{"id":2732,"date":"2023-08-16T07:20:38","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T07:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gardendad.co.uk\/?p=2732"},"modified":"2023-08-16T07:26:04","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T07:26:04","slug":"what-to-do-with-cardoon-after-flowering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gardendad.co.uk\/what-to-do-with-cardoon-after-flowering\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Do With Cardoon After Flowering?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cardoon is a showy, gorgeous plant which you can grow<\/a> for purely ornamental reasons, or you can eat the plant. But what to do with cardoon after flowering?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ve got you covered! For anything and everything you need to know about what to do with cardoon once those flowers are done, read on for our best tips.<\/p>\n

What To Do With Cardoon After Flowering?<\/h2>\n

\"what<\/p>\n

If you have eaten all the flowering heads then you can just follow up with eating the stems – this is a very versatile plant!<\/p>\n

If you wanted to leave the heads on for that ornamental look, or you have cut them for flower displays, you may be at a loss of what to do\u2026<\/p>\n

The answer is, you don\u2019t really need to do anything! The whole plant will wither and die off before the winter, releasing its nutrients into the soil.<\/p>\n

Leaving it to die off naturally is a form of \u201cgreen manure\u201d<\/em> that will naturally release nutrients into the soil from the dying plant.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t like the look of a dying plant around the place, you can simply uproot the whole thing and throw it in the compost.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no real need to worry about what happens next year, because cardoon is a perennial that will pop back up in spring as long as the winter hasn\u2019t been too harsh.<\/p>\n

How To Harvest Cardoon?<\/h2>\n

Cardoon is a great plant to have around – whether for its aesthetics or its taste. How and when to harvest things can be tricky, and cardoon has an extra step in its harvesting!<\/p>\n

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  1. Cardoon is generally grown for its young leaves, which are edible and delicious. They are generally ready between 120 and 150 days after harvesting.<\/li>\n
  2. 3-4 weeks before you harvest, so in October or November, you will need to \u201cblanch\u201d the plant by wrapping it in sacks or cardboard about 18 inches up the stems.<\/li>\n
  3. This extra step makes the leaves more tender, and helps to remove some of their bitter taste.<\/li>\n
  4. When you are ready to harvest, remove the coverings and cut the stalks off at ground level.<\/li>\n
  5. Make sure you are wearing gloves – the spines on the edges of cardoon\u2019s leaves are small, but they can be painful!<\/li>\n
  6. Trim off any excess leaves from the stems, and give them a good wash to remove soil and creepy crawlies.<\/li>\n
  7. Wrap the stems in paper (plastic can make them sweat, then rot) and store them in the fridge, where they will keep for up to 2 weeks.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Here is a video which will show you the best way to harvest cardoon:<\/p>\n