Artichoke Harvest

What started out as a three-leaf little artichoke plant in a one-gallon pot has become a queen in our young garden. Each year, the number of edible buds has multiplied as we cut and eat them. March and April this year have given us SO many artichokes.
How and When to Harvest: We watch the tight buds, and when the leaf tips just start to pull open ever so slightly, we cut them where they join the main stalk.
This is also a great time for the “sharing the harvest” conversation. We take only what we need. We always leave some to feed the wild: bees and such.
Our artichoke harvest also turned into a great connection with a book we have in the house called “How Does My Garden Grow?” By Gerda Muller. In the book, there’s an illustration of an artichoke plant. We watched for days as one of the green buds turned into a beautiful violet blossom just like the mysterious bloom in the book’s plant.
In another book by this author, we had learned about earwigs, which were living in our artichokes. We had a lot to discuss as we soaked our harvest in a bowl of water to release them, gently flicked swimming earwigs back onto the ground, and inspected one close-up in a jar.
All this from one single plant. There truly is a universe in every living thing. That’s why if you’re patient, observant, and honor the tiniest details, you will have a magical gardening experience in ANY size garden.