Green Globe Artichoke Seeds

With its purple-coloured flowers and silvery-green leaves, Green Globe is perhaps the best-known artichoke variety. The flower buds are edible in the early summer, each plant producing about three to five good tender hearts per season. Green Globe is a hardy variety that does well even in cooler climates.

GROWING INSTRUCTIONS

Get a head start and ensure that you reap the desired flower buds by starting seeds indoors, under lights in late January/early February. Technically a perennial, artichokes need some special treatment in order to produce year one in a cold climate.

Plant the seeds at a depth of 2 cm in a deep starter pot to provide space for the plant’s taproot to develop. Ideal soil temperature for germination is 24°C. Once seedlings are well established, move them into a greenhouse or hoop house. Make sure the ambient temperature is cool and stays above freezing; keep roots warm with heating mats if possible.

Artichoke plants must experience the process of vernalization in order to produce edible buds within a single growing season. The idea is to trick the plant into thinking it is enduring a winter and that there is a second spring on the other side of the wintry weather. To achieve this, young plants must be transferred outside in March/April to experience the seasonal temperatures. This exposure to the cold must last for at least a couple weeks. Only bring the plants in if temperatures dip below freezing. It’s important not to bring back into a warm greenhouse, use only a cold porch or garage.

When the danger of frost has passed, transplant into the garden in rows about 1 m apart. Artichokes prefer fertile, well-drained soil. Incorporation of compost before planting will improve soil composition, water retention and nutrient availability. Be gentle, so as not to disturb the main taproot in the transplanting process. About 4-5 cm of water/week is required. Well-watered plants will produce large buds.

In mid to late summer, harvest upright buds before they begin to open and flower. Buds bruise easily, so leave a stub of a stem to handle when harvesting.

QUICK FACTS

- The artichoke as we know it today is a domesticated variety of the wild cardoon, which is originally native to the Mediterranean area.

- Artichokes are considered perennials in tropical regions, but in colder climates, they can be grown as annuals when started indoors.

- Artichoke seeds will remain viable for 1 year if stored in a cool, dark place, ideally between 4 and 10⁰C. After that, the germination rate may start to go down.