SAVING SEEDS - ARTICHOKE
By: Ron
The One Who Walks Two Paths
With all this talk about Artichokes I thought, "Why not let the choke be tonight's episode?" I will be the first to admit I have trouble growing these here in my Zone 5 area near the lake, but here goes. I stratify my seeds in the fridge for a week. What I do is take a paper towel and get it wet, then wring it out but not to the point it is damp. Then place the seed on one half of the paper towel and fold it over. Now place it in a Ziplok bag and put it in the refrigerator for a week. When you take it out and unwrap it (after the week has gone by) you will notice that the seeds have swelled and some of them are actually starting to send out a root.
Plant the seeds that are begging to root in a 4-inch pot, place 1/4 inch of light potting soil over top and mist the surface. The seeds that have yet to root place on a new paper towel and place in the fridge overnight. Check the next day and plant any that are starting to root. You can do this for up to ten days; by that time any that are going to root will. This will cut down on the germination time by up to 3 weeks vs. planting the seed directly.
Now to save seed you need to choose a few of the Artichoke buds and let them flower. Actually, it is a very striking purple blue flower that reminds one of a giant thistle flower (you know the more I write on saving seed the more I realize I need to be buying stock in the pantyhose companies :~) ) After the bloom has faded take a piece of pantyhose and tie it around the spent flower to ensure no seed loss. When the seed head dries and becomes brittle cut the stem and knock out the seed. Label and store (or maybe it should be the plastic company that makes those little film containers).
Tip
To get the biggest chokes remove any side shoots and leave 1 choke per stem (though I think the smaller ones are more tender).