Rhubarb question

[pumpkin cuddler]

Hello

I was debating as to whether rhubarb came under fruit or vegetables but opted for here.

We have grown rhubarb for years now and though we are still classed as the newbies on our allotment (possibly due to our age) we quite often have admiring looks and comments on our rhubarb.

This year our crop is still getting the positive comments from other and yes it is pleasing, but we also have many thin sticks this year which is something we have never had before. They are still long but not good chunky sticks.

We split them every 5 years, feed them the same as we always have which is to cover them with seaweed and loads of well rotted compost and also add a few organic chicken pellets. They are watered regularly. Generally they are pampered like everything on our plot. If we have split them the following year we never pull any sticks either so as to let them really build up there strength.

We were wondering is it due to the really weird weather we had this winter - rain, snow and cold like we had forgotten about from childhood. Or are the plants looking as though they might be coming to the end of their life.

Dont get me wrong, things look great over all.We have had magnificant sticks but are worried about all the thin sticks. We just have never had them before.

[womble]

I don't think they can come to the end of their life, not as long as you keep splitting them. They can last for ever.
It could be the weather, see what they are like next year.

[Caro]

I've got lots of thin sticks on mine, but I assumed that was because I paid attention earlier in the year and they just hadn't thickened yet. However, having made rhubarb jam for the first time last year, and having seen a recipe on here for rhubarb schnapps, I've been keeping an eye on it waiting for it to be ready, rather than treat it as an afterthought as I did last year.

There was another thread about rhubarb flowering more than usual this year, perhaps due to the weather/winter. Maybe others have noticed?

[Two_Sheds]

Could you have over-picked them last year (and exhausted the plant?)

Also, rhubarb is a veg, not a fruit. An Asian vegetable at that

[DaveJ]

Not sure why your rhubarb has developed thin sticks. Mine are the same as previous years. Have you asked the other allotment holders to see if their rhubard is the same?

[Dottie]

I wish my rhubarb sticks were a bit smaller, as I found it hard to pull them out this year. Had to adopt a 2 hand job and probably sounded like a grunting tennis player, as I needed all my strength to achieve a clean root break.