Globe artichokes are one of the tastiest vegetables you can grow, and are as much at home in the flower garden as they are in the vegetable patch. Follow our guide to growing your own.
What to do
Choose an open, sunny spot with well-drained soil.
Improve the soil by adding well-rotted manure and sprinkle general fertiliser granules over the soil before planting.
Dig a hole slightly bigger than the plant.
Place the sucker in the hole so that the soil mark on the stem is level with the surface of the soil.
Fill with soil until firm and water well.
Trim off any buds in the first year, so the plant has time to establish itself.
You can harvest your artichokes for eating in their second summer, before the flowerhead has started to open.
