Sowing Artichoke

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Sowing artichoke sometimes also called prickly. This plant belongs to the family called Asteraceae. This culture is perennial. The plant can be grown for three to four years in the same place. It is noteworthy that sometimes the seed artichoke is used not only as a medicine, but also for the preparation of various dishes. If you want to get vegetable products, then you will need to grow this plant as seedlings and use all the technology for growing vegetable crops.

Description of the plant

It is worth noting that this plant can hardly be called frost-resistant enough; damage to the plant can occur even if the thermometer drops below zero degrees Celsius. If you want to get inflorescences in the year the artichoke is planted, you will need to vernalize the seeds before sowing.

This culture is considered thermophilic and the optimum growing temperature for this plant will be from twenty-five to thirty degrees Celsius. In July, rather tall peduncles will appear, which will have pink-purple flowers. In this case, the flower baskets must be collected even before the flowers bloom. These baskets can be used to prepare culinary products, or you can simply pour lemon juice over them and use them neat. Such elements will contain an impressive amount of protein, carbohydrates, as well as vitamins C, B and carotene. It should be noted that the seed artichoke has original taste and dietary properties. The artichoke receptacle can be added to the soup, as well as boiled and fried. Sometimes the receptacle is even canned. Such dishes are most often found in Spain, Italy and America.

In addition, the artichoke can also be used as an ornamental plant. Very often, the sowing artichoke is used for landscaping various parks, as well as for decorating alpine slides. The culture is especially valuable in this sense from the standpoint of high resistance to hot temperatures, as well as due to its unpretentiousness in care and cultivation. With the help of the seed artichoke, you can get very beautiful bouquets, the inflorescences acquire a special originality after the seeds shatter.

The sowing artichoke has a rather long tap root system, which allows the plant to tolerate the winter well. However, the most favorable conditions will be when it snows early and this cover persists until the beginning of spring. In this case, there is no need for additional strengthening of the plant. However, otherwise, before the frost begins, it is recommended to cut off the entire aerial part of the seed artichoke, and then cover it with straw, leaves and peat. After that, you should also cover the planting with a special film. It is worth noting that with such a shelter, the plant will perfectly endure the winter period of time. However, you should be extremely careful, and as soon as the frosts subside, the film must be removed immediately, if this is not done, then rotting and very significant damage to the artichoke can occur.

To obtain seeds, it is recommended to leave the most impressive inflorescences-baskets on the stem, which bloomed first. The seeds will ripen by about the beginning of September, and they will be able to ascend within three to four years, so it is not at all necessary to plant the seeds right away.

Medicinal properties of the seed artichoke

For medicinal purposes, the artichoke receptacle is most often used, which must be done even before the plant begins to bloom. To do this, you need to clean the flower baskets of the artichoke sowing, while cutting off the top of the basket itself, from where the rest of the flower petals are removed. In terms of taste, fresh baskets are very similar to walnut kernels.

The seed artichoke is recommended for use in diabetes, atherosclerosis, liver diseases, as well as in order to normalize the thyroid gland.