Artichokes easy to grow yourself

Visually, they're statuesque and striking.

If you ask me, globe artichokes can be a little intimidating.

Visually, they're statuesque and striking. And, while they have a reputation as a culinary delicacy, to the novice it can be hard to tell how they should be eaten at all.

Despite this, artichokes are a very easy plant to grow. Possibly that's to make up for the fact they require a bit of work to cook - and eat.

So, if you've ever wondered about growing artichokes, just get planting. Grab artichoke seedlings from our online store at www.awpauni.co.nz or head to your local supermarket, Bunnings, or The Warehouse.

Because artichokes (don't confuse with Jerusalem artichoke, which are nothing at all like globe artichokes) are not particular about where they grow, you can choose anywhere in the vegetable garden to plant.

Alternatively, why not use that intimidating visual appearance to your advantage and plant them with your flowers. I suggest growing them in the background as they can reach around 2m tall.

When you've found the right spot, plant each artichoke about 50-100cm apart from the next. Because we're coming into summer it pays to keep an eye on how dry they get and try to keep them watered regularly.

It's also a good idea to apply a mulch to help keep the soil consistently moist.

In around 20 to 24 weeks you can expect to see your first flower buds. It's the inner petals and the base of the bud that is eaten.

And if you want to eat them, harvest the buds while the petals are still tightly wrapped.

The hairy choke inside (scraped out to reveal the 'heart' of the artichoke) won't have developed too much. This heart is where all the flavour is.

The first head will be the biggest and smaller heads will develop off this.

Harvest by cutting just below the bud and include a small amount of stem.

If you decide not to harvest, the flowers will develop into giant thistle-like seed heads. See - not so intimidating after all.