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| OK, I'm happy, I finally grew artichokes. Well, actually, I've grown "artichoke". One so far, LOL, but I was so excited.
I don't know anyone in Michigan who has managed to successfully grow on artichoke for harvest. Of course, we've had something like 30 days of weather over 90F, so maybe I'll be less successful next year, but here's what I have right now:
I've also harvested a few rutgers tomatoes but the Sungolds have, as usual, outpaced every other variety:
And I've canned the first batch of green beans, 7 quarts:
Still, I was most excited about that single artichoke, LOL. Annie |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| So beautiful! I am all choked up. dcarch :-) |
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| LOL, dcarch. Annie |
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| Annie, you rock! It all looks fabulous. I always thought that artichokes needed fog, guess not. Lee |
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| Oh, Annie! That first pic took my breath away. Makes me want to give gardening another shot. |
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- Posted by islay_corbel (My Page) on Fri, Jul 27, 12 at 3:35
| They don't need heat. Here is artichoke heaven and we have a rather wet, windy and cool climate - sea wind and spray! |
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- Posted by publickman (My Page) on Fri, Jul 27, 12 at 5:08
| Here's some artichoke farming info from Castroville, the artichoke capital of California. They say that hot dry conditions destroy the tenderness of the artichoke, and so you might do better in a cooler year. They require only 100 frost-free days, which means they must grow pretty much everywhere, although they prefer cool climates, such as the U.S. West Coast coastal area. I grew them in Venice, as I told you before. I found that the stems are also edible, but you have to peel them. Otherwise, you can boil the stems and then puree and strain them to get something you could use for making a dip or salad dressing. Keep us posted with developments! Lars |
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| Lars, the problem with artichokes in Michigan is that tey are a perennial and traditional varieties don't bloom until the second year. Since we actually eat the blossoms, if I can't overwinter them, no harvest. This is a new variety which blooms the first year, but 60% of the plants (approximately) do not bloom, so you get a flower on a little over half of the plants. I got 20 seeds which I planted in February, so maybe I'll get 10 artichokes. Maybe... I'll definitely try next year and since the forecasters are all saying it's going to be abnormally warm for winter months too, I think I'm going to mulch them and see if I can overwinter any! Annie |
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