Globe Artichoke
globe artichoke
- Position: full sun
- Soil: moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil
- Hardiness: frost hardy (may need winter protection)
Worth growing for both their statuesque appearance as well as their flowerheads, which if picked and cooked before the flowers emerge, are delicious when drizzled with butter. Impressive and decorative perennials, they look wonderful in the border, adding height and structure. If grown purely as a vegetable, they should be replaced every three years to stop them getting too woody.
Plant globe artichokes in well prepared soil that has been enriched with well-rotted garden compost and water in well, continuing to do this when in growth until established. Once established, it needs little maintenance. Clumps should be divided every four or five years, to produce new, more vigorous plants. Harvest buds when still tightly closed.
Goes well with...
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Kitchen garden cloche
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kai-lan / Chinese broccoli
Chinese broccoli ( kaiIan / kailaan ) Brassica oleracea Alboglabra Group
approx 200 seeds
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aubergine 'Black Beauty'
egg plant or Solanum melongena 'Black Beauty'
approx 50 seeds
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chard 'Rhubarb Chard'
leaf beet / chard or Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla var. flavescens 'Rhubarb Chard'
approx 100 seeds
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fennel 'Sweet Florence'
fennel or Foeniculum vulgare 'Sweet Florence'
approx 375 seeds