Easy Come, Easy Grow

Plant these edibles once and they'll deliver an abundant harvest year after year

- JANE GRIFFITHS

GLOBE ARTICHOKES

Prized for their delicious globes and grey, fuzzy foliage, artichokes grow up to 2m high and almost as wide. They’re suitable for larger vegetable gardens or perennial flower beds. 

Growing: Easily grown from seedlings, they do best in full sun in moist well-drained soil. Provide ample water when young. After harvesting, fertilise with Talborne’s Vita Fruit & Flower 3:1:5, and add compost. They’ll survive drought but won’t produce well if they become too dry. Mulch the roots well in winter.

Harvesting: Harvest in the second year after planting. The edible part is the immature flower bud, comprising the fleshy bases of the flower bracts and the heart to which they’re attached. In early October, look for the central bud, which ripens first, followed by smaller ones on side shoots. Cut while they’re green, tight and compact.

ASPARAGUS

A hardy perennial, asparagus is a beautiful addition to the vegetable garden, with feathery, fern-like foliage in midsummer. Once established, they crop for up to 20 years, with each plant yielding up to 20 spears per season.