Artichoke Flower

I have been stalking the PB CG again. I stopped by my favorite artichokes (I posted a picture of them earlier in the week); I caught the artichoke with a thistle flower! The flower is pretty big and the color is a lovely lavender. Check out the picture I took with my iphone.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s entry on Radishes!

P.S. Props to KD for getting her mini garden up and running. She prepped her box and planted some of the 20 cent marigolds. Whoo hooo! We will be following her progress.

P.P.S. I am waiting for some updated pictures from the JS & GS Seattle Patch. Send them over :)

Artichokes

There is a local community garden here in PB. I love it. I go there at least once a week to check everything out. The waiting list is about 2 years, so I look on with supreme jealousy. I am certain that all the plants grow twice as fast as mine do in containers.

Anyway, I love artichokes—easily my favorite veggie. Several community garden plots include artichokes. The plants are just huge and the artichokes look delicious! So, when I was strolling through Anderson’s (mid March) and saw a small artichoke plant I thought I’d give it a try. I planted it in a fairly medium sized pot and set it in the front. Over time, the plant has grown, but there is no indication that it intends on producing an artichoke. I should probably mention that the plant can be 6 feet tall! I, almost certainly, need to re-pot it to a much bigger container. But, I think I have some time.

AC first introduced me to artichokes when we lived together in Berkeley. She and JE bought a few, steamed them up, and proceeded to show me how to scrape the flesh away from the inedible leaves. She also dunked hers into mayonnaise and melted butter. Since dunking things into mayonnaise and butter are not things that I enjoy, I found myself uninterested in the artichoke. Actually, a bit grossed out. It is not pleasant to watch people eat artichokes (especially when they are dipped in mayonnaise). But several years later, when I was living in LA, I found myself stuck with an artichoke that I paid for (came in my Organic Express delivery), so I figured I would give it a second shot. This time, I steamed it, loaded it with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil. Loved it. Thus began my artichoke love. Now, when I get them, I steam them up with some potatoes and consider it a perfect meal.

All About Artichokes

The artichoke is actually an undeveloped flower. If you were to leave the artichoke on the plant, it would open up and grow a thistle like flower. The picture to the right is an artichoke from the PB Community Garden. It has ants swarming all around it, but I have been watching this guy to catch a glimpse of this thistle flower.

Nearly 100% of US grown artichokes are grown in Monterrey County (think Castroville).

Artichokes can be made into an herbal tea (WHAT?) and is available commercially in Vietnam. Tell me someone has seen this product? (Upon further research, I learned that artichoke tea is just the water left over from boiling… sounds like broth to me. I’m just saying). Artichoke Tea Bags Link

In Ancient Greece, artichokes were thought to ensure the birth of a boy.

The “Artichoke King,” NY mafia member, Ciro Terranova (1889-1938), created an artichoke uproar when he bought crates of artichokes from California and sold them in NY for 30-40% more. He bullied people into purchasing the chokes. In 1935 the Artichoke Wars where in full swing. The Mayor of NY had to issue a ban on the sale, display and possession of artichokes. Ban only lasted a week. –Whoa, and I thought the thorns were bad….

Marigolds- My first attempt to grow flowers from seed!

*NEWSFLASH* I clearly posted this entry too soon! The seeds I planted last Thursday have indeed sprouted today, June 2; I shouldn't have doubted.  Only a 5 day germination period. I guess those bizarre rainy days were great for them.  

I bought some cheap seeds (20 cents) by American Seed. The package merely says Marigold, Crackerjack Mixed Colors. There is no reference to what type of marigold or the official name. The seeds look like mini sticks that are black and yellow colored. I bought them because I read somewhere that they are excellent companion plants because their pungent smell repels insects. So, I filled three pots with soil and these seeds. I am not convinced the seeds will sprout-- I mean, 20 cents is pretty cheap.

After some research, I have determined that the seeds I planted are the Common Marigold (Tagetes). Marigold is a member of the daisy family. Wikipedia says that the name marigold describes the calendula flower in some other areas. Apparently, the leave juice of this flower is used in wart removal. Anyone try this?

But Can You Eat Them?

Some marigolds are edible--very exciting. However, since my cheap ass seeds fail to tell me what freaking kind of marigold it is, I have no method of determining whether the ones I planted are edible! Time will tell (if they even sprout).

Dying For Marigolds

The lovely deep yellow color of the marigold flowers are used to make dye. One website said that farmers even feed chickens marigold petals so that the chicken skin is yellow. Wierd, I don't eat meat, but I am not certain if I did that I would want yellow chicken skin.

PS. Totally unrelated to gardening, as I write this post I am watching some random SciFi Channel show where Baltar (you know, from BSG) is playing Merlin (yes, the wizard) with the worst "voice" ever. It sounds like he is trying to sound like a mix of James Earl Jones, a dying person, a person with a speech disorder, and Darth Vader. It is AWFUL. so sad.