Gardening takes lots of work and planning. But, sometimes circumstances totally beyond your control, disrupt your plans.
Last year harvest was good and afterward I put down my plans for 2020. But last winter 2019 I really began to feel the effects of my arthritic knee. I dreaded walking any great distances and reluctantly sought medical help. One of my options was to get a total knee replacement, which I eventually chose. Hoping that I could get it done before Christmas I was dismayed that there was a waiting list for this surgery. My usual winter garden prep was on hold. I had planned to work on reconditioning the soil, planting cover crops, and planting garlic bulbs. Everything was on hold I hardly walk around much less pick up heavy bags of soil and mulch.
The waiting list for my knee surgery was long and I was given a tentative date in March 2020. It seemed oh so far away. I resigned myself to the fate of waiting until maybe June before working in the garden. As it was, I got lucky there was a cancellation and got my surgery at the end of January 2020. In retrospect, the cancellation of elective surgeries due to COVID19 would have further postponed my surgery to May or even later.
I resigned to a late garden post-surgery. Last year I had for the first time tried to grow artichokes. I bought a number of root plants from local nurseries. I harvested about a dozen artichokes. I was surprised at how much room they took up in my garden, a big mistake! In the fall they just kept growing and growing.
I love artichokes but not at the expense of growing other vegetables. I had heard that the plants can overwinter and produce another crop. I am always reluctant to pull out or kill healthy plants and to a fault try to keep everything alive. GARDEN ALERT don't form social connections with your veggies! Yes, I realized that tough love required that I cull the artichokes.
I returned to my house in the middle of February 2020 with a new knee and lots of aches and pain. The artichokes had survived my absence and were thriving. An absentee master gardener indeed! I was happy to be mostly pain-free and worked in my garden a little each day. I pulled out a number of artichoke plants, making room for future veggies. I reserved one planting bed for artichokes and cleared out other plants that were under the leaves of the plants. I also left one plant in the center of a raised bed and planted herbs around it.
As gardeners know every day in the spring is exciting. New buds on the trees appear like overnight, sprouts start poking out and the squirrels start eating new shoots. There were artichokes everywhere. One plant has yielded a dozen artichokes so far and another dozen are growing on the stems.
According to the University of California UC Davis website, artichokes grow best if they started from root divisions from a local nursery. Prepare the soil before planting mixing manure, compost, and other organic material. Artichokes prefer loose soil so don't plant them in clay. I use a raised bed. Plant 6-8 inches deep and water frequently, but don't drown them. Artichokes take up a lot of room 4 feet high and 6 feet in diameter. One plant can yield 30 artichokes. Artichokes are best cooked as soon as possible.
The moral to the story is:” If life gives you artichokes eat them.”