Once again, I am overwintering artichokes. The first try was a bust. I had read an article in a Front Range newspaper about keeping artichokes alive through the winter in order to reach their second year when the chokes are produced. But I did little research. Unsurprisingly, failure was the result.

This year I watched several how-to videos and read articles both in books and on the Internet. My hope is to succeed unless the winter temperatures are extreme. Here on the High Plains the thermometer can plummet to more than twenty degrees below zero using the Fahrenheit scale.

There are just a few steps involved in the overwintering process. The first step I neglected on my previous try. The celery-like stalks are trimmed down close to the ground.

Step Two is working a small amount of compost into the ground. The compost will help feed the plants while they are overwintering. I used a couple of handfuls per plant.

Then a heavy layer of mulch is spread across the plant. Since three artichoke plants are growing in the Big Garden, I experimented at this step. One of the plants was surrounded by pavers before spreading the straw mulch. Each plant has close to ten inches of straw atop.

We live in the heart of wheat country. So, wheat straw is easy to come by and economical. In contrast, the mulch often found at Big Box stores is not produced nearby and the cost is higher due to shipping from the point of origin. Both types of mulches have pros and cons. The biggest negative of wheat straw is that it can carry mosaic virus.

In case the overwintering of the artichokes fails again, Plan B will go into effect late next winter. New seeds will be sprouted. And then they will be placed in a location where the temperatures will remain between 40° and 50° F. This should trick the plant into thinking it is in its second year.

Since the plants need to have some growth by this point, the seeds will most likely be started in January. It will be interesting to see if this works as well as the videos I watched. On the positive side, if the plants outsmart my maneuvers, I can always try overwintering again.