Persephone Farm Market Stall

Cardoon in full blossom

The folks at Persephone Farm (Indianola), which proffers a terrific stall at the Saturday morning BI farmer’s market, would like to sell you a hard-working thistle.

If you don’t know what a cardoon is, think about the visits you might have made to the farmer’s market in midsummer. You have, undoubtedly, seen the giant thistle plants at the west entrance to the market square. Those big beautiful behemoths are cardoons.

Cardoon in June, BI Market square

Persephone Farm has been bringing cardoon starts in big pots to the market over the last few weeks and have sold more than a couple dozen of the homely young plants this spring already, according to one of the farmers behind the stand today.

The ungainly pots were missing from the stand this morning, however, but not because of lack of interest. More likely, they’re just starting to get too gosh darn big to haul to market.

Related to the artichoke family, cardoons offer stems that have a similar texture and flavor, even as they require some pretty intensive work to prepare. But so do artichokes, one could argue.

If you’re interested in buying a cardoon plant to grow in your own garden, you’ll have to find a spot that’s got at least six good hours of sun, with rich loam and more than enough space. Cardoons can encroach and be invasive, so keep that in mind. You may also want to stake them if they become too magnanimous for their own good.

All conditions met, if you want to grow one of these unusual plants, contact Rebecca Slattery at Persephone Farms directly to make a purchase arrangement. 

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Other cardoon-lovin’ links:

• Small Potatoes blog (Bainbridge Island’s Anne Willhoit): Cardoon Gratin (recipe)
• From the Kitchen to Garden blog (by Seattle urban farmer Bridget Lamp): Cardoon
• From Mariquita Farm’s (Watsonville, CA) online newsletter: Cardoon recipes
• Saveur Magazine: Preparing Cardoons