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The globe artichoke is a glorified
thistle with large leaves and flowers on four-foot stems that last in
water for those who are willing to sacrifice some of the delicious
eating buds for unusual flower arrangements.
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Plant them two feet apart in deep trowel
holes, with four feet between rows, and keep them well away from trees
or hedges, because these rob them of the moisture they need. Dig in
plenty of compost and 1 lb. a square yard of bone meal, because this is
a permanent crop staying up to five years in one place. On sandy soils
add 1 lb. a square yard of hoof and horn as though planting a tree.
Their growing points should just peep through well-firmed soil. Water
the shoots generously in a dry first summer and keep them free from
weeds by hoeing.
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Clean up their dead foliage every
November and cover the bed with about six inches of dead leaves as
protection against frost. The globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus) is a
North African thistle and left-in root fragments from old beds die from
cold, unlike missed tubers of the hardy North American 'Jerusalem'
artichoke, which grow like weeds.
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Dead leaves blow loose, so it is a good
idea to surround the bed with 18-inch-high wire netting, folding it in
half, or cutting this narrowest width down the middle. It can be
stapled to short posts. This trick, incidentally, is also suitable for
rhubarb beds and has a mild forcing effect in spring. Leaves raked off
in April are half-made leaf-mould, ready for digging deeply into sandy
soils or stacking for autumn use.
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Spread manure along the artichoke rows
every spring: 2 oz. of dried blood or dried poultry manure a yard is an
alternative tonic. The first crop should average five 'globes' a plant;
with many more as the bed matures, not counting the small side-bulbs.
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Pick the latter when they are the size of
pullets' eggs and fry them halved, or boil them whole with a little
water. They can then be eaten like Brussels sprouts. If smaller ones
are preferred, take out the middle bud so that more 'globes' will grow.
Italians do this and then bottle them in olive oil.
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Gather both sizes before the bud scales
start opening and cut the stems six inches from the ground when all the
'globes' have been picked so that the side shoots grow a second crop.
If too many globes' are ready for picking at the same time, standing
the stems in water will keep them fresh for up to a fortnight.
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Start thinking of replacements in the
April before the fifth cutting summer and dig up strong shoots from
between the rows, slicing them off with a growing section of the parent
root. Plant them like bought offsets. By then you will be acquiring a
stock.
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With only 6 milligrams per 100 grams of
vitamin C, against 60 for strawberries, and 30 micrograms of riboflavin
compared with 70, they are poor value as a substitute for the
strawberry bed in the rotation, but they are easy enough for those who
like them, and a good luxury vegetable for an organic gardener to grow
commercially, provided that he makes sure of his market first.