HOMEGROWN ARTICHOKES
Of all the things we can grow in our gardens or in containers, artichokes are among the easiest
Growing artichokes is easier and cheaper than buying those spendy globes at the market.
When it comes to the list of things we do for love, be sure to add paying up to $5 a pop for artichokes at the grocery store.
Worth it, you say? Maybe — until you figure that on a scale of 1 to 10, the difficulty of growing your own artichokes is about a 2, says Contra Costa Master Gardener Janet Miller.
“There’s not much to growing them,” Miller says. “Cut the leaves back, mulch. Beyond that, they do their own thing.”
So now you’re wondering how to jump onto the artichoke bandwagon. Would we leave you hanging? Here’s the how-to.
When to plant
You can start your artichokes by planting seeds indoors. The seed starts will need a lot of heat to germinate — the soil needs to be about 70 degrees — so you’ll need a heat mat. It may be easier to simply buy seedlings at your favorite nursery or gardener plant sale later this spring.
It’s still too early to plant your artichokes outside. Miller says you need to wait four weeks from the last frost date, which can vary wildly depending on where you live. Just wait until late March or early April to make sure your seedlings don’t suffer in the cold.
Where to put them
Californians are blessed to have exactly the climate that artichokes prefer — mild winters and cool summers, comparatively speaking. That means while other parts of the country have to treat their artichokes as annuals and replant them every
year, we can rely on artichokes to live in our gardens for at least five years.
The flip side of that is you need a dedicated place for them.
The plants can get pretty large, so if you’re growing multiple plants, place them at least 4 feet apart.
Don’t have room in your garden bed? You can grow artichokes in large containers, one plant per pot. Miller says a half wine barrel is the minimum size.
How to keep them happy
Artichokes love full sun, but will accept some partial shade.
They are heavy feeders, which means your soil needs to be nutrient rich. Shovel on the compost, and during the growing season, fertilize every few weeks. Some growers recommend
a general vegetable fertilizer every two weeks, but Miller says she doesn’t go to that extreme with her ’chokes.
The soil should be sandy or loamy, allowing the water to flow through and not bog the plant down. Adding lots of compost to the soil before planting can help with that.
Water deeply when the top inch or so of soil is dry. Mulching will help keep the weeds down and retain moisture.
What to do before melting the butter
If you plant young seedlings, they likely will not produce — or produce well — their first season. You can speed up the process by buying larger, 2-year-old seedlings or look for varieties that are early producers.
Once the plant starts giving forth with the artichokes, harvest when the buds are about 3 inches in diameter and firmly packed. Once the bud starts to open, Miller says, it’s on its way to becoming a thistle — pretty but not tasty.
Some varieties have smaller buds and some have larger, so know how big your buds are expected to be and harvest accordingly.
If all goes to plan, your plant will put out several stalks, each with several buds. The top bud will ripen first and will be the largest one you’ll get.
Once all the artichokes have been harvested, cut the stalk down to the ground and cut the old leaves back by about two-thirds. You’ll get another harvest in the fall.
Established artichokes are hardy and can withstand temperatures down to 15 degrees, which is not really something we have to worry about, but mulching them for the winter can help protect them.
Allow the plants to overwinter and prepare for another spring harvest.