Getting The Best Out Of Rhubarb

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30762, 28 May 1965, Page 6

Getting The Best Out Of Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a useful vegetable which may be used alone as a desert or mixed with fruit, in pies, for bottling, and in the making of preserves and also in winemaking. Although the stalks are edible the leaves should be regarded as dangerous to both stock and humans. Poisoning has been recorded where they have been eaten.

One usually finds that the “rhubarb patch” is situated in a shady, little used section of the garden and in consequence little attention is made to a plant which will repay every attention given it. Rhubarb responds to liberal quantities of organic matter and side dressings of sulphate of ammonia and superphosphate. It does best in welldrained but retentive loams in situations which are not too warm in summer and which are apt to freeze during the winter. However, it is a fairly adaptable plant and reasonably good cropping can be expected in most soils providing they are not subject to waterlogging or drying out.

Although an established plant may be left undisturbed for as long as 10 years it is the accepted practice to lift and break up the roots for replanting every four or five years. Because rhubarb occupies the same site for a number of years the planting site should be deeply dug over. Remove all perennial weeds such as dock and twitch, which can prove troublesome when the crop has established itself, and incorporate ample compost. Alternatively poultry manure or blood and bone may be used.

Rhubarb may be propagated by division of existing plants. These may be broken up intd sets, each of which should have a good piece of root and at least one crown bud. Needless to say only healthy plants should be selected for division and all bruised, damaged or dead material should be trimmed off and burnt. It is possible to buy rhubarb sets from plant stockists. Alternatively rhubarb may be raised from seed, but this method of course results in considerable delay before the initial stalks can be harvested.

Planting distances depend on soil, variety and space available but at least two and a half feet should be allowed. Sets should be firmly planted, vertically, with the bud two to three inches below the soil surface. This may seem deep but is necessary because the plant tends to push itself above the surface as it gets older.

Weed control, watering, removal of flower heads and side dressing with inorganic fertiliser are really the only necessary subsequent attention that need be given. It is relatively free from disease.

Weeds may be suppressed by regular hoeing, although if a perennial is recognised this should be dug out instead of hoed. Watering is advisable during the drier months and mulching with rotted straw or old sawdust may also be recommended. Most varieties produce seed heads almost throughout the season and these should be promptly removed as their growth impairs both the yield and the vitality of the plant. Rapid results are generally every home gardener’s earnest desire but to gain the best from rhubarb don’t harvest during the first year unless exceptional growth has been made and even then it is advocated not to pull more than one or two stalks from each plant. Providing satisfactory pro-

gress has been made during the first year light picking may begin in the second year. In the third and subsequent years pulling may be extended from about September until late December for the most usual varieties grown.

Incorrect harvesting often is responsible for the entry of disease and can severely damage the plant.

The stalks should be pulled, not broken or snatched, with a twisting motion so they break cleanly at the base. A side dressing of sulphate of ammonia at the rate of one ounce a square yard will prove beneficial after the first pulling. A post-harvest application of blood and bone followed by a mixture containing four parts of superphosphate to one of sulphate of ammonia in late winter is also advisable where maximum yields are desired. Liming may be necessary once every two or three years depending on the amount of inorganic fertilisers used. Varietal selection should perhaps rest on the so-called ever bearing varieties such as Glaskins Perpetual and Giant Victoria. Other good varieties include Topps Winter, Crimson and Early Albert.