worm bin castings every spring, topped off by maybe an inch of compost. I might dig that in slightly, but mostly it’s left on top. I have a drip irrigation system with a pretty good sized dripper at the base of each plant. They might get a foliar spraying of fish emulsion once a year, but I really don’t add that much external fertilizer.
The plants get broader than you’d expect, and the big lower leaves splay out over the ground, so underplanting might be a problem. I’ve tried flowers near mine and they always seem kind of stunted.
I love them when they’re small – maybe 2 inches across – because the hairy choke has not yet developed. We just slice them vertically and pan-fry the halves in olive oil. There is a point when they get too large; the leaves get tough and the heart bland. I usually let one go to flower at the end of the season just to enjoy the purple thistle-like flower.
March 14th, 2009 at 9:26 amI’m trying them this year for the first time – I’ll let you know how they do. Mine are itty-bitty startlets at this point.
March 20th, 2009 at 11:13 amBill, I also live in Seattle and am very interested in growing Artichokes. They’re my favorite food! I’m so glad to hear that you can grow them in pots as that is my only option. Where can I buy some starts from around here? And when should they be planted?? I’ve read on some sites in the early spring is best, and some sites say late fall, I’m so confused. Any help I can get would be amazing. I don’t know anything about this plant.
Chelsea T.
October 18th, 2009 at 10:02 pmckibler@gmail.com
I have heard they can grow indoors. Does anyone have advice about moving them from outdoors to indoors?
August 5th, 2011 at 9:18 amShelly