All seeds grown in the high wind prairie, Midwest, in macro-climate zone 5(ish). Average dewpoint in summer is around 60. Soil is a loamy clay. Although my preference is organic, I have used commercial fertilizers from time to time. Gardening personality relaxed and experimental, purist about very little. Growing Days approximately 135
How a Northern Gardener Might Get an Artichoke to Fruit as an Annual
What do I mean by that? It is possible to grow artichoke and overwinter it inside year one, then bring the plant back outside the next spring to attempt to have it provide fruit in year two. I don’t have a lot of room to overwinter more than a few pepper and herb plants, so I wanted to see if I could plant an artichoke seed in March and harvest an artichoke in September. It is absolutely possible.
- Plant the seed 8-10 weeks before last frost. I will be planting the artichoke seed March 4th this year.
~ - Score the artichoke seed and then soak in room temperature water for a day or so.
~ - Plant the seed about 1/2″ deep in your preferred seed starting medium. I’ve used my own seed starting mix, I’ve also used peat moss, Jiffy pots and potting soil. All the mediums germinated artichoke seeds just fine.
~ - Do the usual for the artichoke seedlings regarding water and light. Be watchful of water to avoid damping off. Additionally, provide some fans in the seedling area to strengthen stems and help prevent damping off and provide with 14-16 hours of solid lighting.
~ - Once the seedlings have at least two sets of true leaves, watch your weather forecast. You’re looking for at least two weeks of temperatures in the low to mid thirties at night, and ideally not above fifty-five in the daytime. Around here, that generally happens in mid-April. If the temp is above fifty-five for a few hours, that is ok, it is more important that the low temps be low.
~ - A few days before your ideal window, begin hardening off the seedlings. A hour outside day one, then two hours day two, then four hours, then 8, then about 14 hours, then overnight, at which point the plants should be fine to stay outside, unless you experience extreme weather. Artichokes, once hardened, can take some chilly temps. What is critical for hardening off artichokes is the wind. A too-windy day will often kill many seedlings before a slight chill will. Once hardening off of the artichokes is complete, wind is less of a risk.
~ - If the plants are fully hardened off, looking healthy, you can just keep them outside until ready to transplant, even if the temps are still cool. If it is 30 degrees or higher, fine to keep then outside. A few more chilly nights will only increase your chances of the artichoke fruiting later in the summer.
~ - Transplant where you want them, around the time of last frost. This year, I will plant outside around May 5th. Artichoke plants get about 2-3 ft tall and are very bushy. I love the look of them. I’d personally allow 2 square feet per artichoke for spacing.
~ - If it worked, you will know before you actually see baby artichokes in the center of the plant. I had two artichoke plants planted side by side. One fruited, one did not. The fruiting plant began to grow its center leaves more upright than the non-fruiting plant, in preparation for fruiting. This happened in late July.
~ - The first small artichoke appeared in the center of the plant in early August, ready for harvest three weeks later.
~ - The plant continued to provide more fruits, with secondary artichokes being much larger than the first two. In total, the plant provided seven artichokes before frost.
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