Growing artichokes in Germany: In addition to provenance and origins, we give tips on how to grow from seeds and young plants to a rich harvest in your own garden.
Hardly any garden lover knows that artichokes (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) can also be grown in our latitudes. The artichoke is one of the thistle-like composite plants. Not only the budding inflorescences of the artichoke have a high culinary value, but also the flowers are very popular with florists due to their high ornamental value. An artichoke plant is very useful in your own garden: tasty buds, beautifully silvery, deeply slit foliage and magnificent flowers.
The thistle-like artichoke originally came from the Mediterranean region and is still mainly cultivated in that area today. From there, it quickly spread to Persia, modern-day Iran, and North Africa. According to old writings and wall paintings from the tombs of the pharaohs, the artichoke is probably one of the longest-cultivated vegetables. In the 15th century the artichoke found its way to Italy and from there to France, Spain and Great Britain. The USA, Spain, Egypt, Italy and France are now among the main growing areas for the artichoke. Read more in our article Artichoke: provenance, origin and synonyms.
The robust artichoke: an insider tip for the hobby gardener
Planting artichokes is also worthwhile in your own garden. Seeds of cultivars can be purchased online. These are left to soak in lukewarm water for a few hours at the beginning of March. The seeds should then be sown about one to two centimeters deep. The germination rate is particularly high at a temperature of 20-23 °C. The plants should be pricked out when they are about ten centimeters high and after the ice saints in May the seedlings can be planted in the garden in a sunny spot. You can expect a space requirement of about one square meter per plant. Artichokes need a profoundand nutrient-rich soil. Therefore, it is advisable to enrich topsoil with well-stored compost. More on “What is topsoil?” can be found in our special article. You can also use a pre-fertilized organic soil like our Plantura Organic Tomato & Vegetable Soil.
Artichoke Varieties
There are now thornless varieties. Cardy connoisseurs continue to favor the spiked varieties for their aroma. Ultimately, everyone has to decide for themselves whether this justifies the additional effort involved in cultivation and harvesting. These are the names of the most common artichoke varieties:
- Green Globe: large-fruited variety with green petals
- Violetto Chiogga: small-fruited variety with violet and elongated buds; particularly frost-resistant
- Vert de Provence: small-fruited, but strong-growing variety with many inflorescences
- Imperial Star: fast-growing variety with relatively dark green foliage; large-fruited variety
Harvest artichokes: Late summer means "collect the harvest!"
Artichokes can be cultivated perennial in most areas with some winter protection (fleece, foliage, straw, etc.). If the seeds are brought forward in good time, artichokes usually bear fruit in the first year. Then in late summer the flower buds appear, which should be cut off and prepared before opening. If you can't process all of the flower buds, there's no problem simply letting the buds bloom on the plant. Because the flowers of the artichoke are a wonderful ornament for the home garden.
Delicacy and medicinal plant at the same time
In addition to delicious buds and beautiful flowers, the artichoke plant has even more to offer. The artichoke was named medicinal plant of the year in 2003. It is said to have a digestive, cholesterol-lowering effect and a positive influence on the heart, liver and gallbladder.
Here is one last tip for successful preparation: While cooking the flower buds, you should always add a little lemon juice so that the leaves do not discolour and keep their green color. The petals can be peeled off and the fleshy base nibbled off. The tastiest part of the artichoke is the so-called heart. This consists of the base of the flower and the lower base of the scale leaves.
Try the artichoke in your garden. They are hardy to disease, produce tasty buds and have lovely blue-purple flowers. What more could the garden enthusiast ask for. Here are our top tips for growing artichokes.