Growing Artichokes

[smallblueplanet]

Nice one piggie. What variety are you growing?

An off-topic moment here (heaven forefend!) but when you have comments on your blog I can't actually see them to read them (I only know they're there by checking number of comments). Perhaps you could change the font colour, or background colour? I have to read them by trying to copy them, when they become highlighted.

Interesting comment about arti's cropping over winter.

Anyway our Arti's are outside hardening up, or hopefully vernalising, atm. Some more are still only seed (hurry up! ).

[veg4681]

i chilled 3 seeds in the fridge before sowing but only one have germinated but they weren't in the heated propagator to begin with and in 3 inch pot. nothing really germinates for me unless i use a very shallow tray. not sure if i want to sow any more as it's just as easy to propagate from suckers or baby plants that shoot from the adult and established plants.

[smallblueplanet]

I found the percentage germination rate for artichokes is quite variable (also thinking of others we've sown previous years). This year though

3 Imperial Star, 2 germinated - 11 days
3 Violetto, 3 germinated - 9 days
6 Gros de Laon, 4 germinated (one with help!) - 11 days

We've also sown another 4 Concerto but no sign of them yet, sown 16th Feb.

[veg4681]

I found the percentage germination rate for artichokes is quite variable (also thinking of others we've sown previous years). This year though

3 Imperial Star, 2 germinated - 11 days
3 Violetto, 3 germinated - 9 days
6 Gros de Laon, 4 germinated (one with help!) - 11 days

We've also sown another 4 Concerto but no sign of them yet, sown 16th Feb.

gosh that is still pretty good going, considering i chilled mine. i don't know what to do with the 2 chilled/ungerminated seeds or whether to sow new ones. i've having no absolute joy as i made stupid mistakes of not using shallow dish.

i reckon 3 plants will be more than enough for feeding my household and even then i'm not sure if i'll like them, never eaten fresh ones, only the preserved ones that i quite like.

[smallblueplanet]

Well there's no harm in sowing a few more, if they don't grow big enough to have chokes this year, then they'll have a good start next, provided they overwinter.

What sort are you sowing/growing I can't remember, if they are not F1's then you might also 'lose' some of your plants that kind of revert, they grow thistley globes, rather than edible ones. F1 varieties don't do this they grow to type.

Fresh they have a very distinct flavour (I'm short of descriptive words, sorry), much nicer than preserved ones I've tasted.

[Lavenderblue]

I sowed 20 (!) imperial star seeds on the 18/2 and 19 have germinated thus far. If things carry on, I feel the village fete will be well catered for in choke department. I am going to let them grow on a bit longer then start cooling them outside for a few weeks. If all these seeds keep going, I will have lots of seeds to swap - no one person needs 50 artichokes now do they.

[wormlady]

[QUOTE=smallblueplanet;164106]Sorry Ami, was just feeling a bit like I was typing to myself - I missed the bit asking about number of buds per plant. We didn't really give ours any care, last year was a bit washed out really but we got a crop of 3 or 4 from each plant and left 2 or 3 buds on each to 'grow the plant'. We forgot to cover them over winter, but looking out the window down the garden there's still some plants showing (so I think we have survivors!).

Hi SBP
This forum moves too fast for me to keep up! I just wanted to check with you what was meant by leaving buds to grow the plant? I thought you had to stop the plant from flowering at all ever if you wanted to harvest chokes, because leaving buds on to flower will stop it producing more?
As an aside - my artichoke has produced a bud now! In Feb, in Yorkshire! The poor thing must be very confused! Ive chopped it off and hope it wont affect this summer's harvest...

[smallblueplanet]

....I just wanted to check with you what was meant by leaving buds to grow the plant? I thought you had to stop the plant from flowering at all ever if you wanted to harvest chokes, because leaving buds on to flower will stop it producing more?

As an aside - my artichoke has produced a bud now! In Feb, in Yorkshire! The poor thing must be very confused! Ive chopped it off and hope it wont affect this summer's harvest...

Well stuff I've read suggests that 1st year artichoke plants should be allowed to become bigger plants before taking a crop from them.

From that I inferred that leaving the buds to flower on the plant was the way to do it. It would encourage/provide energy for the plant to get bigger? I can't see it being fatal whichever you choose to do. I see what you mean about leaving buds on will stop it producing more, but we didn't want more buds to eat. I've not explained myself very well there.

I'm not sure when 'older' artichokes start producing buds, but I think its sooner than those growing in their 1st year.

[wormlady]

Ah ha, thanks SBP. I had also read that, but inferred from it that I should chop off any buds and thus let the plant focus its energies on growing roots etc not buds?! Either way my arti seems to be doing fine, apart from random february fruits...
Also Ive no idea how old it is as I was given it as an offset. Am hoping I'll get another years crop out of it this summer and then in Autumn Im gonna take offsets and plant those out for next years.

[smallblueplanet]

I decided it meant leave the buds don't pick, the same as with asparagus?

There might already be some offsets wormlady?

[wormlady]

Hiya
Yep I think youre right about offsets, when I looked closely there seems to be several plants squished together, so will spearate them. Now I need to find out if you can ONLY do this in Autumn or if Spring is ok too? (Caroline - I saw you asked this question too but I dont know the answer, soz! It just says Autumn in my allotment book)
I reckon Spring would be ok too, then at least they have the rest of the summer to recover from the trauma, what d'ya think?

[smallblueplanet]

I think you'd be able to happily split the plant now whilst dormant, they're just starting up again?

Here's a bit from Riverford Organics

The main season is over by late July but the new plants, grown from suckers taken in April, produce their heads in September and October.

globe artichoke - veg - produce - Riverford Organic Vegetables*

[Lavenderblue]

oh i've got two pure white, albino artichoke seedlings - shall i ditch them or see what happens?

[smallblueplanet]

Are the proper leaves white then?

But you've loads germinated haven't you, so if you don't need to grow them on.....

[Lavenderblue]

yes they seem to be - the others are all a lovely lush green, these two are totally white, its most odd. they are a bit smaller than the others so may be runts, if you can have such a thing with seedlings. I might leave them and see what happens. Odd though isn't it?