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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

I need rhubarb education please!

30 replies

Mykittensmittens · 11/03/2022 10:11

Hello
I was gifted by a friend of my parents two rhubarb crowns. They come from their established rhubarb patch on an allotment. I don’t know these people directly to ask the question….

I have put the crowns that already had some signs of growth in a massive pot until the raised bed by husband is building is ready (2-3 weeks away at least). I put a bucket over the rhubarb and left well alone, for 2 weeks.

I’ve had a look today and they’re massive!!!

Two stalks on one crown with healthy leaves which are unfurling and one stalk and leaf on the other.

What do I do now? Take the bucket off?

OP posts:
AlisonDonut · 11/03/2022 10:16

Yes.

Putting a bucket over it forces the stems to grow long and sweet. But you should only do that once established.

Take the bucket off, pull off the long stems so that they don't waste any more energy and use those now. Then when they go into the ground, make sure they don't dry out this summer, give them a good mulch of well rotted manure over winter and just let them grow as normal next spring. Repeat the same next year and in spring 2024 you can reforce one. Then repeat and the next spring force the other. It's why people usually have 2 or more, so that one is forced each year whilst the other rests.

Once really established you can force them all each year.

Original poster
Mykittensmittens · 11/03/2022 11:29

Thanks. I did wonder if this was okay but because they came from a big patch I was confused as to whether they would be deemed a ‘new’ plant or not. I’ll take the stems down then and go from scratch thank you. They were kind enough to give two crowns so I will be able to eventually swap between the two.

Most helpful thank you.

OP posts:
MrsSkylerWhite · 11/03/2022 11:32

Yes, by covering, you’ve forced growth.
Mine, not covered, are 3 inches of stalk with healthy leaves. They have no attention and flourish year after year.

wearingtheT · 11/03/2022 14:02

Mine are not covered and I have lots of shoots. Feed them like crazy this year, don't take too much from them and stop harvesting mid summer. They will be huge next year.

Fernandina · 11/03/2022 15:23

This has to be my favourite thread title of the week. Smile

Never had any luck with rhubarb here, our garden is too sandy and free-draining I think, and being on a west-facing slight slope doesn't help much either. Pity. I like rhubarb.

JaneJeffer · 11/03/2022 15:33

My top tip is keep your DH away from it!

Lindy2 · 11/03/2022 15:37

I just leave my rhubarb to it. I make sure it's had enough water and keep it clear from weeds and it seems very happy. It definitely produces a lot of tasty rhubarb every year.

I don't ever cover it to force it. It means I only have the first tiny shoots showing right now but I've no need to rush getting my crop. I know it will be ready in its own time.

hoochyhag · 11/03/2022 15:41

My rhubarb hasn't come back after the winter 😔
I've got some more that I have just put in, will feed it like crazy and leave it alone. If it grows 😢

steppemum · 11/03/2022 15:47

Just came on to say, we moved into a house with lots of established rhubarb.

But it is really late.
Pretty much no sign of life yet, wouldn't expect any for at least a month or more. In fact it is just ready to pull at the point that everyone says stop eating it.

So we harvest ours from about June - August.

It is an enormous variety. leaves are literally 1m wide when fully grown

wearingtheT · 11/03/2022 19:08

@steppemum, are you sure its not gunnera😂 You may have a late variety. My garden is a month behind surrounding areas (elevated) but I could pick now.

hoochyhag · 12/03/2022 10:15

Could be 'Goliath' that's late cropping and humongous.

hoochyhag · 12/03/2022 10:17

I have rhubarb envy. That could be a very good reason to actually buy a house Grin

steppemum · 13/03/2022 19:56

just checked mine this weekend.

The sleeping crown is just showing some pink patches. Not an actual leaf or growth, just patches of pink.

As I said it will be ages before we can eat any!

Popskipiekin · 13/03/2022 20:02

Ah perfect thread for me! I am a useless gardener and just moved into a house - discovered this in the garden! It seems such a baby patch but would hate to lose it. Can anyone advise what we should do with it? All this talk of buckets, mulch and forcing - or should we just leave well alone? And when can I eat it? Grin

I need rhubarb education please!
FloBot7 · 13/03/2022 20:05

@Popskipiekin I moved into a house that I assumed had a baby patch. By the end of summer it was going absolutely crazy. I dig it out last spring after 4 years of living here and the crown was the size of my torso. I got as much as I could but still has little rhubarbs sprouting up.

purplesequins · 13/03/2022 20:06

take the bucket off.
forcing rhubarb like that is only suitable for established plants. and you really should only force it every other year at most. it weakens the plant greatly.

to plant it dig out a big hole, put in a load of muck (or those chicken shit pellets) in the bottom and then rich compost around thd new plant.

don't harvest the first year after planting and only sparingly the second year.

rhubarb is hungry. if you have access to horse dung pile it up around the plants once they die down in autumn.

I love rhubarb!

pandora206 · 13/03/2022 20:08

If rhubarb hasn't appeared yet don't assume it's dead. I was in that position last year then a few weeks later it sprouted and ended up huge. In some parts of the country it is only just starting to regrow at this time of year.

AlisonDonut · 13/03/2022 20:11

@Popskipiekin

Ah perfect thread for me! I am a useless gardener and just moved into a house - discovered this in the garden! It seems such a baby patch but would hate to lose it. Can anyone advise what we should do with it? All this talk of buckets, mulch and forcing - or should we just leave well alone? And when can I eat it? Grin
Just leave it and when you fancy, rip a few of the stems up at the bottom and you can eat them, you can cook them or you can make wine with them.
Wallywobbles · 13/03/2022 20:36

I threw away my rhubarb on the compost heap. It had a lovely time. So I put it back in the garden.

NoWordForFluffy · 13/03/2022 20:40

This was my rhubarb and extra bonus weeds! today at the allotment.

I hide it with a pile of manure over winter, so hopefully it'll do well this year.

Original poster
Mykittensmittens · 13/03/2022 22:26

@purplesequins

take the bucket off. forcing rhubarb like that is only suitable for established plants. and you really should only force it every other year at most. it weakens the plant greatly.

to plant it dig out a big hole, put in a load of muck (or those chicken shit pellets) in the bottom and then rich compost around thd new plant.

don't harvest the first year after planting and only sparingly the second year.

rhubarb is hungry. if you have access to horse dung pile it up around the plants once they die down in autumn.

I love rhubarb!

Thanks for all the advice.

I genuinely love rhubarb so I’m paying attention and hoping I can get it to work!

I live opposite a farm and riding stables so manure isn’t an issue!

OP posts:
KatherineofGaunt · 13/03/2022 22:31

@Popskipiekin

Ah perfect thread for me! I am a useless gardener and just moved into a house - discovered this in the garden! It seems such a baby patch but would hate to lose it. Can anyone advise what we should do with it? All this talk of buckets, mulch and forcing - or should we just leave well alone? And when can I eat it? Grin
This looks like mine! I am not green-fingered but I put some rhubarb in a shady corner when we moved in 3 years ago and it has come back each year so far. I love it as it tends to look after itself! Good to read up on some tips about harvesting and manure, though.
moonlight1705 · 13/03/2022 22:31

Our rhubarb just does its own thing. We did force it one year but have left it ever since. Its enormous every year! We do have heavy clay soil which it seems to love.

I need rhubarb education please!
steppemum · 14/03/2022 09:25

@Popskipiekin

Ah perfect thread for me! I am a useless gardener and just moved into a house - discovered this in the garden! It seems such a baby patch but would hate to lose it. Can anyone advise what we should do with it? All this talk of buckets, mulch and forcing - or should we just leave well alone? And when can I eat it? Grin
yours is just waking up!

You can take a few stems off and cook them. Pull them so they pull off at the base. Do not eat the leaves or feed to pet rabbits etc. (great on compost heap)

Take a few stems, but always leave a few, and stop picking it about half way through the summer so it puts its energy into the crown ready for next year.

steppemum · 14/03/2022 09:26

Oh and it wouldn't mind some food etc (compost) occasionally, but it is basically indestructible.

As a student our backyard was concreted over. There was a tiny gap by next doors hedge and a rhubarb plant lived in the gap, smothered by hedge, root under concrete. It shrived.