Artichokes, where should they live ?

[smilingshoe]

Hi all

I've just sown some Green globe artichokes, about 30 , I figured I could possibly sell the ones I don't need at a farmers market or something. Anyway I have put them in my (unheated) conservatory do you think this is ok. The sweetpeas, garlic and calabrese seem to be doing ok in there, just not sure how much heat the artichokes may need to germinate. Thank you so much for having a look.

[Creemteez]

Hi Smilingshoe,
I grew my Artichokes from seed a couple of years ago now and seem to recall that they require the same sort of treatment as most seeds at this time of year. IE a min temp of ten degrees, plenty of light and damp - not wet compost. Germination rates are generally quite good for 'Chokes, so you are going to have a lot of plantlets. They Should be ok in your unheated conservatory as long as the temp doesn't drop dramatically. They will require their own 6cm pot once they've got their first true leaves and will need hardening off before planting into their final positions.
They like a nice rich soil, so dig in loads of well rotted manure before planting and top-dress with some at the start of each new growing season.
Experts advise nipping off the flower buds in the first season to help the plant establish a good root system - but it's up to you.
Mine are a heap of slimey leaves at the moment as the frost hit them before I could protect them. - Something else that experts reccommend - so I'm hoping that the roots are undamaged and they come back like they did last year. Think that covers everything!
Oh! One more thing. They get VERY BIG. So bear this in mind when planting them out so they don't overshadow your other plants.
!

[smilingshoe]

Thanks so much creemteez, your a star. I got a bit confused, what with tomatoes, peppers and aubergines upstairs in propogators and windowsills, there's not much room up there at the mo. I've got 7 of those mini greenhouses on order to put up inside in to give me more room. They should be coming in the next few days ( fingers crossed) . Someone said that the artichoke seeds are only good for a year so I thought I might as well sow them all. I've put them in individual 8cm ( ish ) pots as the pricking out business is causing a lot of muddiness being tramped through the house by unthinking ravenous teenagers looting the food cupboards, whilst I'm pricking the seedlings out. I have still got some more choke seeds left, so will do them in about a fortnights time. I thought about having a stall at a car boot sale to sell the things I don't need. Hopefully if i make any pennies it can go towards next years seeds and the scaffolding planks I need for my new allotment xx thanks again for your help

[Jono]

30?? You're going to have a truckload of artichokes on your hands!

Mine also went slimy and brown, but have recovered and look really healthy again, so wouldn't worry.

They do grow big quickly, and if you dig one up watch out for the roots. They're large, and a bugger to shift. Broke me spade on them.

[Kristen]

Green Globe are not the most vigorous, or tasty (in my opinion ) of artichokes, but are one of the few that can be grown from seed. Given they are a long-term perennial crop you might want to get one known-variety (grown from an offset/cutting) and then propagate some more from it over the years - and if you prefer it replace your Green Globe piecemeal

Or, cynical me!, sell all your seedlings at the car boot and put the money towards some plants of Vert de Laon or Camus de Bretagne

[smilingshoe]

Kristen, thanks for the tip. My Vert de laon seeds arrived this morning, so I can have a couple of those , one green globe and some violetta da something or other which I can't quite remember. As you said in your post as they are perenial it makes sense to get some tasty ones.

[MissKittin]

violetta da something or other which I can't quite remember.

Violetta di chioggia perhaps?

^^^ Anyone know if this variety is particularly tricky to germinate? Only 1/6 of mine has come up

[smilingshoe]

Hi MissKittin, none of mine have surfaced yet but have only sown the greenglobe yet. It's so murky here, really worried about the lack of light, alot of my seedlings are very leggy. I need to get a thermometer today to monitor the temperatures in my unheated conservatory. Out of interest where abouts are your artichokes, are they inside the house or some unheated type of thing ?

[MissKittin]

They were in an unheated conservatory... Then they were moved into a heated propagator (at the 2 week point, when nothing was showing, LOL). 1 sprouted 7 days after being moved into the propagator, the rest have done nothing!

On the upside: I can't praise Rachel at More Veg enough! I emailed about the poor germination, and she replied within about 5 minutes, offering replacements, and mentioning that some soak the seeds for 24 hours before planting. She also mentioned that I should be keeping the compost moister than you'd expect

I confess, I dug up the seeds that hadn't germinated, and they look fine (i.e: Non-rotten!) So I've dampened the compost again, and stuck them back in the propagator, with some cling-film to keep in the moisture.. Still no sign though!

I'll let you know how it goes

[smilingshoe]

Thanks Misskittin, I'm now off to water them following your tip, mine aren't damp at all. It's all a learning curve isn't it, have not been watering my germinating things incase I water log them. Will let you know how I get on too

[MissKittin]

Just to update on this:

6 seeds planted on 20/03/11 (3 soaked and 3 not soaked). 5 have germinated. The one that hasn't, was a non-soaked

I guess they were just too cold (and possibly then too hot, LOL) before