Some plants need a period of cold hours before they set seed - typically on the second year after they’ve passed through a winter. A way to artificially induce that period is by putting those crops in fridges for a number of weeks, e.g. if you live in a climate where the winter doesn’t get cold enough. This is called vernalization.
Carrots are a case in point. Winters get cold enough here. But could I use vernalization to get flowers from carrot in their first year? That would speed up the breeding cycle.
I tried this with beets. Results were about 50/50, but I wasn’t trying for precision so I lost a good percentage in storage. Other problems as well, but I did get seeds from several roots.
Yes. Several rotted in the fridge, others dried up. I wasn’t paying enough attention. Of those that survived to be planted out, I think 3 produced seed. This was 2012, irrc.
I tried this a few times with artichokes - not in the fridge but outdoors in March/April after starting them indoors in January. Most of the time, nothing happened. Occasionally I got a couple of tiny (but tasty!) artichokes.