Growing Artichokes

I've been growing them for about 4 years.  Ever so easy to propagate from the plantlets that grow from the side by slipping a shovel down between them and getting a bit of root as well then planting up.  I always take off the king bud (the central flower) as soon as I see it as this encourages side growths. 

My main issue and it's not too much of a problem really is the snails.  They seem to like to climb all over the plants and accumulate in the joins with the leaves and the stems. Just picking them off is quite easy but they can be difficult to get to and there are lots of them.