FREE: Giant Cardoon Seeds

The listing, Giant Cardoon Seeds has ended.

I have about 20 Giant Cardoon Seeds to share!

A rare cardoon from Italy, its broad white stalks are eaten fried, sauteed, pickled and in soups. Italians eat it raw, dipped in olive oil. The root is also edible, tasty, and can be used like parsnips. The plant is similar in culture and appearance as artichokes.

Cardoons have heavy, fuzzy gray-green leaves that are deeply cut and a heavy bristled flower head. It can grow up to four feet tall and two feet wide.

It is grown for its fresh leaf stalks; these are blanched and are then normally eaten like celery. The large celery looking stalks of cardoon can be served braised or steamed. The plant is a member of the artichoke family and its taste and texture mostly resembles artichokes.

Cardoons are best grown in full sun, though it can also tolerate partial shade. Choose a location for growing cardoons that has a well-drained soil and is rich in organic matter.

The cardoon plant is best grown from a transplant that is set in the garden three to four weeks after the average last frost date in spring.

Cardoon seeds should be sown indoors about six weeks prior to transplanting.

For indoor sowing first fill a container (a platted box or pot) with enriched potting soil. Sow the cardoon seeds at least one inch deep and water to settle the soil.

Cardoons should be watered evenly, but always make sure that the plant dries out between watering.

The plant is normally blanched in order to make it more tender and improve its flavor. Therefore, when Cardoon plants are around three feet tall, about three to four weeks before harvest, hill up soil around the stems and tie the leaves in a bunch and wrap burlap or paper around the stems to around 18 inches high.

Four to six weeks after blanching, cardoons are ready for harvest. Cut the stalks off at ground level and carefully trim the leaves.

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