Has Anyone Grown Artichokes Before?

Robin, I’ve been growing articokes in Seattle for several years. I did start with a purchased start, not seed, so know that to begin. Over the years I have divided my mature plant & have found that the babies crash pretty hard when first seperated from the mother plant, but they always seem to come back…it just takes them a while. In my experience, they like very well drained soil with some organic matter and full sun. By full sun, I mean all day and taking the super hot late summer sunset sun in Seattle. They do not like to get soggy and once established are very drought tolerant. Still, they do like a bit of supplemental water but seems they acclimate quickly if denied water (once they’re established).

I wonder if your seedlings need more of a hardening off period somewhere protected before you take them from indoors directly to the garden bed? When they seem to die, what happens? Are they rotting out? Is bortrytis getting them? Are they drying out? Any hints on what’s getting to them?

-- GardenMentor, Seattle, WA (zone 8/9), www.gardenmentors.com & www.gardenhelp.org

Hi Robin, Been growing Artichokes in SO CA as perrenials, in your zone I don’t know, We have been harvesting for a couple weeks now, we started from crowns it takes a while but when they start to grow they grow fast, our plants are 6’ tall and 5’ wide.
Heres a link to help

http://vric.ucdavis.edu/selectnewcrop.artichoke.htm#garden

-- Zone? Microclimate, rarely frost, slightly inland, never rains, never wanders too far from 70 deg except for Dec & Jan, although the last few years it's got hot mid summer!!

They die before I ever got the chance to harden them off. Possibly to well watered? I did let them dry out between waterings though.

Thanks for the link!

-- Robin282, Zone 7, SE Coast of MA, USA