LA Eco-Village Gardeners' Weblog

Chokes in front of the Bimini Terrace

Mmmmmm… Lots and lots of artichokes in the harvest right now. Artichokes are a relatively trouble-free perennial. Each year they fruit around April-May, then die back above ground in June. In September, they grow plenty of “pups”, maybe three to eight little plants growing from various points on the existing roots. At that point, you can split the roots and plant them as a half-dozen plants. I usually try to do this every other year with mine. The second year growth is very good… but then it seems like the plants get crowded, so splitting them spreads them out. For the most part, they don’t get many insect pests… an excellent plant… and a yummy lunch today!

The same artichokes from a different angle

beans a-climbin'

A quick post to show off the pole beans climbing up the wires up to the telephone pole. The pole itself was painted as a sort of totem pole during an event where we painted a City Repair type mural in our street.

The beans are getting so high that they’re difficult to harvest, unless I bring out the ladder.

I need to make sure they don’t grow onto the actual live electrical wires.