Rhubarb

[helly]

My Rhubarb has been covered with muck over the winter and just now it has started to come through showing strong leaf. My question is should I keep it covered with more mulch or just let it come through. If so will it withstand the cold this time of year
cheers Helen

[zazen999]

You'd need alot of mulch as it will be a foot and a half tall soon.

Can you pop a bucket or something over it to force it so you have lovely sweet rhubarb? I put 3 tyres round mine plus a pallet over the top 2 weekends ago.

Not quite as pretty as these but the same effect....

[Dottie]

If it's popping it's head up, then it feels safe to come out and wants to get going. Scotland is still likely to get more of a chill than in the South, but once rhubarb is established it tends to survive regardless. If it's a new plant and your worried, then you could add mulch around the crown, but not on top now it's wanting to grow. Or ask local folk who grow it and see what they do.

Only force if you have lots of plants, as you can't pick any rhubarb for 2 years after forcing. There was a thread on forcing rhubarb recently, so if that's something you fancy, take a look at that thread.

I'm forcing 1 plant and it was looking good last weekend, so if it's not raining to much tomorrow and I'm able to get to the lottie, then I shall pick my first crop of the season, if it's shot up a little bit more.

[Snadger]

I have mine in a 2 foot high wooden frame. Mine is also starting to sprout, so its time to pack the frame with straw to make it fight for the light and give nice tender red stalks!

[helly]

Thanks for the info , they are positioned in a sheltered spot and yes in the time of posting this they have produced more shoots.

[Flummery]

Yesterday I went to the Food Drink and Rhubarb festival at Wakefield (Rhubarb Triangle!) and then to the forcing sheds. Apparently what we do with a bucket is technically blanching. Forcing is growing the stalks without soil. They take the roots from the ground and wash off all the soil before taking them into the sheds. The only nutrient the plant has then when the stalks are growing is from its own root. They also say that a plant needs a certain amount of Frost Units to grow well. An early variety like Timperley Early will need about 20, a late variety like Stockbridge Arrow will need about 40 - so the frost is not harmful but necessary.

[Dottie]

I did that to 1 of my rhubarb plants, but only because I'd dug it up and no one else on the site wanted yet another rhubarb plant. So I put the whole root into the bottom of a large tyre, then placed 2 or 3 more tyres on top and filled the tyres with straw, then used an old tumbler lid to seal. I did get a good crop the following year, but I had thought the plant was then finished, so got rid.

That now makes sense of a suggestion on a previous rhubarb thread, that you then had to leave it 5 years to get back to full strength. As the plants would need to re-establish in the ground, in order to crop again. It didn't sound right from my experience of growing rhubarb, as my rhubarb grows back so quick and strong, so I couldn't leave it and not thin out. But it seems I've just being blanching, so not setting the root system back much at all.

Visiting a rhubarb shed sounds interesting and informative, my kind of day out. Did they say if or how long, you need to leave a plant to recover, once blanched?

[northepaul]

Its fantastic to see something coming back to life so strongly!! Makes me feel all spring-like (even though we just had some weird snow!! )

[The Large One]

so we've just lifted and seperated and relocated some rhubarb as the clump was like 4 foot across so would it be best to take this years crop but allow to re-establish itself for a while, if so how long ??

[rana]

I have yet to be convinced that forcing (sorry - blanching) is a good idea. Yes, you get an early crop of slightly more tender sticks that look good but imho it is more rewarding to wait for the production of good thick sticks produced naturally. They taste just as good and you can crop every year. It may make sense to force commercially but I am planning to eat my rhubarb - not sell it.

[Flummery]

Visiting a rhubarb shed sounds interesting and informative, my kind of day out. Did they say if or how long, you need to leave a plant to recover, once blanched?

They didn't say in terms of blanching but when I've done it I pick the blanched stems then don't pick any more that season from that plant.

From forced rhubarb, they tried replanting but only 10 per cent re-grew.

[Flummery]

so we've just lifted and seperated and relocated some rhubarb as the clump was like 4 foot across so would it be best to take this years crop but allow to re-establish itself for a while, if so how long ??

I'd see how it went. If they grow well, take a small crop from them but stop early - about mid-July.

[Flummery]

I have yet to be convinced that forcing (sorry - blanching) is a good idea. Yes, you get an early crop of slightly more tender sticks that look good but imho it is more rewarding to wait for the production of good thick sticks produced naturally. They taste just as good and you can crop every year. It may make sense to force commercially but I am planning to eat my rhubarb - not sell it.

I'm with you on this one.

[Chef_uk]

We have Rhubarb left by the previous occupants so have no idea how old it is but its at least 3 years old. As you can see its coming up through the grass rather than on the veg patch it is next too. Any tips on what I should do with it? Or is it best to leave it where it is as its established?

[Dottie]

They didn't say in terms of blanching but when I've done it I pick the blanched stems then don't pick any more that season from that plant.

From forced rhubarb, they tried replanting but only 10 per cent re-grew.

Absolutely I wouldn't have thought anyone would pick anymore for that season, unless they were trying to kill the plant.

I'm surprised that they use the forcing shed method, if so few plants are unable to re-grow once replanted. As blanching seems a much easier and less probelmatic for the future of the plants. As I've done both (just because I had a plant out of the ground and forced as I don't like waste), then I can't really see the difference in taste of forced compared to blanched rhubarb. Although I'm sure the shed folks will say different.

However for folk who don't see the point of blanching, for me it's seeing the lovely pink colour of forced/blanched rhubarb and also I'm in great need of some early grow your own fruit. Winter always feels longer than any other season, so to encourage some early rhubarb is a delight and gives a taste of things to come. Why wait another month for your first harvest, when you have to do so little to get such wonderful results.