I haven't grown artichokes, but I doubt they are invasive. Asparagus isn't invasive, that I know. You might want to weed out any volunteers, which come up from seed. But there shouldn't be any problem with it trying to take over.

George
Tahlequah, OK

Awesome. Okay, now I'm getting so excited! :) Going to spend the week between Xmas and New Years building two new raised beds. Now I just have to figure out, what to put where:

Medicinal herb garden on the strip between the curb and the sidewalk, and artichokes-asparagus in the backyard, or artichokes-asparagus on the strip between the curb and the sidewalk, and medicinal herb garden in the backyard?

Fun decisions, tho, right?

Thanks so much for your answer George. Much appreciated.

Asparagus between the curb and the sidewalk I'm not so sure about. The ferns can get quite large, so it depends on how "messy" that strip can get. (I put in 2 year old roots last spring and some of the ferns are about my height of 5'2".) Artichokes are more likely to "stand up straight," so they might be a good choice for that location.

Tell me more about artichokes, please. We love them, but other than the fact that they're a thistle head I don't know a thing about growing them. You only get one artichoke per plant, right? Or am I completely and utterly misinformed? (It certainly wouldn't be the first time that happened!)

Artichokes are not invasive. However, they are not very suitable for the area between the curb and the sidewalk. Artichokes are very large thistles. They have sharp spines that are painful if touched. The plant is, at least mine are, about five foot wide by five foot tall. Artichokes are very striking plants, pretty enough for a front yard and if you do not eat the buds they develop into a lovely purple flower. I usually get about 3 - 5 buds per plant. One large and the rest smaller. I would put the herbs in the curb/sidewalk area. Much easier to keep them from attacking passerbys and if they are stepped on, the fragrance is wonderful.

Carole

Sounds like a plan, cambse. Thanks so much for all the advice.

I had a potted artichoke (that I totally killed by not watering, ahem) last year and it didn't seem *too* spiky, butI bet the poor thing never had a chance.

Thanks so much for the tips. I'll definitely do herbs out on the strip, and "chokes" and "gus" :D in the backyard in a raised bed.

Right now I'm working with 4'x4' raised beds. Do you think I should do one each for artichokes and asparagus, or could I plant them together? I'm more than happy to build another bed. (I never knew I had carpentry in me until I started gardening!)

I think you should have separate beds. One artichoke will completely fill your bed and also the artichoke would shade out the asparagus. Besides, the watering requirements won't match.

Carole

I'm totally gonna just use the automatic sprinklers for everything, but I'll definitely try two beds. Or at least bigger beds. Kind of excited! You guys are a race of superpeople. Thank you all.

You wrote:
"...garden on the strip between the curb and the sidewalk..."

Understand that any edibles planted in such a site is an invitation to the public to sample at will.

And so far nobody has questioned the wisdom of growing food plants near a road. Personally I would not want to eat anything grown with attendant car exhausts, dog pee and oil and tyre debris laden road dirt. You don't say where you live but if it's in a place with cold winters there's also the possiblity that your garden will end up with salt spray on it. I would reserve the kerb-side space soley for non-edible plants and grow everything I wanted to eat round the back of the house as far from the road as possible.