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A question I guess mainly for MMM, I was over in the Touraine and there were some whopping great green globe artichokes de Breton in the market. Our red artichokes (Choggia ???) produce at this time of the year, but the green ones quite a bit later in the year.
Do they really produce these big heads at this time of year in Brittany and do you know what variety they are?

There are vast fields of these artichokes up in the Finistere departement and yes, they are big blighters!

I asked my neighbour (he is an old market gardener) what variety they are and he thought it might be "Camus de Bretagne".

Big is not always best. The smaller varieties are far more user-friendly - they're more versatile, more of each globe is edible, they're a lot more tender and they rarely have a hairy choke.

Bearing in mind that Albert next door is pushing 90, Camus might be an old variety. I wondered whether the really big ones were the just first "chokes" on each plant rather than a different variety...

Looking at my Green Globe 'chokes this morning, the lead bud is quite big and I know you are supposed to chop that off so that the plant produces lots of side buds to prolong the cropping.

Thanks for responses, yes Mrs Moustoir (sorry didn't realise you were also in Brittany) my research also suggests they are Camus de Bretagne. The same research came up with CYNARA GROS VERT DE LÂON being the tastiest artichoke, or that is what Cotswold Garden flowers believe and they seem to grow a whole range of varieties (although apparently mainly as decorative plants).
Contadina, my experience is that as the head matures and gets bigger it becomes tastier but the smaller young ones have the advantage that they don't have the choke. We grow mainly Violetta di Chioggia, which is relatively small but tasty, but also comes in May when it is most appreciated. The green globe ones come later when there is much else in the garden.

Glad Mrs M was able to help cos I've only been up 'that end' once and marvelled at the fields of artichokes, but they have a much milder climate up there by the sea. I think it is too cold here inland to grow artichokes. I only tried once (when I lived by Geneva) but because they had to be wrapped up against the cold all winter they either rotted or froze so I never got any artichokes because year one you have to remove all but one of them!

I'm sticking with the Italians who don't even bother to grow the larger varieties .

MMM, surely you can't miss out on the pleasure of early artichokes. Our ones all came through this very hard winter without any protection. Also Laon is close to the Belgian border and away from the sea, is central Brittany more miserable than there?

I can't eat them any more as last time I had one of those enormous Roscoff ones I had the same effects as J. artichokes only much worse. Can't risk that again.

I'm in north east Brittany and it gets colder (and hotter and drier) the further east you go. The 'right' variety may well survive but then I live in frosty hollow so I don't know , but for reasons stated above it's not worth me trying! Did your hydrangeas get frosted off cos that happens to me nearly every winter - result often no flowers at all. Yet my inlaws in north Notts have had this happen to them ONCE - this last winter - and sounded so astonished on the phone when I said that's normal for here!

Also my mature mimosa has been frosted totally twice whereas all the ones I see around and about here are fine.