PACKAGED BY HAND IN RESEALABLE AIR TIGHT BAGS (EACH BAG IS INDIVIDUALLY LABELED). ALL SEED LOTS ARE TESTED FOR GERMINATION. LAST GERMINATION TEST 85 PERCENT. First documented listing in a seed catalog is 1883, these have been a gardening favorite for a very long time. Green globe is a perennial in zones 7-10 and planted as an annual elsewhere. This artichoke is know for being one of the fastest producers of artichokes grown from seed. Green Globe Artichoke produces tender, nutty and flavorful green artichokes. Just imagine the flavor of dipping your own artichokes in butter and savoring each moment not only for the flavor, but for the fact that you grew them! Globe artichokes are low in calories and sodium and high in vitamin C, folic acid, and magnesium. A good source of dietary fiber, artichokes are free of saturated fat and cholesterol. In other words, artichokes are healthy food. When you eat an artichoke you are eating the immature flower. The edible globe or bud is actually the fleshy bracts of the flower, plus the receptacle, which is what we call the heart. Harvest chokes when the heads are still tightly closed and the lower bud bracts start to separate. Secondary chokes will develop after you cut the top one. Time of harvest depends on location. If you don?t harvest the immature flowers they turn into thistle-like purple-blue flowers. With their large, fuzzy gray leaves, artichoke blooms are dramatic additions to flower arrangements. In fact, the blooms are so striking; many gardeners grow artichoke plants in their flower gardens.