[simbamara]

Hello everyone,
I have several Artichoke plants growing(both Globe&purple).Some of the plants have grown very tall (about 4ft).Only the central stems seem to be producing fruits.
My questions are:
1.What to do with other many many leaves?Trim them/Or leave them be ?
2.There are ''black ant type of insects)on the stem below and on leaves around the fruits.I see few ladybirds too.
   I have just used fast water streams to remove the 'ants'.
3.How many fruits each plant produce & for how long ?
4.How best to maintain the growth of the plants ?
5.How to harvest the fruits ?Any videos?
Thanks