Allotments 4 All

See how they grow!

Wow !  Love them EJ !  Have just been given a cardoon offshoot . Think I'll have to dig a huge lump out of the lawn to accomodate it !!  :D  Also sown some artichoke seeds, but no show yet .  Do they take ages to germinate ?

Hi EJ

When did you plant the artichokes?
Did they grow the first year you put them in? I planted some this year, first year of allotment, and not a peep out of them :(
I was really looking forward to artichokes as well.
Melanie

I sowed them last spring, and Di, the first lot of seeds were a complete no show, so I bought (shock horror) brand new seed, and the lot came up very quickly, but by then it was late spring so much warmer.  I molycoddled them in pots for a while, until I had the space on the plot, and didn't plant them in their permanent position until early autumn.  They overwintered doing nothing and I thought I had lost a couple, but them came back with avengance and have really put on heaps of growth in a very short while.  That flower, and the 6 little ones coming up the sides, have all started growing literally in the last couple of weeks!  I think they really need a year to get going, but I may be wrong....

EJ
Thanks, guess I'll have to wait till next year and try some more if they don't appear then.
Melanie

Thanks for the info EJ . Must be duff seed then ( CGS exchange )  Sowed them at least 4 weeks ago, so will buy some fresh, and give 'em another go !  :)

When would you cut an artichoke to eat??  The flower bud is getting huge now, not as big as I have seen them in France, but big nevertheless.  Think I will cut him next week, when my 6 spears of asparagus are ready, and have a truly decadent dinner!