[jonewer]

Hello all,

I bought myself some artichoke and cardoon seeds. I'm planning on planting some in my allotment, eating, for the purpose of, and some in the garden, architectural plants, for the purpose of.

Does anyone have any advice on how to grow these things?

Thanks.

[Aunt Sally]

Cardoons are great architectural plants and I know quite a few people have tried them for eating .... once !

Try them in your garden before planting them on your allotment.  I might save you having to dig out the huge deep roots

I have never grown globe artichokes so can't comment on them.

[8doubles]

I have cardoons and chokes growing next to a buddlia in my butterfly & bee bit.
These were grown from Gardening News freebie seed in ordinary compost and planted out at about 6" high and left to fend for themselves about 10 years ago.
The chokes grow big with heavy flower heads which need support to stop them being flattened by wind and rain.
I would not use veg space for them, if i need an excuse to eat butter i go for sweetcorn !

[AlaninCarlisle]

I'm sure someone has a method of tenderising cardoons but the ones I grew (from the same freebie seeds as 8doubles) would have survived a nuclear reactor. They've now passed into family folklore

[Swing Swang]

Can't comment on cardoons.

Artichokes - easy to grow from seed, but the plants are very variable in vigor, taste, height, spread, spikeyness etc. Two options - grow lots of plants and get rid of those along the way that do not have the desired characteristics. Select the best dozen for final planting, and dig up the poorest performers after a further year, then only propogate form the offsets of the best plant. This will take 4 years +. Second option is to buy/beg/steal offsets from mature plants that have the characteristics that you want

I'm a cheapskate with patience - went for option 1 (50 seedlings whittled down to one compact, heavy yeilding, nice tasting specimen), then decided that I wasn't really keen on artichokes...

Oh - and the other thing that the books don't seem to tell you is that they are high density, high rise, apartment blocks for black fly.

[8doubles]

Oh - and the other thing that the books don't seem to tell you is that they are high density, high rise, apartment blocks for black fly.

This is very true, i tend to use my artichokes as 'blackfly barometers' because if they get infested it is time to get the soapy water ready for the beans.

[gobs]

I haven't and would not grow Artichokes from seeds, however, that's not too relevant to your query.

Very easy to grow. Just leave alone really, and mind your slugs when little. They are happy with somewhat rich soil, however, they seem to grow fine in neglected areas of plots, too.

Renew your stock from off-sets readily forming around the base every 3-5 years as plants lose productivity.

I've never had any black flies on them. Or anything for that matter.

[sarajane]

I have a 'bunch' of cardoons at the back of the border used to fill in a blank area and yes they do look fine but have never cooked them  -  actually don't fancy them.

Globe artichokes also look very impressive and I had several plants many years ago.  Found they were easy to grow but had to re-plant after 4 years or so (if memory serves me correct).  They do however take up space and found the return, whilst looked lovely, did not, did not provide enough for substantial meals and they were so fiddly to prepare they no longer take place on my plot. (i didn't actually enjoy them either after all the faffing about preping them)..

If you like to eat them though and have the space, give them a go.  Not hard to grow and its good to try and grow some of the more unusual vegetables from time to time. Mine were grown from seed and cropped, I think the following year. They did need staking from the wind but will survive frosts quite happily.  My cardoons have survived the last 2 winters without any protection

[gypsy]

My globe artichokes died from cold last winter, I am going to replace them this yr.

[DD.]

It's not last year's weather they're suffering from, I posted this in another thread:

He's got artichokes about 3' high, that he says should not get that tall until May. (I know nowt about artichokes!).

Recent frosts have killed them. 

[gypsy]

No, sorry should have said I lost them last winter not this winter, it was the -22c that we had for just one night I think that kileed them. I tucked them up with some mulch but it was just too cold for em.

[Matthew Gayles]

Ive had the same black fly issues with artichokes. Im hoping moving them from the garden to allotment might have helped (wishful thinking!) Incidently, if you blanch cardoon stems you can then braise the stems in chicken or beef stock - that was a victorian method of preparing them. Never tried it though, just seen in a book. They used straw ropes wound round the cardoon making it in a bunch.

Bit off track but hey!

[gobs]

It's not last year's weather they're suffering from, I posted this in another thread:

He's got artichokes about 3' high, that he says should not get that tall until May. (I know nowt about artichokes!).

Recent frosts have killed them. 

That's just the scenario I always suspect in these 'tender artichoke' debates. They are hardy down to -10C. People, who cannot leave them alone, are killing them. If cut down in the autumn, any new growth that develops in mild spells will be prone to frost damage.

Old growth is not noticing the frosts we get.