Worth knowing: The approximately one meter tall perennial artichoke is a real Mediterranean delicacy to every gourmet. The edible head with its fine aniseed-like taste is, in fact, the basket-shaped inflorescence of the plant. It can be cut from early summer, when it is swollen, firm and still completely closed. All heads that are not harvested will open up and become large purple flowers that are much appreciated by bees. Imperial Star is a strong-growing, improved Golden Globe variety with dark green leaves and broad white ribs. With very early propagation it is possible to harvest still in the first year. Natural Location: The Artichoke came originally from the Mediterranean, where it has already been cultivated since the 1st century. Cultivation: If you want to harvest in the same year, you need to start propagation from February indoors. Place the seeds in lukewarm water for about 24 hours to stimulate germination. After that, plant the seeds about 0.5 cm deep into moist coconut substrate or organic herb substrate. Cover the seed container with clear film that you provide with a few small holes. That way the substrate doesn’t dry out, but also gets some air. Every second or third day, you might want to take the clear film completely off for about 2 hours to avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 20° and 25° Celsius and keep the substrate moist, but not wet. The germination usually takes place after three to five weeks. As soon as the seedlings appear to be too close to each other in the cultivation box, they should be pricked out and planted separately into pots. As the outdoor temperature rises, the pots can be moved outside from time to time during the day to allow the plants to slowly adapt to outdoor conditions. After the Ice Saints, the plants can then finally be planted out in the patch. Place: Pick a sunny and wind-sheltered place for cultivation and leave a space of at least 90 cm between the plants. Also, it would be best to give some compost into the planting hole to provide a good nutrient supply. Care: During cultivation you should provide additional organic vegetable fertilizer once or twice, and water the plant sufficiently. During the winter: In a sheltered place the plants are frost-hard up to -10° Celsius. However, after the harvest season, you should tie up the leaf crowns or cut off all leaves, place a wicker basket onto the plant and earth up dry straw or foilage as high as a hand around the plant. It would be even more save, to dig up the root stocks and place them covered with moist sand into a box or bigger pot that is kept in a frost-free place during hibernation. With the beginning of April the coverage can be removed or the root stocks can be planted out again - depending on whichever hibernation method you had chosen. Picture credits: - © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright - © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright - © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright - © About © : Contact SAFLAX - - http://www.saflax.de/copyright - © About © : Contact SAFLAX - - http://www.saflax.de/copyright - © About © : Contact SAFLAX - - http://www.saflax.de/copyright - © About © : Contact SAFLAX - - http://www.saflax.de/copyright - © About © : Contact SAFLAX - - http://www.saflax.de/copyright - © About © : Contact SAFLAX - - http://www.saflax.de/copyright