Anemones coronoria De Caen
Princess Victoria tulips, planted for Yena (Yelena Victoria)
Double Flowering Narcissus Smokey Bear
Egyptian (perennial, walking) onions, from Southern Exposure
Crocus sativus

At the writing class our coach brought a humongous artichoke as our first “subject”. My first thought was “this must have been shipped in from California!” But I wasn’t prepared to write a lengthy piece about fossil fuel and eating local, so I wrote instead on the difficulties of growing artichoke from seed. And about finding baby ones in Rome and taking them home to the castle/cottage to cook them, deep-fried in olive oil, and sprinkled with some lemon juice. Carciofi alla Romana…. Yum!!

I’ve got my garden plan in hand and wondering… Should I try again? We love artichoke too much not to. At least I found some encouragement on the ‘net:

Globe artichokes are started from seeds. In most northern temperate zones they are treated as two season crop because they take two seasons to reach a size to produce useable flowerbuds. Since they are hardy to zone 9 only, the plants have to be overwintered indoors in zone 6. You dig them after the first frost, place them in barely moist peat moss and keep at 5 to 10 degrees Celsius (40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit) over the winter. Do not allow to get dry and replant after all danger of frost is past. Keeping the plants in deep pots and moving the pots to a frost free, cool place for the winter will work even better.

Recently the director of the Devonian Botanic Garden in Edmonton, Alberta, in zone 3, told us that he has been growing globe artichokes reliably for over a decade as a single season crop, not as a two season crop suggested in the previous paragraph. The key is to start seeds early indoors (he starts them in January or February) and to provide ample direct sunlight so that the seedlings can develop to a good size by the time it is safe to plant outdoors in May. Outdoors, the plants get rich soil, full sun, and ample water.

- from richters.com

I grew this plant for several years (zone 6/7). Each fall, cut foliage to ground and mulch heavily. Did not do too well, produced few artichoke buds of edible size – may need very rich soil, more feeding to flourish this far north.

- Greenknee at davesgarden.com

- see comment at end of http://urban-agrarian.blogspot.com/2006/07/artichokes-day-118.html

- and http://www.coldclimategardening.com/2005/10/30/artichoke-question/

A greatly improved variety that is vigorous and prolific Perennial, but produces the first year from seed, so is good in cold regions (Zone 6 and colder) where artichokes should be treated as an annual or the roots dug and stored for the winter like flower bulbs. Huge silver leaves with deeply cut margins make it one of the best ornamental edibles, with any uneaten buds opening into thistle-like blue flowers. Medicinal: detoxifies liver, gallbladder etc

- from bountifulgardens.org

This is the one I want to grow!:

Violetto Artichoke
From the north of Italy we bring you the artichoke of aristocrats, Violetto. This violet-bracted ‘choke has small, oval, slightly elongated flower heads that measure 3 inches wide by 5 inches long. A bit later maturing than Green Globe, Violetto will produce abundant crops of mouthwatering artichokes for at least 4 years. Divine when served with melted butter or plain yogurt blended with a touch of mustard. Hardy to zone 6.

- territorialseed.com

The question really is — should I start it now or wait to wintersow? If my efforts fail, I do have a backup — a nice little company I’m keeping secret for now. Heeee….

Seeds, that is, you KNOW it’s time to stop gathering/collecting/trading/buying and start planting.

The breakdown:

106 vegetables
1 fruit
41 herbs/spices
258 flowers

I will be wintersowing these, so I’m getting my soil and my containers ready. Still have to get that plastic sheet though.

How I’m going to fit all of this in our 1/3 of an acre, I have no idea. My problem is actually getting rid of/planting all of the seeds. When I sow them, I leave at least half of the packet to make sure I have “insurance”, in case they don’t germinate. I suppose it’s still that hoarding mentality I need to let go of. I *am* thankful I saved a lot of them though, since there were years I sowed but didn’t harvest seeds.

My updated seed list is here! Not looking to trade at the moment, but if you happen to have any of the few things remaining on my wish list, e-mail me and I’ll reconsider!

I’ve got 5 rose bushes that I haven’t bothered to find out the names of (heh, that persistent preposition again) — and now I found a note in my files from way back …. saints’ and Our Lady’s names for roses! Like I need to plan yet another garden… but good for reference, maybe someday when I have a better feel for the neighbors and won’t be so scared about turning our yard into a Wildlife-Federation-Certification-worthy sanctuary.

My Papa loves roses, and his garden (okay, I should say his and my mom’s, she does quite a bit too) is kept pretty much weed-free all year. This year my favorites were his beans which he grew on improvised climbing posts made from pruned branches. His roses… he’s got quite a variety, I think 20+ at one point. A few years ago I got him a rose bush from Bologna as a reminder of their Italy trip. I keep telling him to plant garlic all around them (roses love garlic) to maximize the space, but he’s not listening . My mom, OTOH, is growing grapes — their patio is surrounded by grape vines (among other viney things). They’re really sweet — but not seedless. I think they’ll make excellent wine. (Mommy, if you’re reading this, maybe winemaking could be another hobby you and I can get into when you retire!)

I take back what I said about this book. The more I read it, the more I want to plant these veggies! And they’re not that difficult to find after all. I’m now having regrets about leaving behind the plot-ful of Hemerocallis fulva at our old home. Even more regrets knowing I could have cooked with them!!!

Foraging / harvesting from the wild has long held an appeal for me, though I’ve never been on a hike with Steve Brill. But I can’t ever trust myself to walk around a forest and try to eat / cook things. However, I *can* grow plants in my yard, and even better if they’re perennial crops that I won’t have to worry about from year to year. The only ones I’m staying away from are the ones that have poisonous parts/relatives.