How to Seed Start Artichokes So They Bloom the First Year - Vernalization Explained!

Welcome to the Rustic Garden Homestead. Today I want to talk about seed starting globe artichokes. That's what we're going to do today. But also how do you get them to form the flower buds and flower, if you want them to flower, or get the flower buds so you can harvest them the first year. It's pretty easy. There's a little trick to it. I'll go over that in a second. Globe artichokes, that's what I recommend. They mature in anywhere from 80 to 100 days. So you want to have in mind 100 days of warmth. So in Maryland Zone 7, that's really June, July, August, some of May. I have 100 days. And in fact, I know that these mature a little bit sooner than 100 days, if you seed start them indoors. Today is February 15th. We'll go over the whole process. Globe artichokes here in Maryland can be a perennial. I have them in a bed right now where they survive the winter. We had a mild winter. Also if you mulch over them, they will come back year after year. It's that second year that they tend to get a little bit bigger, bloom better, but that's because they get a cold period. So we have to artificially give them at least 14 days of a cold period. And that's really 35 degrees to 50 degrees for about 14 days. Now you can get away with 10 days, maybe go 21 days. The idea is that you're giving them a vernalization period, which is they're getting cold. And that cold makes them think, you know, that they need to flower, they need to be ready for spring, and they're going to bloom for you. You're going to be able to harvest your artichokes. The plants that you see right here were planted on January 27th. Today's the 15th. So that's almost three weeks of growth. They grow pretty quickly. You can see that they're to a really nice size. They're in larger cells. That's what I recommend because you're going to want these to get to a nice size. And if you can get a good eight weeks growing indoors, getting that two-week cold period, they're going to definitely produce flower heads for you. You'll be able to harvest them and, you know, you'll have maturing globe artichokes. So about three weeks, I recommend these larger cells. I sell these at my seed shop. You can use yogurt cups, water bottles, cut in half, anything. I also sell, these are actually three-inch cups, but I sell two-and-a-half-inch containers at my shop. That's perfect for them. You want them to stay in here, have a nice growing space for a root system. The plants will get large. You're moving them in and out, getting the cold weather, and then you're just going to transplant these. Really in Maryland, middle of May, all the way up to about June 15th, you can plant them. So they grow quickly. A standard pack of artichoke seeds, well, they look like this. You don't get that many of them, so you're only going to be putting one per container. You can check out all my videos. Every year, I do a whole series on starting seeds indoors. Then I go outside, plant, tend, care for it, the garden, show you how to take care of insects and pests, everything, the whole nine yards. If you want to subscribe and follow me, I'll show you how to grow food and have a good time. So these are the six cells. I just drop one seed per, and it's actually usually, last time I did this, it was about 12 seeds. So there's 11 seeds here, and we're just going to put them right into the center. Again, please subscribe, and I'll show you how I plant these into the garden this year. But just FYI, you want to plant these three to four feet apart. They do get three to six feet tall. They will get about four feet wide, so you need to give them a little bit of space. And then the second year, they're even a little bit bigger and wider, so plant it out as you wish. Put about three feet apart. Follow the instructions that I'm giving you today, and you'll be able to harvest your globe artichokes this year. And again, this is about three weeks of growth right over here. Push them down a quarter of an inch to a half an inch. That one wasn't quite in the center. If you do check out my channel, I go over how do you know when to water plants, how do you fertilize your seed starts, how do you set up the soil, the starting mix, but you get the basic idea for the globe artichokes. So you have time. Starting these definitely in March. I'll give you March, April. That's a good eight weeks of growth. You want to make sure that wherever you're growing these, when they get to the first set of leaves, this is the first set of leaves, second set, let me move it up here, first set of leaves, second set coming out. When these are about, I don't know, let's say five to six weeks old, I will start giving them that cold period. It doesn't have to be consecutive 14 days, but it should be several days in a row. And these are just going to go outside during the day, and they'll get the cold period, and they're going to form the flower heads, bloom for me, or you'll be able to harvest them. In this case, five out of six seeds came up. Only two out of six came up. So the germination rate isn't great. That's the seed shell right on there. You can pull that off if you want. But these are really good to go. Now that they've been planted, I will put them into my flat, put them under the grow lights right away, bottom water, let these get nice and wet. And when the top of the soil dries to a light brown, that's when you water them again. The artichokes are really easy to seed start, really easy to grow, and a globe artichoke variety. Sometimes they're called green globe. Mature the quickest. So you can sometimes have them mature in 80 days, but you again want that 100 days of warmth here in Maryland, June, July, August. That's 90 days plus some of May. You're good to go. Don't forget the 14 days of cold period, and you'll be able to have globe artichokes to harvest your first year. Thanks so much for watching. Please check out my seed shop at therustedgarden.com, and please subscribe. I'll show you how to take care of a whole garden. Have a good time. And my videos are usually, at least I try to make them to the point. Get all the information to you quickly so you can get out into your garden. Thanks for watching.