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Hi I'm Tricia, an organic gardener in USDA's zone eight
Artichokes are a wonderful vegetable for eating but they're also a beautiful
landscape plant
there native to the mediterranean and they're cold hardy down to about zone
six you can grow them as an annual if you're in a colder climate Ill show you how to
plant them
Artichokes will produce for about six to seven years
but every three years you can divide the plans to get even more plants
and the long life of the plant makes soil preparation essential to good yields
Choose a sunny location
artichokes also need plenty of space they can grow to about four feet tall and
can have a spread of about six feet
If you like a hot summer climate you might also want to think about some
afternoon shade
Also don't plant your artichokes too close to the roots of other big plants such as
trees or vines they don't like a lot of competition for nutrients
Good crops start with good soil i'm gonna apply a large quantity of this compost
into the first twelve inches of the soil and I'm going to use is this broad fork to do it
At the same you want to mix in a slow release fertilizer with phosphorus and potassium
like this foothill fertilizer mix
It also makes the soil more alkaline which is great for artichokes
cause they like a pH of about six-and-a-half to eight
dig it in at least eight inches deep so that it's available for the roots
before planting the artichoke crowns make sure and water your bed very well
Artichokes can be planted from seed
but you'll get better results if you plant from these root sections
In warmer climates like here these artichokes can be planted in the winter
in colder climates you can heel them in until early spring
Dig a hole about six to eight inches deep
and to encourage root growth put in some
prime start booster blend which is formulated with mycorrhizae which
really help root growth
just cover the root
with about six to eight inches of soil
mulch the bed
to prevent weed competition
in the spring you can fertilize with a nitrogen fertilizer
give it some water and give it some love
and in the spring it will love you back
grow organic for life