How to Manage Pests

Cultural Tips for Growing Artichoke

In This Guide

Site selection

Plant your garden in a convenient location, where you can check it frequently. Choose an area near an abundant supply of water so you can water as needed easily. Vegetables do best if they receive full sunlight (at least 4 to 6 hours a day). Plant them in a well-exposed area in the garden, where they are not shaded by trees, fences, or walls. Try to plant away from areas that will be watered by lawn sprinklers.

Whenever possible, select a location that is not heavily infested with weeds, especially weeds such as field bindweed, nutsedge, and Bermudagrass that can be hard to control with hand weeding. Also avoid areas that have had previous disease problems.

Try to plant on level ground. Level ground is easier to work on than sloping ground. Vegetables will do well on a wide range of soils; they do best in well-drained soils. If your soil forms a clump when squeezed, then it is too wet; if the soil crumbles easily, it is a good soil to use. Damp soil surfaces encourage snails, slugs, sowbugs, and root diseases; fruit decay and leaf spot diseases may also increase. Soil amendments can make clay and sandy soils easier to work with, and correct soil preparation can improve poor soil.

Adding organic matter (compost, peat moss, manure, sawdust, ground bark) makes clay and sandy soils easier to work with. The soil should be kept at a pH level of 6.0 to 6.5. Lime or gypsum can be added to soils low in calcium.

Soil recommendation

Deep, fertile, well-drained soil; amend sandy soils or soils that don't hold moisture well.

Soil improvement

Any type of soil can be improved with soil amendments. Heavy clay or sandy soils can be improved by adding organic material such as compost, manure, or leaf mold. Texture is an important consideration when choosing an amendment. An amendment that is granular and fine grained is important for container mixes. For gardens, a more coarse-grained amendment can improve drainage and aeration. Work amendments into soil by rototilling, raking, or double-digging.

Soil preparation

The preparation of your soil is just as important as adding fertilizer and soil amendments. Before working the soil, make sure it is moist but not thoroughly wet.

1. Use a shovel, rototiller, metal bow rake, or all of them together to loosen the top 1 to 2 inches of soil. Rake the area to remove weeds and old crop debris. Be sure to dig out roots.
2. Irrigate the plot deeply to encourage the germination of weed seeds.
3. In a week or two, after a substantial number of weeds have germinated, work the area again to kill the weed seedlings. Be sure to break up the clods in the soil, as seeds planted in cloddy soil will germinate poorly and won't live long because the soil dries too quickly.
4. Form soil into beds if desired, and plant while soil is still wet.

Time to plant

Artichokes are cool-season crops. Optimum temperatures for production are 75° F in the day and 55° F at night. Year-round production is possible where the temperatures stay in that range for much of the year. Temperatures higher than optimum tend to produce woody and less compact buds. Buds also tend to become bitter. Frost or cold weather injury is usually superficial but buds may become discolored. Mature plants survive heavy frost but yields may be affected.

Planting artichokes

Artichokes can be planted from transplants, shoots, or crowns. In areas where artichokes are grown as an annual, they can be direct seeded or grown in individual pots and then transplanted out. For transplants, start seeds 8 to 10 weeks before the last hard frost. To direct seed in the garden, plant on raised beds, made by adding large amounts of sifted compost or other soil amendments so that a bed is established above the previous level of soil. Place seeds about 2 feet apart on beds that are 60 to 80 inches wide. Avoid closer spacing; crowded plants tend to have smaller buds and it is more difficult to harvest. Seeds germinate in about 10 days.

Plants grown from seed are ready to set out when they have 3 to 4 true leaves. Perennial plantings of artichokes are typically grown from crown divisions. They are planted by hand in trenches that are 4 to 6 inches deep with 4 feet between plants. Perennial plantings are usually productive for 5 to 10 years. If transplanting in the summer, shade plants in the middle of the day for the first week or so, or use floating row covers.

Fertilizing

Most vegetables require fertilizer for growth. Organic materials, such as manures and compost, and inorganic materials, such as chemicals, can be used to fertilize plants. Using both types of materials usually provides the best growth. Manures and compost can be used to increase soil fertility. They are usually applied at 1 pound per 4 or 5 square feet. These materials should be worked into the soil several weeks before planting in order to allow it to decompose. Manure that contains straw, sawdust, or similar materials should be applied with a commercial nitrogen fertilizer. Generally, if the soil has been properly amended with compost or manures or other organic materials, the only nutrient needed is nitrogen, if anything. Some commercial nitrogen fertilizers available are urea, ammonium sulfate, calcium nitrate, and ammonium nitrate. Apply these fertilizers at rates of 0.5 to 1 pound of nitrogen per 100 feet of row.

If manure and other organic material has not been used, apply fertilizer that contains both nitrogen and phosphorus before planting. All commercial fertilizers are labeled by the percentages of N-P-K; nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Some common mixed fertilizers are 5-10-5, 5-10-10, 8-16-16, and 12-12-12. Apply these fertilizers at rates of 1 - 2 pounds per 100 feet of row. After plants are 3 to 4 inches tall, sidedress nitrogen in narrow bands or furrows and water thoroughly after application or apply through the drip system. Consider light but frequent applications of nitrogen fertilizer every 3 to 4 weeks. Avoid letting the fertilizer come into contact with the plant stems to avoid burning.

Application tips

Inorganic fertilizers can be sidedressed. Manures are more difficult to use as a side dressing and must be tilled into the soil.

Banding: Make a small groove one- or two-inches deep on both shoulders of the bed, 4 to 6 inches from the plant row and band in the fertilizer. Replace the soil and irrigate.

Watering artichokes

Artichokes require frequent irrigation during the active growing periods. Too little water, especially during the bud development period, results in poorly developed buds. Because artichokes are prone to root rots, avoid soil saturation, especially around the crown.

Drip or furrow irrigation on raised beds, instead of using sprinklers, will keep your soils well drained and protect against rot.

Pruning your artichokes

In areas where artichokes are grown as a perennial plant, they are pruned back several times a year to stimulate new shoots for year-round cropping. They can be cut back from mid-April to mid-June for cropping in the fall, winter, or spring. If they are cut back in late August or September, they will produce a summer harvest. Annual crops are not cut back at any time except after harvest.

Harvesting and storing artichokes

Artichokes should be harvested when the buds have grown to maximum size but before the bracts or leaves on the bud begin to spread open. On the seeded varieties, once mature, the buds do not enlarge more nor do the bracts spread. Buds left on the plant past their prime tend to become woody and bitter. The terminal bud is harvested first and then the lateral buds will mature later. Artichokes and the heart of the artichoke can be frozen whole, canned, or dried.

Harvesting tip

Harvest before the leaves on the bud begin to open.