Growing Artichokes

Family: Compositae
Cultivation: perennial (warm climates); annual (temperate climates)
Height: 1 to 1.5 m
Soil: Chalky, deep, rich, neutral soil; heat if necessary
The artichoke is a young bud that forms a paunchy, tightly-closed flower made up of the following parts:

• Bracts or leaves which surround the inflorescence - these are jagged and of a deep green color which may verge on blue or purple.
• The leaves end in a thorn.
• The hairy “choke” that produces the flower and is inedible
• The fleshy receptacle that forms the base of the flower and in cooking is called the heart
  

Market Varieties
At first glance the different kinds of artichoke may be bewildering. The names given to them differ according to size, and from one country and one region to another. We are giving the best known artichokes here with four reference pages.

Camus - From Brittany, it is considered one of the biggest, with the main stems reaching 400 to 500 g, and the secondary ones half that.

Purple Artichokes from Provence (violets de Provence) - small purple artichokes are as delicious raw as cooked. It can also be eaten “en poivrade,” with a pepper-flavoured vinaigrette. Thus, it may also be sold under this name, as well as under the name “bouquet,” as it is called in the south of France.

Poivrade
A small, early variety, recognizable by it elongated conical shape. The leaves are an attractive purplish color. The poivrade is very tender and is eaten raw, with a vinaigrette or “à la barigoule,” as they are prepared in Provence with thyme and mushrooms. They begin to appear during the first nice days of March.

Spiny
An artichoke from Genoa. Distinguished by its slender shape and the long sturdy thorns which are found on the top of its purple bracts.

Blanc Hyérois (White Hyères Artichoke)
Takes its name from the region where it is most grown, in the eastern Pyrenees. It is solid green, with narrow leaves. It is usually harvested before full maturity to preserve its crispness and is eaten raw in a vinaigrette.

Italian or Green Laon Artichoke
It is also called the large green Laon, as well as “cat’s head”

There are also spinoso sardo of Sardinia, the sakis of Turkey, the tudela of Spain, the purple varieties of Venice and Tuscany….  Many varieties, each with the qualities of its particular “terroir.”

Growing Artichokes
Begin planting in April or May when the soil has warmed up. Plant the buds in pairs and allow one hand’s width between each seedling. The rows should be one metre apart. Hill the earth without covering the cores; water and surround with a mulch of grass clippings or manure to keep the plants cool.

In temperate climates, the stocks need to be protected from frost with straw or leaves.  On warm sunny days the plants can be uncovered for a few hours to prevent them from rotting.

Hints
be sure the plants have good drainage, since they have deep roots;
replace one-third of the plants each year with new buds to ensure continuous production;
fertilize the soil regularly

Reproduction
- by seeds (should start in a greenhouse or indoors, otherwise they will take too long to germinate)
- cuttings
- buds (preferable) - cut off all but two of the shoots on the stem; these buds can be encouraged by cutting back the old plants in the fall.

It will take three years to obtain good production from one planting; then replace them.

Harvest
pick the artichokes when they are young, tender and firm - if not picked in time, they produce only a very pretty blue inflorescence.

Cut them with 2 cm of stem attached.