What's the ROI on THAT!? Artichokes

With a voiceover! Are they worth it? Plus, the perfect artichoke recipe

Jul 09, 2024

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I am trying something new today and have provided a voiceover over for the newsletter so you can bring it with you walking, driving, cooking, and of course, gardening.

We're back after holiday break - how are you? My otherwise restorative weekend ended with a terrible coyote attack on my flock. I sadly lost two chickens and thought I had lost a third when my neighbor called to say she found one in her yard safe (a silver lining). I’m working to create a better enclosed run (the outdoor area the chickens roam in during the day) and will be sure to share the finished product with you. I’m on high alert, and the coyote has already come back again. Fortunately, the chickens were already locked up in their coop for the night. I’ve learned a lot about coyotes in the last couple days and have been dreaming about them obsessively.

And while I did put together a quick July gardening guide, don't feel pressured to do a lot of gardening this month. It's hot, it's sticky, and the days are long. Let the garden go wild and untamed—do what you can. Take the time to enjoy what you’ve grown. Next month and in September, we’re jumping into starting fall vegetables.

In today’s newsletter:

What’s the ROI on THAT!? An investment analysis of growing artichokes
Everything I cooked from my recent harvest
The perfect artichoke recipe (for paid subscribers)

Does cooking from scratch make you a #tradwife?

Carmen in the Garden

June 28, 2024

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What’s the ROI on THAT!? Artichokes

In case you missed the first part of this series on garlic, I analyze the return on various crops grown in my garden.

ROI: Return on Investment

ROI = investment gain divided by the cost of the investment, expressed as a percentage. When you factor in time, it becomes annualized ROI or AROI.

COSTS

Artichoke Nursery Starts: Purchased as nursery starts for $15 each. I initially bought 4 plants to fill one raised bed, totaling $60.
Soil Amendments: $56.70. I’ve amended this raised bed twice with store-bought compost, Bu’s Compost. It's pricey but top-notch quality.

October 24, 2020 planting this raised bed for the first time

Pest Control: $0. I don't use pesticides and didn't need to manage pests. I companion plant my artichokes with fennel and asparagus. The blooms of the fennel attract ladybugs and beneficial insects that keep aphids at bay.
Labor: $0. I spend about an hour at the end of each season pruning back the artichokes. I enjoy gardening, so this labor is free for me. For other crops, like my trees, I hired a gardener to help plant them and fix the irrigation properly.
Total Cost: $116.70

RETURNS

Total Yield: 12 artichokes per plant per season. 12x4 = 48 per year. Planted in fall 2020: harvested 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. 48x4 = Approximately 192 artichokes.
Market Price per Unit: $4.49 each (based on my local grocery store, Gelson’s, pricing for a medium artichoke)

Total Potential Revenue/“Savings”: $862.08
Investment Gain (Revenue - Cost): $745.38
ROI Calculation: GAIN divided by INVESTMENT = $745.38 / $116.70
ROI: The ROI is 638.71% - Wow! For context, in the investment world, a 5-10% ROI is great. I’ll take it! Compared to garlic with an ROI of 32.14%, artichokes perform exceptionally well.
Annualized ROI: When you factor in time the Annualized ROI is 71.44%. I planted the artichokes on October 24, 2020, and a significant harvest in spring 2021. Over an investment period of 3.71 years, this is fantastic. Artichokes start to decline around 6-7 years old, so the ROI might decrease slightly towards the end.

THE UNQUANTIFIABLE

Décor and Gift: When allowed to bloom into their full thistle, artichokes are stunning with their ultraviolet spikes. I often let some bloom just for the aesthetics; plus, bees and other pollinators love them. The decorative value and the benefit of attracting pollinators to my other crops are hard to quantify.
Content: After my harvest baskets and cucamelons, I’m known for my artichokes. My initial viral videos on TikTok and Instagram were all about the shockingly large artichokes I’ve grown.
Flavor: The taste of a homegrown artichoke is tender and buttery. Store-bought artichokes harvested up to a week later just don’t stay as fresh.

POST MORTEM & CONSIDERATIONS

Growing artichokes was a fantastic investment with a total cost of $116.70, yielding 192 artichokes over four years and resulting in a potential savings of $862.08, giving an impressive ROI of 638.71%. Beyond the financial gains, the stunning blooms attract beneficial insects, and the taste of homegrown artichokes is unmatched. My artichoke content has also been a hit on social media, adding to their value.

As I mentioned in my garlic post, there are a few unquantifiable factors that make it tricky to fully capture the costs and rewards of growing artichokes: the exact water costs are hard to gauge; the initial build cost of my raised bed; and the weather, as artichokes thrive in spring and late fall with damp mornings and sunny afternoons, but weather can be unpredictable, making year-over-year variation hard to account for. Additionally, I purchased nursery starts for my artichokes, but starting from seeds could lower the upfront costs.

If you want to grow your own artichokes, I wrote this very in depth post:

All About Artichokes

Carmen in the Garden

March 13, 2024

Somehow I became known as "the artichoke lady,” and that might be all I need to be fulfilled in this life. Well, I’d like you to join me in the wonderful world of artichokes. Whether you want to grow them yourself, picked some up from the farmers market, or just want to learn a little more about these thistles.