It took a few years of weeding to get the thistles under control in our yard after taking over the overgrown half acre. But the opportunity to eat more mayonnaise, enjoy an exotic looking gray green plant, and marvel at the stunning purple blooms got me to reintroduce a specific thistle to the yard - the artichoke.
But the opportunity to eat more mayonnaise, enjoy an exotic looking gray green plant, and marvel at the stunning purple blooms got me to reintroduce a specific thistle to the yard - the artichoke.
While most commercial cultivation takes place in coastal California where winters and summers are mild, artichokes can grow well in western Oregon. Cold winters may kill the plants, but ours appear to be fine after the January cold snap we had earlier this year.
You can get plants at a nursery, and put them in the ever popular "well drained sunny location". Give the plant some space - they can get to be three feet across. And keep them watered all summer. Because the plants can live for quite a few years, don't put anything else large and perennial nearby.
Now let's get back to the mayonnaise - or for some people, melted butter. The immature flower bud is what you eat, and bigger is almost never better. Because it's warmer here in summer than in Salinas, your homegrown artichokes will likely be picked smaller than what you find in the store. We boil them for 45 minutes - again a bit longer than commercial chokes. Once they have cooled to the touch - or you can chill them (blech) pull off the leaves, dip and scrape. The heart is an opportunity to eat a bunch of mayo.
If the artichoke is getting too big, with ANY sign of opening up, leave it on the plant so you can enjoy the massive purple bloom. It's like something you would see in an animated film - only real. Most of the artichokes will be ready, and done by midsummer or earlier. The foliage is a nice contrast to our deep green normal, and again, please pass the mayonnaise.
I'm John Fischer with Good Gardening.