Saturday mornings are ideal for visiting the Riverbanks Botanical Garden to peek at a garden waking up. On one particular morning a sentinel towered over all the flowering annuals and perennials in the Annual Display of the Walled Garden. The tall six foot ornamental was cardoon, Cynara cardunculus, a perennial vegetable in the Composite family and closely related to globe artichokes and thistles.

The stately specimen was grown for its stunning appearance: serrated silver– grey feathery foliage, spiky flowerheads, and purple thistlelike flowers. This plant had overshot its edible stage when stalks resembling celery are blanched and cut for eating.

Blanching is a process which “whitens” the vegetable to tenderize and reduce bitterness. Asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, endive, and leeks are commonly blanched.

One method to blanch is to cover the vegetable’s edible parts with its own leaves and a 3–4” layer of straw to shield from sunlight. Another method is to wrap the edible parts with burlap, newspaper, or black plastic for a month of darkness.

Cardoon, also known as an artichoke thistle, has a flower used in cut and dry arrangements. The 18”–22” stems of cardoon are the edible part, not the leaves or flower buds. A blanched plant looks likes an overgrown bunch of celery.

Cooks prepare the blanched stems by removing the outer skin and strings. Stems are then cut into 3” pieces before cooking. Pieces are preblanched for 5–7 minutes in water to which 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar has been added. The acidic bath removes bitterness and prevents discoloration. Finally, stems are cooked as one would asparagus, steamed or marinated and used in stews, salads, fritters, or antipasto.

Cardoon’s thistlelike flower attracts bees and butterflies. Cardoon is native to the Mediterranean where it is cultivated in France, Italy and Spain. Europeans brought the vegetable to early colonial American gardens in the 1700s.

When not used as an edible, cardoon is grown to attract attention as well as butterflies. European potage gardens grow cardoon hedges to serve as windbreaks.

If you are inclined or inspired to grow cardoon, seed is readily available from online seed catalogs. See sidebar.

In our mild climate one can sow seeds in late summer or early fall and plants will overwinter. Plants need elbow room, two or more feet apart. Cardoons require full–sun, rich soil amended with compost or manure. Adequate water is essential for the growth of perennial vegetables. Mulch to conserve moisture. Plants may need stakes for support.

Cardoons are susceptible to gray mold, root rot, earwigs, slugs, snails, and aphids.

Cardoon needs spacious room to grow. Preview the cardoon characters showing on Saturday mornings at Riverbanks Botanical Garden.
Cardoon Seeds
 

www.CooksGarden.com
www.gourmetseed.com
www.johnnyseeds.com
www.Monticellocatalog.org
www.territorialseed.com
www.TMSeeds.com
www.victoryseed.com

Upper surface leaves are dark green, but the undersides are silver–grey.