Still in a holding pattern here... we're supposed to get frost Saturday night!

Yikes It's getting kind of late for frost isn't it?

tveguy3 said:Yikes It's getting kind of late for frost isn't it?

I certainly would agree with that, Tom -- but in reality, no, unfortunately it isn't very unusual for us...
Crossing my fingers that this will be the last one!

Great looking artichokes, Tom.

Sandy---Yikes! on the frost. I thought it was bad when it got down to 39 here about a week and a half ago.

Poor Texas is getting blasted again as we speak. Ugh.

tveguy3 said:Poor Texas is getting blasted again as we speak. Ugh.

Yes... a little frost is not so bad (although I also saw a "weather alert" on TV a little while ago about possible flooding in Menominee County (in the UP, right next to the Wisconsin border, next county south of where I am)...

My artichokes are coming along nicely. I took a couple pictures today. No signs of buds yet though.

Tom your gardens are just picture perfect. Do you use all that yourself or do you sell to others?

What I don't use, I give to friends or take to the food pantry.

My first artichoke baby is on the way! I have about half of the 12 plants showing the little guy on the way. Here's a picture of the largest one so far, and a tiny one starting in another plant.



This one you have to expand the picture to see it.

I just looked back on this thread and saw that I had a little one starting last time on July 27, that's 20 days earlier this time around. I ate the first one in early August that time. I should have some to eat in late July I'm guessing.

Looking great, Tom!

My plants are all dying.

Are they artichokes you got this year? The ones I got last year, and this year both died. Doesn't matter if I plant in composted soil, or leave in the big nursery pots, they don't grow, they just die.

Oh my, sorry to hear that, they seem to be doing well here. They are about 2 feet wide, and about a foot tall already. 6 of them have little buds coming that are about an inch and a half wide already. I think they like the cooler weather. The last time I grew them we had that really hot and dry summer. I watered them every day and they did OK, but this year they are growing like mad. Last time I had one plant that got some kind of black fungal type of thing going on. It didn't die, but it didn't produce either. I'm thinking about letting some blooms open to make seeds. Do you think they will come true from seeds or are they hybrids? They are Imperial Star.

Seeds I started this year. I'm thinking it may be too hot for them down here.

That's what mine are. I don't think it is a hybrid so you could probably save seeds.

Thanks, I think I'll give it a try if I can keep myself from eating them all!

Not only are the first artichokes coming, there's little second and third ones starting too!

There's actually two small ones on the sides, but one in the upper left hand corner is hard to see.

I have about 4 artichokes that I am going to harvest today and have for lunch.