i saw this beautiful plant today
it was huge and silvery and i want one lol
soooo how hard is it to gow?
how long do they take to get 4/5 feet tall
is there a variety i should look out for
lbb
Not long Babybird - you can grow a 4 foot plant in one season, but best not to harvest in the first year so they build up their strength. Think you might just have missed this year for fruit, but you can plant offshoots for next year just about. :)
Just had a look at my Sarah Raven veg book.
She says they can be substantial plants in a few months.
Young plants make better roots if you remove fruits and seed.
They can have a problem with earwigs.Soak them upside down for a few hours in salted water,before cooking. :)
brilliant thankyou
lbb
They're very closely related to cardoons (I have read that they were bred from them), and those grow like mad. I'm trying them this year so I'll soon find out. I planted four cardoons; only one survived the floods last year. It grew like mad (so I had to move it recently, before it blocked the path altogether), and developed two offshoots, so now I have three. Hopefully it'll flower this year.
If you want seed, I think I have some spare. I could check later.
I planted small plants last year and this year I have my first fruit. In fact they are almost ready to harvest.
Give them plenty of room, they will wilt down over teh winter, protect them with a bit of straw if it gets really cold.
A manure or compost mulch in the early spring and hey presto!
Try and scrounge some offshoots from someone, the plants will produce little side shoots that can be dug up and replanted.
On my blog you will see a photo of mine a couple of weeks ago. I currently have 4 fruit forming on 2 plants.
" best not to harvest in the first year so they build up their strength"
Surely the more you harvest, the easier it is to build up their strength, as we harvest the flower buds and stop the plant putting all its energy into flowering and producing seeds?
i found that they don't actually flower in their first year, the plant only flowers when it gets to a certain size.... then you can harvest them
I harvested from my first year plants last year ( having been told not to ,just a rebel me) yummy ,and this year the plants are going great guns. gone for exotic purple this year.( and will harvest this year,see I just don't care)
i have to confess i know nothing about the harvest, even what they are, but i loooove the way the plant looks :)
lbb
I wouldn't have thought taking flowers off would rob the plant of energy. It's making seeds when you leave them on that does that.
I just harvested my first two! and they are gorgeous!! yum yum eaten with lots of mustardy French dressing... and there are three more growing. In fact I also noticed that the plant has a side shoot that I will be able to detach and replant at the end of teh season. But where will I have room for all these artichokes???