ORLANDO, Fla. — University of Florida researchers are hoping to make artichokes a new crop in the Sunshine State.

About 99 percent of all artichokes that are grown in the U.S. are grown in California. UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences was rewarded a grant to conduct artichoke research. 

Researchers at UF are now in year two of a 4-year study to determine if artichokes can be grown in Florida's climate. The reason is to help boost the farming economy in Florida.

In 2017, California farmers produced a $58 million crop value from growing artichokes.

But farmers we talked to are relunctant to experiment with artichokes. One farmer we talked to, Tom Carey at Sundew Gardens in Oviedo, said, "they take up a lot of space and don't put a lot of food on the table."

The difficulty with artichokes is that they have strict climate requirements; primarily a Mediterranean climate is ideal.

Artichoke growing requirements:
  • Dry summers and mild, moist winters.
  • Ideal day and night temperatures are 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit. 
  • To initiate bud development, plants require sufficient chilling exposure, which is generally 250-500 hours of temperatures below 50 degrees. 
  • Temperatures above 86 degrees reduce the tenderness and compactness of the heart and cause buds to open quickly.

So far UF researchers say they don't think artichokes will grow in South Florida, but they may have luck in North and Central Florida.