Artichokes

[blondiebee181]

Transplanted them today....hope that helps...

 

[897tgigvib]

Some extra diluted fish emulsion may help

 

[blondiebee181]

Well! It's been a while since I've posted, but I would like to brag that both my arti plants are happy, healthy, quite large and putting out buds! There is one large central bud on each and 3 or 4 others coming out the sides! Hooray for beginner artichoke success! Now....about how big should I let them get before picking? Thanks!

 

[catjac1975]

cat here is another picture of the other tray of artichoke seedlings that was started at the same time.
these are the weakest ones...

since seed starting potting mix is basically sphagnum peat moss, perlite, coconut fiber or a combination of them.
this year I used miracle-gro mix which has a 0.05- 0.05- 0.05 fertilizer in it after a couple weeks and they got their 1st true leafs started to use miracle -gro all purpose plant food which is 24-8-16
artichoke's are heavy feeder's as well they like water

also once they get their 1st leafs it's a good idea to lower the temp to around 60-70.< since I was using a small heater for germination I just turned it off>
also they are getting about 15 hours of light

anyway if you let's say plant 32 seed's there's going to be around 20% of them that do not sprout< I had a 85% sprout rate>
out of those only 50% of them look healthy and once they go to the cold frame I figure another 10-20% won't make it.

and how knows what the % will be after the first years overwintering.

cat to answer your question it could be many things
not enough water or too much
not enough fertilizer or too much
not enough light
temp in your greenhouse was to high
old seed's
transplanted using soil to early
not using sterile pots< overwintering bugs and or diseases in them>
the list goes on and on

So anyway. How did your artichokes end up doing in the garden, Major?

 

[majorcatfish]

So anyway. How did your artichokes end up doing in the garden, Major?

hum how too put this on last years artichokes.. a dismal failure they did so good early on once they got to the 8 " pot and outside
with all that rain hit us, out of 10 that did make it to that size drowned as of now<did> have 3 in pots that i buried in one of the beds. since this arctic blast is done.thank goodness
this weekend they are calling for rain figure will will dug up a pot and see if theres any roots living, if not will flip a coin to see if we try again...
sure do miss miss them ..

blondiebee... good of you they are a temperamental plant

 

[catjac1975]

I am so disappointed for you.

 

[Searsmom]

I've a question. I started italian purple artichokes as seedlings 2 years ago. Planted them outside once the weather was warm. They grew nice and sturdy. Mulched well over the winter and the following summer we got 10 artichokes from the one remaining plant. Awesome - you think the artichokes in the store are good - you could eat most of the leaves on these! Anyway, so we harvested and ate and then the plant just died back and...nothing. Did we do something wrong? Do the italian purple only last two years? I thought artichokes came back year after year if you took care of them.

 

[897tgigvib]

I tried growing Artichoke as perennial in barely zone 4 montana almost 10 years ago. No matter how well covered there, they all pass on definitely before the next growing season.

They are also weak in cool greenhouse conditions over winter.

For the colder zones, unless one has a well warmed, (expensive), greenhouse, or a good sunspace in the human house, Artichokes are best grown as annuals.

As annual treated, the plant will give one moderate sized Artichoke at the top of the plant. The plant is not nearly so big its first year, so for a treat, the space it takes is often worth it, especially since the Artichoke plant is an ornamental edible that can be put to use as an architectural piece in a landscape design, or just "looks nice in this sunny spot with Gladioulus on each side of it".

 

[jhook1997]

No success with them here in southwestern VA. Last year they made it to about 6-12" tall then???? This year I killed my seedlings and now it's too late to start over.