I wanted to create a beautiful garden for as long as I can remember. It took me decades to get here but I am finally home. But I tried hard to prepare for it. In the 80s and 90s for about 20 years I read every issue of Mother Earth news. So... I knew almost nothing about real gardening when I started 13 years ago! Nothing!
I love artichokes so they are one of the first things I wanted to try. The seed companies all said full sun and I had plenty of that! And I didn't know any better. My property is all small hills and valleys and a big component of permaculture is capturing and using all the water Mother Nature gives you. We usually go from mild winters (40-50* days) right into super hot summers (90s for a week or 2 then up over 100* by late April or early May). But Arizona is well known for our monsoons during the screaming hot summers. In late afternoons strong winds would suddenly pick up, the temp would drop 10-20* in minutes and we'd enjoy 15-60 minutes of intense thunderboomers. The storms are down low and the thunder was deafening. All the windows would rattle and I'd watch waves of water gushing down the hills. So on my biggest hill I figured I'd terrace it to capture the water and stop the erosion. I dug 12 big holes for 12 chokes on the side of this hill and amended the soil. And I created another bed at the bottom of the hill to soak up every drop. Planted my first crops.
I guess I never told anyone here that I was growing chokes in the beginning. Because I've recently mentioned it to a few people and they all said...You're kidding! No way! Artichokes need cool Mediterranean climates. They can't grow here! Wow, I probably would have given up years ago if I had heard that!
Artichokes are perennials and grow pretty large, about 4' tall and wide and usually live for 5-6 years. And they often make pups along side them so one plant will soon become 2-3 that just keep replacing the older ones that die off. The first few years were pretty miserable. It was hard to get anything to grow in this rocky soil. And just as I was getting better at it the darned bugs showed up and ate everything! If you grow it, they will come. By dirt, air, wind and rain they came. Then their populations exploded! I had created a smorgasbord where only thorn bushes and scrub oak had grown before! It took several years to even start to get a handle on them. And unfortunately we haven't had any good monsoon rains for the last 10 years. No water to collect. Bummer. It seemed like everything was working against me.
But for the last 6 years or so I've had decent crops of chokes growing in the screaming hot sun. Each plant usually gives me 1 big one and a dozen or so small ones. I was very happy.
And then this year WE HAD SPRING!! Wow, temps in the 70s and 80s all through April and May. I forgot what spring was like. And the artichokes loved it. They each gave me a dozen or so big ones with lots more small ones. What an awesome sight. I couldn't believe this was happening! I enjoyed more chokes than I'd ever imagined. And then I let lots of them go to seed to collect really heat tolerant seeds that grow well here... to share with others. And a bonus, the bees loved that!
So, what good stuff did I learn? Always plan for rain just in case. Amend the soil and amend it again, in fact, never stop amending it. I am going to plant lots more big shade shrubs around them so they can have spring every year. It's 10+* cooler here in the shade! And if you really want it... don't give up. And if you keep growing and trying new things you will always keep learning! I have learned so much in just the last few years that my yields have almost tripled. And don't ever tell anyone that you are growing something new... until your absolutely sure they can't discourage you and talk you out of it! And Mother Nature is full of surprises! More about that next time. Happy gardening folks.
