Artichokes ready for seed harvest
Artichokes for seed are always exciting. Do they contain a lot of seeds? Potentially yes – but! More contain only few seeds, and even more no seeds at all.
Artichoke pappus
At the very first touch to the dry artichoke head you realise it is a thistle. You rapidly learn to break them open without getting thorns into your skin. Being a thistle and a relative of dandelion, the seeds are connected to the pappus, unfolding like a parachute to spread the seed by the wind. Artichoke seeds are large, I really don’t think it works that way anymore. The original wild artichoke probably had smaller seeds, allowing the wind to grab the pappus and take the seeds up in the air.
Artichoke seeds naturel
Artichoke seeds must be large and resist a light pressure. There are only few large seeds, and most I discard at once due to softness when pressed between my fingers.
Artichoke seed harvest of the year
Out of six artichoke heads, I only had large pressure resistant seeds from three. One had a fair amount of seeds, two others only small numbers. Not impressing. But a few of them might grow in spring, producing new plants. If any of these plants survive a couple of winters, it’s a miracle. I do hope for a miracle. But for now I willdry the seeds and store them with tender loving care.
It is all seeds from the variety ‘Herrgård’. My other varieties are still young in my garden, possibly the reason they didn’t set seeds at all.
In the toad's garden 
September 27, 2008 at 10:24
Thanks for this post I was planning to harvest the seeds of my cardoon, for the first time, which must be very similar to artichoke.
October 3, 2008 at 22:13
I do the same, check out others experience before doing things first time 🙂
October 8, 2008 at 01:12
That was seriously neat for me. I have never seen artichoke seed before.
October 9, 2008 at 14:52
Your photos are out of this world!
October 9, 2008 at 20:21
Thanks. It’s allways nice, if post/photo cheer up others.
October 17, 2008 at 10:28
I am learning much with your growing experiencies on vegetables supposedly only suitable for southterns lands.Even here, in north Spain it is not easy to grow artichohe,watermelon….Personally I am interested to swap seeds. I do have quite goodones of mexican peppers and south spanish vegetables,as well others natives to north Spain, sturdy ones.
If you contac me, I going to send you pictures of my farm garden and information about garneding in Nothwest S (Asturias & Galicia regions )
Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS for you fantactic farmwork so well documenteted in the “toad “
October 20, 2008 at 20:02
Hi Ansel.
Thanks for your comment.
I was in San Sebastian this summer, and noticed the kitchen gardens being quite similar to mine. I actually had more developed peppers in my own garden. I guess it’s because I raise my plants indoor, and my season ends earlier, meaning I must be accurate in timing in spring to get a fair harvest.
November 16, 2008 at 20:22
Thank you for this–very useful! I had saved a couple of green globe heads for use in winter decorating and just discovered they’d produced seed. They are exploding, releasing the soft parachutes (as you so beautifully describe them) in my garden shed. My question is this: how should I handle the seed? Should it be kept cool? Can it freeze? I appreciate your guidance.
November 16, 2008 at 20:53
The natural growth cycle is sprouting in autumn, growing in winter, flowering in spring and setting seeds in summer. I guess you shoul keep the seeds at room temperature, and dry. That’s what I do myself, but I might be wrong.
In my garden, the natural cycle is interfered by the frost of winter.
November 16, 2008 at 22:48
Thank you for that tip. I live in Southern Maryland USA and the plants overwinter nicely so I don’t anticipate any problem–except the dry part. I guess I’ll invest in some silica gel.
October 20, 2010 at 12:54
In the Toads Garden:
Thank you so much for your beautiful photos and simple explanations and help. I live in North West Washington, USA smack up against the rising Cascade mountains. We can grow artichokes here, but as you pointed out few have seeds. When I lived in a commune here for 26 years we grew rows and rows of them in an open sunny field. Thanks again.
November 14, 2010 at 17:13
A lot of you people are more experienced artichoke growers than I 🙂
August 8, 2011 at 07:41
I love artichocke, I visited my children this summer and see people in Portland Oregon like to grow artichoke. I live in Baton rouge Louisiana now. Want to try to grow artichocke but don’t know if it can be grow here or not due to hot & humide
weather. I did look /check in many stores & nurseries but can not find seed or plant.
I have a small garden w many differrent seeds like white/(scallop) cucumber,Asian spinach differrent varieties, mustard green diff varieties, bok choy,& many other vegetables . I can swap for Artichoke seeds if any one want to.
em me Christinelove@bellsouth.net or ph 225 261 3944
Thanks
August 27, 2011 at 23:56
I’m not harvesting artichoke seeds this season. It’s too gray and rainy. I hope somebody else can help you!
August 25, 2011 at 19:30
I had artichokes in my front yard and the ‘City’ left me a note stating I had to pull them because it’s a noxious plant (Ca).
I wasn’t sure how to obtain the seeds from the plant until I read this article. I found the easiest way to gather the seeds was to put the dried blossom in a bag then beat the hell out of it. The seeds and all the fluffy debris was contained in the bag. Poke a hole in the bottom corner of the bag and shake out the seeds. You can then put the seeds in a small bucket of water; the viable seeds sink and the rest of the debris floats. Pour off the water and debris and let the seeds dry out. Voila! There you have it. I got, easily, over 200 seeds from one blossom.
August 28, 2011 at 00:01
200 seeds from one blossom! I can only dream of that. But then, I grow them in a too cold and rainy climate, too few growing-degrees-days.
Thanks for sharing your seed saving technique, I would use it, if I could hope for more and better seeds from my artichokes 🙂
August 1, 2019 at 21:39
Your other varieties can cross pollinate each other. Rule of thumb is 500 feet distance, from each variety, to keep from having that happen.