Help with growing artichokes

[Cramjam]

Hello,

I am trying to grow artichokes from seed in my indoor garden. I was wondering if anyone has had experience in growing artichokes indoors and could provide me with tips or general information to have a successful batch of artichokes.

Jade

 

[Marck]

Are you going to start seedlings indoors to plant outside in the Spring? This is your best option. plant the seeds six or eight weeks before your Spring planting date and grow them in bright light before transplanting to a full sun location. Choose a cultivar that will reliably bloom the first year as Artichoke (Cynara scolymus) is not reliably hardy in Alberta. The cultivar 'Imperial Star' has been specially bred to flower the first year. As you likely know, the the capitulum (flowerhead) bud is the primary edible part of an artichoke.

If you intend to raise the plants indoors all the way to flowering, realize that artichoke plants can get quite large and will require very bright light to grow well. I can't fully recommend growing artichokes this way, but it would be an interesting, experimental endeavor.

 

[Cramjam]

Are you going to start seedlings indoors to plant outside in the Spring? This is your best option. plant the seeds six or eight weeks before your Spring planting date and grow them in bright light before transplanting to a full sun location. Choose a cultivar that will reliably bloom the first year as Artichoke (Cynara scolymus) is not reliably hardy in Alberta. The cultivar 'Imperial Star' has been specially bred to flower the first year. As you likely know, the the capitulum (flowerhead) bud is the primary edible part of an artichoke.

If you intend to raise the plants indoors all the way to flowering, realize that artichoke plants can get quite large and will require very bright light to grow well. I can't fully recommend growing artichokes this way, but it would be an interesting, experimental endeavor.

Hey Marck, I’d just like to thank you for answering most of my question that I’ve posted on this gardening forum. I’m planning to do all of my planting indoors, I live in zone 3B so the weather is super sporadic… I’m scared that it’ll ruin my plants if I do transplant them outside. Do you have any lights that you recommended, fertilizer/supplements or soils. Also, do you any tips on growing French zucchini?

Jade

 

[Marck]

Anything is possible, but both Artichoke (Cynara scolymus) and Zucchini/Courggettes (Cucurbita pepo cvs.) do take up a lot of space and will need grow lights that are sized accordingly. How much space do you have to dedicate to these plants? Also, for the most part fruit or flower bud crops will require more light than leaf crops. You will need at least 5000 lumens hitting the plant, more is probably better. (10.76 lumens = 1 foot-candle).

Of course, LED technology does make indoor grow lights a more reasonable option in some circumstances. There are many brands, models, kits, methods, arrangements, etc. that one can choose from. This will take some research on your part, but there is a lot of options and information out there. A lot of it is focused on growing Marijuana (Cannabis sativa), but of course the basic processes are the same ...and the devil is in the details. Is anybody near you growing vegetables this way? Is this something that is done often in Alberta?

One piece of equipment that you will need is a good light meter, because regardless of whatever lumens and wavelengths your lamps are emitting. what will count is the amount of light is hitting the leaves.