Growing Artichokes from Seed

This year I'm experimenting with trying to grow some unusual veggies and fruits. Artichokes usually grow in much warmer places than Long Island, but I did some looking around on the net and found an article about growing them in Connecticut:

http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/publications/fact_sheets/forestry_and_horticulture/how_to_grow_globe_artichokes_in_connecticut.pdf

I figure if people can grow them in Connecticut, I can grow them in Long Island, where it's a little warmer.

I ordered seeds from Fedco, a seed company in Maine, which only sells seeds for plants that thrive in cold climates. "Imperial Star Globe Artichoke" is especially good in cool places.

Following the instructions I got from the net, at the end of January I soaked the seeds in room-temperature water for two days to soften the seed coat, then "stratified" them for a month. Stratification imitates the cool, wet weather that a seed would normally go through in nature after falling off the parent plant. In my kitchen, I wrapped the presoaked seeds in damp (not wet) paper towels, rolled up the paper towels and put them in a sealed ziploc, and left them in the fridge for a month.

A month later I took the bag out and examined the seeds. They were swollen but not yet sprouting, so I figured the fridge was too cold for them and left the sealed bag on the kitchen counter at room temperature for two days. This is what I got:

The seeds are starting to sprout. I poked drainage holes in the bottom of quart-size yogurt containers, filled them with seed-starting mix, and put them in a sunny window:

Now we'll see what happens. According to the Connecticut instructions, once they have four leaves I can put them outside in the hoophouse, covering them only when there is a chance of frost. In Mid-May I'll take them out of their cups and transplant them to my yard. Where in the yard, I have no idea, since the yard is so small, but I'll figure that out later!