Artichoke Romanesco | Purple Globe Artichoke

A large and striking perennial vegetable with silvery-green deeply toothed leaves that's good-looking enough to grow in the ornamental garden. The deep purple flower buds are cut from summer onwards, with each plant producing up to 10 artichokes a season. The plant stays productive for many years given a free-drained soil and a sunny spot. Growing Instructions: Sow from late February in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill in pots of freely-draining seed compost. Grow on young seedlings and plant out in early summer. Remove any chokes which form in the first year, and protect crowns with leaves or straw against frost in winter. Start harvesting artichokes in the second season. Add some grit to the planting hole to improve drainage if you have heavy soil. Sow: February-April Harvest: June - Sept Approximate quantity: 40 seeds.