Cardoons are delicious cooked in butter, cream, with meat juice, or in a gratin.
The leaves are used in soups or like spinach.

Very decorative in the vegetable garden, the bright red ribs are tender. The leaves and stalks are eaten, but they lose their red color when cooked.

Sowing cardoons

Under cover: February to March

Outdoors: April to September

Sow 3 to 4 seeds every 40 cm in the row, with rows spaced 40 cm apart, in a sunny location.

Keep the soil cool until emergence.

When the plants have a few leaves, keep only the most vigorous ones in pockets.

Frequent watering.

Growing Tips

Leeks are sensitive to drought; mulching is recommended in hot weather. Leeks are often affected by white worms, which attack the root tips, causing the plant to wilt and die.