Artichoke vegetable gardening:
Artichokes can be started three ways - with seeds, dormant roots or shoots that have been taken from plants. These plants can get quite large, up to six feet in diameter as a matter of fact. The plant has a wide variety of climates in which it can be grown.
You can purchase plants that have been started with seed at your local garden shop or you can start them yourself. If you plan on starting them a greenhouse or using fluorescent lamps is a good way to start them.
The idea is to get a head start on the growing season. The seedlings require plenty of nutrients while developing. They should be fed with a rich fertilizer and they will be ready to transplant in about 10 weeks.
The gardening soil should be warm and the frost period should be over. When they reach about 10 inches tall the stems should be full. They should be planted no less than 4 feet between plants. Each plant should be fed with fertilizer or compost.
Blood meal and bone meal are good fertilizers as well. The use of chicken manure or rabbit manure will also work well for feeding this gardening vegetable.
Often the plant will not all turn out to be the same as the type that is pictured. The best way to ensure you get good veggies is to pull out the ones that do not appear to be doing well. Planting extra will help ensure that you get enough. Discard the ones that do not appear to be growing. The plants that are left will be the best tasting.
Caring for the Artichoke Plant
The vegetable is available in several different types. The Green Globe variety is one that is grown where the weather is colder.
This is a variety that will produce quite heavily. It does not matter which type you grow, you will want them to be tender and the key to this is watering them frequently.
When the weather is dry, they should be watered about three times per week. The lack of water as well as a frost after planting can cause the vegetable to become tough. Watering is extremely important if there are buds forming on the plants.
While the water is important for the plant, it is also important for the roots of the vegetable. They will need moisture and one of the best ways of keeping them moist is to use mulch.
The soil they are planted in should be a type that has good drainage. The area of the plant that sprouts may rot and if this happens your ground is too wet and is not draining well.
Not many people know this but the vegetable is a thistle family member. The part that most people relish are the buds. Violetto is an Italian variety that has an extended bud of a gorgeous purple color. This type is a little later maturing.
The buds will develop on the tip of the stalks. The first one to mature and probably the largest is called the terminal bud. This one should be sliced off the plant just through the stem under the bud.
The bud should be tightly closed at the time and fairly large. The buds should not be allowed to flower if you want the next year's crop to be a good one when planting them as perennials.
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