grow | rhubarb
By MEREDITH KIRTON
Spring almost tastes like rhubarb…that deliciously fresh flavour that’s sweet but overly, fresh but not too fruity. It’s springtime when this perennial vegetable really comes into its own. That’s right, although mostly eaten as a dessert the edible part of this plant is the stems, mean that it’s a vegetable you’re eating! And a word of warning, the leaves are poisonous, so no matter how delicious they look fresh from the garden, you have to throw them away. Green stems on the other hand are quite safe to eat, though not as spectacular. The colour can vary depending on the variety, but if you really want red stems, you can always cheat by adding some food colouring to a jug of water and sit cut stems in there till they soak up the extra colour!
To grow successfully, plant rhubarb crowns in late winter or early spring from either crowns, which you can buy from bulb suppliers, or seedlings. They will need to grow for a few years in their own bed with lots of extra manure dug through. Start picking your rhubarb from plants when they are about 3 years old, choosing outside stems first to allow the new growth to still sprout from the centre. Applying pressure downwards should be enough to snap them off cleanly without damage to your main plant. Remove flowering stems with a knife or secateurs, as these will take away energy from the others and are not edible in their own right.
Rhubarb can grow in the sun or semi shade, but they do like summer water and loads of food, so compost, manure or apply granular fertiliser regularly if you want to eat them often! They are beautiful garden specimens too, with handsome leaves and stunning stems. Their season can also be forced early by covering their crowns over winter with an upturned pot to force through early growth…or you can by beautiful terracotta forcing jars to do the same job more elegantly!
Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS
01Sep
I have just planted 3 rhubarb crowns. Now the 12 month wait. I assume you meant 3 years for newly planted seedlings, or else it is going to be a very long 3 years.
The Urban Potager.