Rhubarb advice please!

[rebeccan]

Hi everyone,

I'm a new allotmenteer (took over a plot in December) and now trying to get to grips with all the information out there!

One question I do have is about rhubarb. We have a couple of patches of it in the allotment and it looks more or less ready to harvest. However, I've been told that it's not as simple as that, and there are some years you can't harvest it.

Is that true? Should I just leave it to be on the safe side?! I don't know how long it's been there so no idea if it's new or a few years old.

Any advice welcome - thank you!

[Kristen]

I've been told that it's not as simple as that, and there are some years you can't harvest it.

The only time I would not harvest it is the year after forcing, or splitting and replanting a clump (to give it time to recover). Might that be the reason?

If it is a big, healthy, clump with lots of stems then it is obviously strong, so even if split / forced last year it has clearly recovered - so harvest it anyway!

If it looks weedy then give it a rest this Spring so it recovers for next year.

[Noosner]

Hello Rebeccan, congrats on your new plot!

It's true you aren't meant to harvest rhubarb in its first year, to allow it to strengthen as a plant, which is also what you would do with a new fruit tree.

Someone more knowledgeable than me may come along in a moment, but I'd guess that the bigger the spread of the plant, the more mature it probably is.

So if they are big plants with nice thick stalks, harvest away gladly! If they have thin stalks, it's possible they might be champagne rhubarb, which is more delicate than the ordinary stuff, or they might be new plants.

But a lot of what to do comes down to common sense in the end - if the plants look weak, don't pick from them because they need to conserve their strength and if they look healthy with strong stalks then I'd imagine it's fine to pick freely. Some people even say it's okay to pick in the first year if the plant is really romping away.

I always leave a few developed stalks and leaves on my rhubarb when picking because I imagine the plants needs to be able to photosynthesise to sustain itself. That goes back to school biology lessons!

[Penellype]

Rhubarb is pretty tough, so if plenty is growing you should be fine harvesting some. Don't cut the stems as this lets in rot. Press them down near the crown and they will come away easily without damaging the plant.