Forcing rhubarb.

[sarraceniac]

I just realised that we are going into the second week in January. I usually start forcing one of my crowns about now, the forced stuff is 100 gazzillion times better than the 'naturally grown' rhubarb. Has anybody started yet? Or more to the point, can anybody even find their crowns? Any tips for this weather?

[bobleponge]

I had a look today, and there is absolutely no sign of any of my crowns.
I will have another look tomorrow, as want to force one this year as an experiment.

[FionaH]

My rhubarb, and everything else, is under a foot of snow!

[Bigmallly]

Now that a lot of the snow has gone, is there going to be any advance on this thread as I am keen to learn about forcing rhubarb. I was give a crown off my mother so I split it & put it in a raised bed. I think it was about 15 years old so not even sure if it will be any good.

[sarraceniac]

Now that a lot of the snow has gone, is there going to be any advance on this thread as I am keen to learn about forcing rhubarb. I was give a crown off my mother so I split it & put it in a raised bed. I think it was about 15 years old so not even sure if it will be any good.

I think Mally that there will not be any action on here until people start their own forcing, I'm leaving mine until next week now that I know where it is. You say you were given a starter for a crown. When? If it only went in recently then you don't want to be forcing it for a couple of years anyway. It needs to settle in and establish. Once established then about this time of year, give it a very good feeding. If I don't have any comfrey juice left I use tomato food. Then it wants a tall bin putting on top of it loosely packed with an insulating material such as straw or hay. The important thing is to exclude light. In mid-March have a look at it and see if you have loads of pink, anaemic looking rhubarb. Delicious.

No reason why a split of a 15 year old crown can't work but the important thing is not to try forcing until it is going strong. You will kill it with effort. And if you only have one crown then only force it about every 3 years letting it recover in between.

[Bigmallly]

Brilliant, thanks for that. I put it in around sept/oct time & topped the bed up with well rotted manure. I won't try forcing this year. Thanks again.

[jemma_charlie]

I made the mistake of forcing mine last year and think i have killed it. My crown was an older one that my grandad had given me he told me to plant it and stick a bucket over it, i did get delicious stems from it but they quickly went thin and short and it appeared to be dead by june.

So bigmally learn from my mistake and leave it this year :-)

[sarraceniac]

I've got one of my (3) crowns going now. Should be ready by mid-March. On a rhubarb theme (sort of) I am glad normal eating rhubarb is hardy 'cos I think I have lost my Gunnera manicata, giant ornamental, in the recent cold. The crown looks like a mush even after mulching in Nov.