[A. Fallowfield]

I'm not an experienced gardener and have just gottta plot! I've inherited a very large globe artichoke plant with lots of flower heads.
What sort of size should I harvest them at? And how often should I water it, as it seems to have done very well on its own. Am I right in assuming it's a desert plant?

[gillie]

Is that a globe artichoke or a cardoon?

Gillie

[A. Fallowfield]

Is that a globe artichoke or a cardoon?

Gillie

Never heard of cardoon, but I've just googled it and still think its a globe artichoke, as do my plot nieghbours.
Certainly no sign of purple flowers.

[mumofstig]

They are nicer IMO, eaten when they are small and tight, basically if you have trouble cutting through the top then the base will be tough even after cooking.
They like water but don't like being waterlogged, so watering depends on your soil
But as you say they've been growing with no attention so i wouldn't worry too much.

[lucywil]

i never water mine, but then i never eat them either i just let them flower as i like the flowers,

i think Gillie could be right though and there is a possibility it could be a cardoon, i grow both and the artichoke heads are much bigger and tighter than the cardoon heads

[gillie]

How tall are they?  It is difficult to see from the pic.  Artichokes usually grow to around four feet, cardoons can easily go up to eight.  Artichokes have a large main flower head surrounded by smaller ones, cardoons have lots of smaller heads.  In both the big green buds open into purple thistle like flowers.

They are mediterranean plants, and since they seem to be growing so well on your site they do not need any attention at all.

With artichokes you can harvest the buds at various stages depending on how you intend to eat them.  The mature ones have to be carefully prepared to remove all of the 'choke' - the hairy, prickly stamens in the centre of the bud which really do make you choke! 

I don't think anyone eats cardoon buds.  I have heard of a technique for blanching the stems, but I don't think anyone does that any more.

Cheers,

Gillie

[Aidy]

They are nicer IMO, eaten when they are small and tight.

+1 much easier to prepare and cook than when big.

[A. Fallowfield]

Gillie wrote: 'How tall are they?'

Must be six foot, taller than me anyway.
There are quite a few others on the site and they all say globe artichoke!

[barney rubble]

'Fraid I'd go with cardoons too, based on the shape of the leaves

[A. Fallowfield]

'Fraid I'd go with cardoons too, based on the shape of the leaves

Had a look on google images for cardoons:
http://blog.swisster.com/food_corner/files/2008/12/cardoons.jpg
If you look at my pic you can see the artichokes, not so on googled pics!

[gillie]

Just because a plant is not in flower does not mean it never has them.

Here is a pic of cardoons being blanched.  They have the same leaf shape as yours: http://www.aujardin.info/plantes/cynara-cardunculus.php

Gillie

[barney rubble]

'Fraid I'd go with cardoons too, based on the shape of the leaves

Had a look on google images for cardoons:
http://blog.swisster.com/food_corner/files/2008/12/cardoons.jpg
If you look at my pic you can see the artichokes, not so on googled pics!

Whatever you decide it is enjoy it for what it is! 

There are plenty of picis of both artichokes and cardooms before and in flower on the net. Whichever one it is, it won't burst into flower until the head appears and matures, as the flower comes comes out as the next stage of the head's development, and as lucywil says above theirs is grown for the flowers

https://www.finegardening.com/plantguide/cynara-cardunculus-cardoon.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artichoke

Also if you have access to it the Reader's Digest "Food From Your Garden" has some very good illustrations of  both plants and the difference is quite striking  - hope this helps