Rhubarb

[dabbit]

Having seen the price of rhubarb in the shops last year (£1.99 for 3 sticks) I thought I might have a go at growing my own, and wondered whether they are easy and would welcome any tips (including on buying)

[Peter]

Fairly easy.
Good well manured wwed-free (couch bindweed etc) spot in sunlight that is not too dry.

But you won't get anything worthwhile from a plant put in now until next year.

If you have the room, plant three crowns.
Then each year you have;
one to force using some sort of barrel to cover it early in the year.
one to harvest unforeced
one to rest afte being forced the previous year.

[cotton54321]

We've recently moved and just bought 3 crowns for the garden. You save a fortune if you really like rhubarb. Peter's right in that you won't get anything this year but your plants will be well established by next.
Well manured and prepared planting site is key as is sunshine!

[andrewo]

I have five crowns, four mature and one immature (can't harvest from it until the crown has got much bigger). Just make sure you feed it well with maure and potash each year both at the start and end of the season, also you can seperate them in later years to avoid crown rot but cannot replant in the same area (supposedly, but I always dig t over and incorporate lots of well rotted manure and compost). This is a versatile plant and underrated.

[Shortie]

I heard that you might get a small crop the first year, but not to be tempted to pick it as you should let the plant feed it's crown the first year with these stalks. You'll then end up with much better crown going forward...

[Lesley Jay]

I never feed or manure and potash the rhubarb. It just grows and grows. Even the year when we dug a load up and threw it in a big heap it still carried on growing!

[Peter]

I never feed or manure and potash the rhubarb. It just grows and grows. Even the year when we dug a load up and threw it in a big heap it still carried on growing!

I had one like that in the garden, then, idiot that I am, I moved it to the allotment. It struggles now, as the spot I chose, first year on plot, gets absolutely soaked by run-off from a sloping school field next door all through the winter and dried out during the summer by the shelter belt between us and is to boot, thick potters clay.

I am looking to get a named variety to replace it in a better spot, any recommendations?

[Lesley Jay]

It would have to be Timperley Early Peter.

[pigletwillie]

Any particular reason for that Lesley. I have some "unknown" crowns but want to buy in a couple so any advice on type will be gratefully recieved.

[Lesley Jay]

Timperley Early produces stalks in early spring and it was bred by one of my neighbours father (or it might have been the grandfather).

[JennieAtkinson]

£1.99 for three sticks - I'm sitting on a fortune !

[Nicos]

Jennie- maybe andrewo should move to Shetland and you could all set up a rhubarb distillary??

[SueA]

Having seen the price of rhubarb in the shops last year (£1.99 for 3 sticks) I thought I might have a go at growing my own, and wondered whether they are easy and would welcome any tips (including on buying)

I bought a crown of Timperley Early for about £1.95 from a garden centre & it is growing well.It was in a small polythene pack, I've seen crowns advertised for anything from £6 to £12 each & if you buy them in a pot they tend to be expensive. Woolworths had a pack of 2 in their sale the other day for about £2 but you would have to just be lucky to find them in any particular branch as they just have a variety of different fruit & flower plants on offer.