Artichoke ‘Herrgård’ Cynara scolymus
Today I harvested the first artichoke heads. Now they rest under cold water, to let the insects escape.
I do not have the heart to harvest the heads every year, since the flowers are incredible beautiful.
Left: My own variety (unnamed), middle and right ‘Herrgård’
Artichokes and peeled stem after boiling
Boiled artichokes and stem in the boiling water, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and wine. Now I will leave it it in the fridge for 1-3 days.
‘Herrgård’ is an old heirloom, could very well be the one H.C. Andersen knew from the gardens of danish manorhouses.
In the toad's garden 
June 23, 2008 at 10:46
How did you make your own variety here, by cross pollinating? Is it nice?
I am thinking about collecting different artichoke varieties next year and growing them side by side. I have some plants left for me by the previous gardener that aren’t doing very well, but in neighboring gardens a lot of people have nice artichoke plants.
June 23, 2008 at 21:07
My own variety is a seedling of ‘Herrgård’. It is from open pollination, but I think it is from selfpollination. ‘Herrgård’ is a clone, and offspring come out very different. It’s difficult to get seeds from artichokes in DK. Only two years did I succeed, and from that I only got three plants, of which two died in their first winter. It doesn’t seem superior at all, but if it survives harsh winters (if they come any more?) I might consider it worthwhile as breeding material.
Artichokes take up a lot of space in the garden, I guess you will find a limit for the number of artichokes, as I have. It shall be very interesting to follow you artichoke gardening.
June 24, 2008 at 23:16
I see what you mean, the flowers are incredibly beautiful!
July 19, 2009 at 05:31
how do yu know when is time to harvest it ?
July 19, 2009 at 16:47
You can harvest it at almost anytime. At first they are very tender, but also very small.
As they grow larger and less tender, they need a longer boil.
Just before flowering I expect them to be too tough to eat, and let the leftovers flower instead – a great treat for the eye.