I will overwinter my artichokes in the bed to the left here in my polytunnel.

The summer of 2018 would have been a great year for my artichokes. If I had only watered them enough... We had a lot of issues with our well here at home so I just wasn't able to water my plants as much as I would have liked. It's such a shame since I had so many beautiful little plants at the start of summer! I decided to dig them up and plant them in pots instead, with the hope of overwintering them and starting fresh next year.

It's all done now! Almost all of them have survived so far, except for one of them that seems to have died because of some kind of pest. Take a look at the pictures below to learn more.

I dug a narrow ditch that is as deep as the pots, in the middle of the bed. The artichoke root system is really large so make sure that the pots match that size.

I planted the artichokes quite close together in the ditch.

I watered the plants a few days before this. I want them to grow in moist, but not wet, soil. Dry soil is a big no-no since the rain and snow can't get into the polytunnel.

I added soil on top after planting the artichokes in the ditch. I plan to add a layer of leaves when winter comes.

My polytunnel is unheated, but at least the conditions are a lot better in here than outdoors in the middle of winter. The soil might freeze of course, but it won't get as hard as it would be outside. Since I plan on protecting the soil with a nice layer of leaves later, I don't think that the roots are going to freeze either. But never say never of course...

Learn more: Growing vegetables in winter – A beginner's guide

Watch this video and see how I prepare my garden for a really early harvest:

The artichokes will grow nice and large if you overwinter them. The plants usually only have one stem in year one, but might grow three in year two. And even more after that! Every stem produces four to five artichokes. So, overwintering artichokes really pays off. Have you tried it?
/Sara Bäckmo