Sowing calendar · Leafy
Cardoon
Cynara cardunculus · Cardo, Cardon, Kardone, cardo-do-coalho, cardo-do-queijo, cardo-hortense
Calendar
Calendar for mainland Portugal.
- Sow in traysMar–Apr
- Sow directApr–May
- PlantMar–Apr, Oct–Nov
- TransplantMay–Jun
- FloweringMay–Jul
- HarvestJun–Jul, Nov–Feb
- Germination
- 10–20 days · soil from 10 °C
- Spacing
- 120 cm between rows · 80 cm apart
- Sowing depth
- 2.5 cm
- Water need
- medium
- Frost
- hardy
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Seed saving
- medium · keeps ~5 years
Notes
Grown for the fleshy leaf stalks (pencas): one or two months before cutting, tie the leaves together and wrap them in opaque paper, cardboard or earth to blanch them, then cut the whole plant from late autumn into winter. Left to flower, it gives the purple thistles whose dried stigmas are the traditional vegetable rennet for Serra da Estrela, Serpa, Azeitão and Nisa cheeses. Very tolerant of dry summers once rooted; wear gloves, as most forms are spiny.
Sources
- Horta e Flores: Cultivo do Cardo (Cynara cardunculus variedade altilis)
- CynaraTec (Universidade de Évora): Um guia completo sobre a planta do cardo
Months for mainland Portugal. In the app, sowing and planting follow your own local climate and the forecast.