Artichoke Madness

~ By Betty G. ~

As an avid gardener, I am usually anxious to try new plants, especially those that are difficult to grow in my climate. Although I live in Southern California (Zone 10) where one can garden year round, there are a number of plants that pose a challenge in my area because of our very hot summers. However, the conditions are supposed to be right for growing the mighty artichoke.

Many years ago my husband and I traveled to Northern California and stopped in Castroville, known as "The Artichoke Capital of the World". The nickname was truly no misnomer as for miles and miles, all one could see were acres and acres of the magical chokes along with what seemed like an equal number of stands selling them for as little as a penny a piece.

Before the trip, I had heard of artichokes but had never actually tried eating one. During out visit, that changed in a hurry. And, once we tried them dipped in melted butter, we were both hooked. Naturally, before heading back home, we had to buy a few dozen to take back home with us. We shared some with friends and I also learned how to marinate some for appetizers.

From that time on, I always wanted to grow my own artichokes, but unfortunately, to this day, I have never had any luck. I read all I could about growing them and followed the advice to a "T". planting the dormant roots in the fall and watching them grow until spring, but then, for some reason, they languish into the summer and never produce any artichokes.

Of course, I must say that part of my problem is the fact that I can only garden on my patio and I also have a wonderful, 35' pine tree that shades the patio which makes my apartment much cooler, but at the same time limits the amount of space that gets sun most of the day, which is exactly what the artichoke as well as other sun-loving veggies like eggplants, peppers and tomatoes need.

However, I am not going to give up without a fight and I will try my luck again this fall, because, being a Taurus, I am stubborn and determined to win out in the end.

         

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