It is a lot of work, but if you love artichokes like I do, and love the challenge of doing something they say you can't do, you might enjoy tricking the artichokes.

They are actually about 6 months old at this point. I plant them outside after the average last frost date for their 'second' year of growth.

By this time they are in 6-8' pots and looking quite nice. Slugs are a common issue for fragile young artichoke plants and are a problem in humid and moist areas. After a month or so of that, they are back in under the lights to begin their second season. Artichoke seedlings are particularly susceptible to disease, and unless you’re taking proper care to sanitize tools and supplies, you may end up with limp, lifeless seedlings due to damping off. As the season progresses and we get days where it gets above freezing, I will start putting them outside during the day, this is to further convince them they are not 1st year crops in case the fridge didn't have them convinced. Artichoke, scientifically known as Cynara scolymus, is a herbaceous perennial thistle cultivated for its edible fleshy flower head, commonly referred to as the 'heart,' which is considered a delicacy. I start them with the beginning of the year, watch them carefully, they are my babies. When I take them out of the fridge to plant in early January, hopefully they are convinced this is their second year. They start out in the fridge for a month. I'm working on the seeds I got January 2013. My solution is to order the seeds a year ahead, the seeds I just got in the mail a few weeks ago will be for the 2015 season. Growing in large containers didn't work, the plants are too large themselves and the size of container would need a fork lift to move it. Young leaves wilt and turn green-gray to brown. Seedling stems become water soaked and thin, almost thread like, where infected. Overwintering in the garden is not an option, it's too cold here, the plants would die. Cotyledons (the first leaves produced by a seedling) and seedling stems are water soaked, soft, mushy and may be discolored gray to brown. I now grow them, it takes a lot of trickery, but the seeds can be fooled. The growing season is way to short here, and the plants do not produce chokes until the second year. Once your seedlings are transplanted, water well using a watering can with a fine rose attachment, and place on a bright windowsill, in a greenhouse or in a propagator.I love artichokes, but being in WI, USA (I'm on the shore of Lake Michigan so am 'barely' in zone 6) I always thought they were not a possibility in my garden. It is better to transplant large seedlings into their own individual pots. Use a dibber to mark out the spacing, with three plants across the width and four down the length of the tray.

Gently firm the compost around the seedling.Īim to transplant 12 seedlings into a half-sized seed tray. Transplanting deeply will help keep your seedling securely in place.

Use a pencil or dibber to make a hole in the compost and drop or spiral the seedling in so the surface of the compost comes up almost to the lowest leaves. Transplant your seedlings into small pots or trays filled with peat-free multi-purpose compost. Use a pencil or dibber to lever the roots of the seedling out of the compost, holding the seedling by the leaves, as these are replaceable, and never by the stem, which can be easily crushed. Prick out seedlings of flowers and vegetables once they have their first pair of true leaves – these are the first set of leaves that resemble the parent plant.

Artichoke seedlings dampening