skip to main content

Vegetable Gardening

has anyone tried to grow artichiokes?

14 years ago

i bought a package of seeds for $1.59 last year. I planted some seeds directly in the soil, nothing came out, or maybe they got eaten by insects.

3 seeds germinated in the tiny plastic cups. and only one survived the winter. so i planted it in the garden. but it is growing sooo sooo slow. i planted an italian squash plant close by, it grows 10 times bigger even though it germinated much later than the artichoke.

then i put too much manure around this artichoke, it used to have 3 leaves, now all 3 leaves withered around the base one by one. only the root is left in the soil, i don't know if it is dead or alive.

so i wonder if anyone has ever grown artichokes before? are they easy to grow? i was hoping to see some big purple flowers this year.

i wonder if i should even bother trying to buy another pack of seeds?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

booberry85
14 years ago
Hi! I'm trying to grow artichokes this year for the first time. I started 5 seeds indoors about the same time I started my tomatoes & peppers. Three seeds germinated and 2 plants made it into the ground (the other died.) They were new seeds from a reliable company. Maybe artichokes just naturally have a low germination rate.

I'm in upstate NY and for the most part, it's been a cool rainy gardening season. So my poor little plants haven't grown much. I suspect the manure you used may have been too fresh and burned your plants.

For $1.59, I'd buy another pack and try. I usually follow the "three strikes and you're out" when it comes to gardening. I'll try something 3 times. If it doesn't do well, I won't try it again and move on to something else.
reefisher
14 years ago
I figured that the only really good climate for artichokes was in the Salinas valley area of northern cali. So for years I never gave them a try. However 30 years ago I started with cardoon a very close relative. The seeds were hard to germinate. I must have started over fifty of them in trays. Finally I nicked the seed cover and was succesful. Now I think it would have been better never to have started them growing. They volunteer all over the yard including the lawn. I allow certain ones to grow and they are a beautiful big (6ft) plant with the purple flowers etc. Sometimes we will blanch and cook up the stems but it is very difficult to keep the aphids off the leaves for a clean stem. Since these grew so well a few years back I tried Globe artichokes from bareroot. They grow just as well as the cardoon and sometimes have decent artichokes for eating. When we have a long cool spring with overcast skies into the end of June we get a good crop.
If you are trying to grow them just for the plant and flowers, try cardoon.
Related Discussions
has anyone ever tried growing a Clivia in coco peat?
Q
Comments (4)
I have had a clivia for about a year that I won at a Master Gardener meeting and it is potted in regular potting soil with some added perlite. It looks great, dark green leaves, nice fat roots peeking out of the bottom of the pot and even a bud just beginning to break out of the leaves. Can't wait to see it. I'm pretty sure it is the common orange color, but they are gorgeous. One day I would like to find a yellow one.
...See More
Has anyone tried to grow giant luffa?
Q
Comments (0)
I am looking to grow luffa again this year and want o make the large luffa gourds possible, are there any tips on doing this besides thinning the fruits?
...See More
Has anyone tried to grow Dwarf Cavendish?
Q
Comments (9)
I can't imagine a summer without my towering bananas. Bananas are ADDICTING! I really like the dwarfs as they sucker so readily..., constantly. I also grow Orinoco, and dwarf Brazilians, and Ensete. They grow super fast, and with your long summer days they should do fine, but they do like very warm nights too (70's +). You can overwinter the corms of the plants in the basement after the season. (I try to maintain mine in foliage but putting them into a frost free but chilly/cold garage for the Winter.) You do mean for growing outside? If indoors, growth will not compare to life outdoors. Musa basjoo is cold hardier and will even overwinter in the ground to Zone 7, but for your needs, the foliage is also more tolerant of cool during the growing season and will grow while more tropical species will sulk without summer HEAT and HUMIDITY.
...See More
Has anyone tried growing citrus in self watering pots (SIPs)?
Q
Comments (10)
Vladimir, I haven't tried them either because like Laura I am afraid of root rot, especially during the period when the tree's roots transition to the new growing media and cultural conditions. I grew orchids semi-hydroponically for several years because I travelled a lot and I hoped it would extend the period between required waterings when I was away from home and my greenhouse. Although most of my orchids did ok, I have since gone back to bark mixes as I don't travel so often now. What I found was there is a transition period during which the plants regrow new roots that adapt to the semi-hydro conditions. The transition timing is important as the plants need to grow the new roots and will sulk and lanquish if the transition is made too far into the years growth period and there are not enough new roots to support the plant above ground parts. If there is not enough roots generated during the growth period the plant will not have a way to get enough food and energy to support the top of the plant/tree. I also found I had to keep the greenhouse much warmer as the medium cools quickly as the air moves through the medium and pot. Even though I flushed the pots often, fertilizer salts seemed to build up and burn the roots if I was not careful and the reservoir dryed out between waterings. I think my high pH water and fertilizer would cause wide fluctuations in the growing medium that was not good for the plants if I was not careful. I also got a lot of algae growth in the transparent pots I used which was not very nice to look at and also seemed to clog up the air spaces that are part of the system. But overall I mostly was able to grow and bloom plants under the method, but I was not overall satisfied with plant long term growth. I think the SIPS pots may also have many of the same disadvantages for citrus that I had with my orchid's in semi-hydro culture. It served it's purpose for my needs for a while, and I think plants can be grown in most any medium if you watch carefully and make adjustments to help your plant and trees adapt to the different growing conditions, but I didn't feel I was giving my plants optimum growing conditions. Cory
...See More
digdirt2
14 years ago
Here is a link to many recent discussions on growing artichokes that a search pulls up.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing artichokes discussions
skagit_goat_man_
14 years ago
Chokes grow well in NW WA. But artichoke seed has 25-50% off types that you have to cull. So plant double what you want and just get rid of any that don't "look right". I like the Imperial Star variety because if started appropriately you can get chokes year 1. Most take a winter in the ground before bearing. I start them in Jiffy 9's and TP them up to 6" pots. At that point I harden them off and start exposing them to cool outdoor temps. Tom
pippimac
14 years ago
Here in New Zealand the experts recommend planting from offsets as seed produces a very high proportion of 'off' plants. And germinating them is a complete pain.
I hope you've got plenty of space; they take up LOTS of room.

Ps for eating, you must pick them before they show any purple. They're not called 'chokes' for nothing!

Related Stories

KITCHEN DESIGN The Cure for Houzz Envy: Kitchen Touches Anyone Can Do

By Becky Harris

Take your kitchen up a notch even if it will never reach top-of-the-line, with these cheap and easy decorating ideas

LAUNDRY ROOMS The Cure for Houzz Envy: Laundry Room Touches Anyone Can Do

By Becky Harris

Make fluffing and folding more enjoyable by borrowing these ideas from beautifully designed laundry rooms

HOME OFFICES The Cure for Houzz Envy: Home Office Touches Anyone Can Do

By Becky Harris

Borrow these modest design moves to make your workspace more inviting, organized and personal

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Bocce, Anyone? Toss Some Popular Games Into Your Yard Plans

By Natalie Myers

Score points for entertaining with a yard set up for lawn bowling, croquet, chess and more

HOUZZ TV Houzz TV: This Dream Midcentury Home in a Forest Even Has Its Own Train

By Mitchell Parker

Original wood ceilings, a cool layout and, yes, a quarter-scale train persuaded these homeowners to take a chance on a run-down property

LIFE Houzz Call: What Has Mom Taught You About Making a Home?

By Vanessa Brunner

Whether your mother taught you to cook and clean or how to order takeout and let messes be, we'd like to hear about it

KIDS’ SPACES Who Says a Dining Room Has to Be a Dining Room?

By Becky Harris

Chucking the builder’s floor plan, a family reassigns rooms to work better for their needs

REMODELING GUIDES One Guy Found a $175,000 Comic in His Wall. What Has Your Home Hidden?

By Mitchell Parker

Have you found a treasure, large or small, when remodeling your house? We want to see it!

MY HOUZZ My Houzz: Art Has a Special Place in a Compact Copenhagen Flat

Art Nouveau, Modernist and Surrealist works stand out in this converted attic flat in the vibrant Vesterbro district

SUMMER FRUITS AND VEGETABLES How to Grow Your Own Fresh, Sweet Corn

By Marianne Lipanovich

Here's how to plant and care for your own mini cornfield

Sponsored

More Discussions

Veggie Tales - April 2024

55

What are rabbits favorite veggies?

11

Corn seeds during a frost?

15

Veggie Tales >>> May 2024

20

Does sevin work on bare dirt?

14