When to plant artichokes: the best tips and tricks

Artichokes are winter vegetables in temperate climates that require cold to flower and develop. What is special about this vegetable? That we feed on its flowers, not roots or leaves. It blooms from mid-autumn to mid-spring. The Mediterranean basin concentrates 90% of world production. Artichokes take up a lot of space, and if you don’t have much of a garden, it’s worth planting them in permanent flower beds or large pots. Artichokes can be eaten in many stews: steamed, roasted, boiled, seasoned or fried, bathed in a mixture of oil, vinegar, garlic and parsley. Something that not everyone knows is when are artichokes planted.

For this reason, we are going to dedicate this article to telling you when the artichokes are planted, how you should do it and what are the aspects to take into account.

Key features

Before knowing when the artichokes are planted, we are going to know a little more about them. One of the positive parts of artichokes is that we can prepare them to eat almost in any way: boiled, sautéed, grilled, on the side of tortillas, mashed, pureed, with garlic or simply raw in a salad. Either way, you’ll probably enjoy eating this flowering vegetable. In addition to the above, artichokes are an excellent plant to add to your garden or garden.

When allowed to mature and bloom, the flowers are a very spectacular crimson red. As a good vegetable, we can find some positive properties in artichokes. Among them, we highlight the following points:

• Diuretic, toning and stimulating properties.
• They are choleretic, depurative and antianemic.
• They contain vitamins A, B1, B2, C and PP.
• They also contain minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium and sodium.

When are artichokes planted?

Artichokes need a temperate climate, on the cool side. However, they do not tolerate frost well, nor do they tolerate overheating days. It is ideal to start growing artichokes in March and April. Regions such as the Mediterranean in winter, spring and autumn are usually suitable for this vegetable. For this reason, we will plant artichokes during the months that make up spring, autumn and winter. So between April and May.

Artichokes need sunlight, like most vegetables. But not too much. About 5-6 hours a day may be enough. Even on hot summer days, it’s fun to plant them in a spot where they can be shaded most of the day.

You will need space as artichokes spread a considerable width (around 1m) as well as growing from 1m to 1,5m tall. Artichokes are a demanding plant in the soil. We need agitated and airy land. It has depth and is rich in humus. We will also add animal organic matter, preferably something that decomposes well.

We will avoid heavy and dry soils. Before planting artichokes, it is interesting to remove the soil with an electric tiller. Make sure the compost is well mixed. After doing the above, We will do a general irrigation to moisten the soil instead of flooding it.

Artichokes need a lot of compost. Areas that used to have crops are ideal. But beyond that, you have to add the organic ones. Ideally, it should be of animal origin, such as feces. At first we will give subscribers about 7-10 kg per square meter. Then, as the plants grow, we will add homemade organic matter, such as compost, at least initially.

Artichokes are also picky about watering. However, they do not tolerate excess water and waterlogging very well. So we have to avoid them. As usual, the ideal irrigation option is drip irrigation. We will water every 2-3 days for about 30-40 minutes. During the summer, we will increase the frequency of watering daily.

How to grow artichokes

Now that we know when artichokes are planted, let’s see how they are grown. They can be sown directly outdoors from seed. However, we recommend doing it in April. This month provides the best weather conditions for its growth.

We want to sow some seeds every 40-50 cm. When they begin to grow, we will remove the weakest stems (pruning). If we had artichoke seedlings, things would be much easier. We will wait to plant seedlings in May.

It is convenient to place the seedlings at a distance of 90cm between them. You should also make sure the soil is well fertilized and has a pH of around 6,5. Artichokes can grow larger. Especially if it rains or there is enough water. If this happens, you’re in luck, but you want to make sure the plant doesn’t split due to the weight. Importantly, you can use stakes or sticks to support the artichokes, if needed. Similar to tomato plants.

We can harvest artichokes for several years. So you want to take care of them. Artichokes can be harvested 3-4 months after planting. The first season produces only one head on the main stem. In the next few years, several heads will be produced and the factory will be larger. when the artichoke grow about 15cm of stem, we cut it and we will see that it has a nice color. It is important not to wait for it to flower, in which case it is no longer edible.

Plagues and diseases

We must remember that artichokes have been adapted by humans from thistles. Therefore, its resistance and resistance to pests and diseases will be much lower than this. Too much moisture can lead to fungal and recessive reproductive diseases.

Aphids are usually found when irrigation is too high and nitrogen fertilizer is too much. Aphids are found on the bases and some leaves of artichokes and can wreak havoc on the plant. The application of neem extract is usually an ecological solution for aphids.

Verticillium wilt is a common soil fungus that thrives in temperate climates around the world and can persist in soil for decades. Verticillium wilts over winter in the soil as dormant mycelium, or small dormant black structures called microsclerotia, waiting for favorable conditions to return. They enter damaged plant tissue through the roots and multiply. Many common weeds, such as dandelions and weeds, may be host species for Verticillium wilt.

Many plants of great economic value are susceptible, including cotton, tomatoes, potatoes, canola, eggplants, peppers, and ornamental plants, as well as other plants in natural vegetation communities.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about when artichokes are planted.