Artichoke

Sowing: Artichoke is usually started indoors 8 to 12 weeks before the intended transplant date, with two or three seeds sown a quarter inch deep per cell and thinned to one seedling; germination proceeds at 70–80°F, with seedlings grown on at 60–70°F by day and 50–60°F at night. Six- to twelve-week-old transplants go into the field after frost danger has passed, spaced 2 to 3 feet apart in rows 3 to 6 feet apart; in mild-winter regions seed can instead be sown directly in fall for a spring harvest.

Vernalization: Because artichoke needs about ten days of 45–50°F weather to trigger flower-bud formation, fall-planted crops in mild climates receive this chilling naturally over winter, while spring-planted seedlings may need a spell in a refrigerator or cooler to ensure budding.

Site: Grown as a perennial in full sun on rich, well-drained but consistently moist soil, plants that overwinter benefit from a heavy mulch, and trimming off older, sprawling leaves keeps the clump tidy as new growth emerges from the crown.

Artichoke can be affected by root rot, gray mold, and powdery mildew, while snails, slugs, and aphids are the insect problems most often reported on the crop.

Flower buds are cut from the plant while the bracts are still tightly closed, before they begin to open, since once a bud blooms its texture turns coarse and only marginally edible.

Culinary: The immature flower head, made up mainly of the fleshy bract bases and the heart, is harvested before it blooms and cooked as a vegetable; once the flower opens, the head becomes coarse and largely unfit to eat.

Medicinal: Extracts prepared from the leaf, stem, and root have historically been used in traditional herbal preparations, taken for indigestion, gas, and elevated blood cholesterol among other conditions.

Artichoke's wild ancestor is native to the Mediterranean basin, where the species was brought into cultivation in ancient times. Its spread through Roman-era trade and settlement carried it across Europe, and cultivation later extended to the Americas by the 19th century.