Artichoke Chronicles

Globe Artichokes are one of nature’s great gifts to those of us who really appreciate subtle flavour and body in our vegetables. Unfortunately, they can be hard to access and tend to be expensive. That is why I decided that we should grow our own.

At Salamanca markets there is a man that operates under the business name of Southern Harvest. He has the best seed collection in Tasmania, and the packets are very inexpensive. The artichoke packet I purchased had 30 seeds, certainly enough to take care of any failures. I had a large seedling tray with 25 small chambers. I packed them with the finest vegie mix, and dutifully deposited a seed in each, all at the prescribed depth of 5 to 8 mm. The tray went into the greenhouse and was carefully watered each day for two weeks. To the amazement of myself and my wife, every seed germinated and produced a lovely four leafed plant. We were in business!

After another two weeks I carefully transplanted my seedlings into larger pots to allow good strong root growth. This would certainly be a test of the vigour of the little seedlings. All but one survived. I now had 24 happy baby “Green Giant” artichokes

The plant produces a tight leafed bud which can be anything up to 10 centimetres across and weigh over a kilo. They need to be harvested before the bud blooms into a truly inspiring flower.

There is only one drawback. Each plant requires a full square metre of space. We do not have 25 square metres of space available. A quick inventory of available garden space disclosed a maximum of two square metres of space.

What do you do with the rest of the darlings? Offer them to friends. Another unpleasant truth is that the glorious artichoke doesn’t get around to growing a blossom in its first year, and this minor, but difficult to rationalize fact started impacting on my efforts to find homes for the little pets.

“A square metre of space just for a bunch of ugly leaves? Rather plant lettuce.”

First, I took one back to the seed merchant. He looked a bit doubtful, but graciously accepted my gift. A neighbour with an acre of land accepted two more. Another unsuspecting acquaintance from the markets mentioned that they had five acres. He received two. That got me down to just 16 plants, but they were growing quickly and would soon be too big for the pots they were in. The word seemed to have spread that I was looking for homes for my quickly growing crop. People at first seemed amused but were firm in their rejections.

“A square metre of valuable vegie space wasted for a full year! Are you mad?”

Next step, advertise. “Glorious Artichokes, suitable for eating or simply using for flower arrangements. FREE! Just put them in the ground.” Sure thing.

Ok, now I am contemplating leaving them on people’s porches in the dead of night with a short note about planting out and caring for the plant until it reaches maturity. It isn’t against the law. Not like leaving children in baskets outside of churches. And you don’t have to clothe them. Just a little water now and then and leave them outdoors all year round. Besides, you can eat the artichoke. Can’t say that for children!