Artichokes from Seed

Now apart from their obvious gastronomic appeal Artichokes from seed are just plain interesting. Unlike the ones that come from the produce store, which seem to be almost identical, seedling Artichokes are quite varied. The thing is that you generally won't find the type mentioned when you are buying seed so it makes it a little difficult to make an educated decision.

Sometimes as above they are simply different varieties probably chosen for different purposes. Other times it becomes obvious that you have a genetic throwback which although fascinating to look are not all that flash hot on the whole food front.

The left hand one is a Green Globe and great to cook fresh. The wide bottom makes it easy to sit on the bottom of the saucepan to steam. It also gives you a large amount of "petals" to work with if you are trying to stuff or just enjoy one leaf at a time. The structure also also tends to thicken up at the bottom of the leaf better than the spear type I am growing.

On the right is unfortunately an unknown variety. I planted it out the first year I was here, before I started seriously making records, and it was the final of a packet. If anyone recognises the variety I would love to know as I have been seed saving it. The main reason for saving this seed is that it is my favourite for canning. In this family we love marinated artichoke hearts. The thin, long profile of this variety actually makes less waste when you are removing tough outer leaves. The outer leaves are nice and long they protect the inner leaves quite well, making it usual to only need to remove about 3 layers of leaves (about 10-12) before you start getting into the soft inner heart leaves.

Now this is a genetic throwback. Note the prominent spines on both the foliage and the flowers. Believe me when I say those spines mean business and can do significant damage. After summer growing the ones showing these features will be removed from the ground. Honestly I think I have a batch of dud seed on my hands as all the Purple De Jesse I have grown so far have had these characteristics. I suspect if I could get a good plant I would really enjoy this variety. It has such a lovely colour which would be beautiful on a spring vegetable plate.

That is why I am going to give the packet I have one more season. I need to be more sure about what is going on and the only way to do that is have more plants do the same thing giving me a more reasonable sample. Unfortunately I suspect this seed supplier is going to get an email come autumn.

Not only are they spiky, the artichokes themselves are extremely loose in their structure. This means all the leaves are pretty tough and they don't get very big before they start to bloom out to flower. Overall if you are growing for food rather than looks this variety currently isn't hitting the mark.

Anyone else out there growing their own Artichokes? What varieties do you have?