Has anyone grown artichokes?

[catchnrelease]

Last year I planted one plant just to see what would happen. (We LOVE artichokes) The plant got to be about 2 or 3 feet tall and got two little artichokes on it. Later the leaves all died back and the plant basically disappeared, so I thought it was dead. Luckily I didn't dig it out, as right now the thing, which we've started calling "the triffid" is about 6 feet tall, at least 6 feet across and has at last count 16 "flowers" of varying sizes on it. The plant has really taken over the whole corner of the garden where it lives. We've eaten some already and tho' not as big as some in the stores, they have great taste.

I can't find an answer to this question so far---when you cut off the artichoke, how far down the stem should you cut it? Does it matter? I feel like I should cut it down to the place where it forks off of the bigger stem, but I'm not sure if more flowers will come out of that same stem. (I know it's confusing, so I'm hoping someone here has grown them and knows what I mean.) I had no idea that so many flowers would be produced on one plant. And they come out of the joint where the leaves attach to the stem, so I'm really reluctant to cut off anything that might produce more.

[NMDemDist2]

1. I don't grow em, but I might try it!! here's a good article that addresses your ??

Harvesting Artichoke

The Globe artichoke is actually an edible bud. It is harvested at an immature stage and selected for size and compactness. Overdeveloped Globe artichoke buds begin to open or spread; the bracts may have a brownish cast and are tough and stringy; the artichoke hearts have a fuzzy, pink to purple appearance.

As a perennial: For artichokes planted in the fall, harvest can begin as early as spring. Maturation and harvest will continue through the following spring unless interrupted by frost. Peak production occurs in spring.

As an annual: For artichokes planted in the spring, harvest in the fall.

Handle buds carefully during harvest to avoid bruising bud leaves. To harvest artichokes, cut the bud from the stem about 1" - 1½" inches below the bud base. Buds allowed to become over mature will be loose, fibrous and inedible. Artichoke blossoms, however, are attractive as fresh or dried flowers.

After harvest, cut back old bearing stalks to ground level and mulch with rotted manure, or feed with a balanced fertilizer. New shoots, which grow from the base of the old stump, will develop their own stalks. Monthly applications of nitrogen fertilizer are beneficial for healthy growth.

http://www.geocities.com/green_cache/artichoke.html

[catchnrelease]

4. That's a great link!

Lots of helpful info there. And it did answer my question, Thanks a million!

[LiberalEsto]

2. Well, I've tried to

but it's not an easy thing to do in Maryland.

I started them from seeds several years ago and got some nice plants which grew about 3-4 feet tall. They produced artichokes, but the darned things were tough and tasteless. I think it's our climate.

I grew them as perennial flowers for a few years, and they are incredible. What a shade of blue!

[Richard Steele]

3. No, but I love them, so I'm responding to this thread so I can find it later.

Let's hope some DU Artichoke-expert drops by with a big bunch of good advice.

My "expertise" is limited to a few of the simplest veggies- potatos, tomatos, etc...

Artichokes are exotic & exciting "foreign plants" to me; I'd love to learn more
about them.

[catchnrelease]

5. Ha,

My expertise amounted to buying the 1 gallon plant and putting it into the ground. I did give it lots of water during the summer, but that's it. I haven't fertilized it or anything so far. As I said above, I thought it was dead last fall.

Our soil here is completely clay, but it's full of earthworms. Whatever it is, the almost everything we plant is happy. Now if I can just get rid of the wilt that gets my tomatoes I'd have it made.

[LiberalEsto]

6. Re: wilt

I am solarizing my tomato planting area this year. This involves putting down a layer of clear plastic over the entire bed and weighting it with bricks on the corners. I'm leaving it down for a few weeks in the hope that the heat kills off the bacterial wilt critters. A side benefit is that it will warm up the soil nicely.

Can't guarantee that it will work, but if it does, I will post here with the results.