When is rhubarb ready to pick?

[BathEd]

This may sound like a silly question, but how do you know when a rhubarb plant is big enough to start picking without weakening it too much?

In the spring of last year I planted two rhubarb plants, one Victoria and one Timperley Early. The Timperley Early has grown quite well and looks as though it might be ready to harvest, but the Victoria is still very small and obviously not ready (I think it rotted in the very wet weather we had last year).

[leonmc0708]

Harvest it according to the age of the rhubarb. The usual "season" is late spring through to August.

It is important not to pull any stalks in the plant's first year of growth, as doing that will seriously weaken the establishing rhubarb plant. Allow each rhubarb plant to establish a strong root system the first year and leave the stalks intact.

In the second season, only harvest in the first two weeks and only select the stalks that are large enough, always leaving plenty on the plant.

In subsequent years, you can harvest rhubarb throughout the harvest period. From the third year on, you should find that the rhubarb can be harvested for a period of around 8 to 10 weeks.

Have a go at "forcing some" early stuff next year as well if you can.

[leonmc0708]

dont eat the leaves - make a spray with them to keep little blighters off yer Brassica's.