Globe Artichoke

Gardeners often grow plants either for their visual charm or because they produce delicious fruits and vegetables.

How about both? The Green Globe Improved artichoke is not only a highly nutritive food; the plant is so appealing it is also grown as an ornamental.

Nutrition

Globe artichokes are a good source of dietary fiber, help detoxify the liver and provide vitamin C and K.

How to grow

They can be grown from seed, but it’s quicker to grow from pieces of tuber
(root) from older plants.

Choose a piece of tuber with a new shoot growing from it and trim back the old
stem to just above the leaves.

Plant in a sunny, sheltered spot that doesn’t get waterlogged. Dig in well-rotted
organic matter the autumn before planting.

Place tuber, with the tip facing up and out of the soil, into a planting hole and backfill with soil.

Firm in and water well. Cover the young plant with fleece until all risk of frost has passed.

Mulch around the plant and, in summer, make sure the plant doesn’t dry out.

In the first year, your plant will be too young to produce a decent harvest, so cut off
developing flower buds to help it gain vigor.

As winter nears, cut back stems and wrap fleece around the plant. In the second year, cut off the smaller flower heads.

Harvest

Cut off the flowerheads with secateurs before scales start to open; they should be slightly soft and squeaky!

Ones with scales opening are inedible., leaving one larger terminal bud in spring.

Our choice

• Artichoke ‘Green Globe’ Reliably hardy, with rich taste
• Artichoke ‘Imperial Star’ tender, sweeter taste
• Artichoke ‘Italian Purple’ for juicy violet scales

Did You Know

You can harvest the immature flowerhead to eat, but leave a couple on the plant to provide a food source for birds in the winter.