Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: ruffmeister on April 19, 2007, 17:03:58
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We have just picked our firstb rhubarb this week how is yours same worse better.
whats yours up to, here is a picture of ours
Raging Rhubarb (http://www.lottieblogs.co.uk/aw2.aspx)
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looks good.
Mine is ok, i noticed that on 2 of the crowns i have this weird stem forming which has a pink head i think this is seed stalks do you know?
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Q: I have rhubarb question for you. Is it possible to successfully plant the seed of rhubarb plants? (Dickinson, N.D.)
A: It should work, but I have never tried it. My references tell me the seeds should be planted a month before the last frost. Plant the seeds two inches apart, a half inch deep and hand firm the soil. Thin the seedlings so they are a foot apart. It takes 90-100 days for the plants to mature. The reference book says it is best if the seeded rhubarb is treated like an annual crop, as the plants that are allowed to go into their second year tend to bolt to seed stalks quickly. Plants that develop seed stalks directly, as the new leaves grow, should be culled out. I would suggest, for the sake of experimentation, the seed be placed in a refrigerator crisper for about 30 days. Then go through the planting schedule to see if the seeds germinate with that short a cold treatment. Leave some seed behind for another 30 days. Hope this helps!
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mine are in there 2nd year.
Cambourne7
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Mine's looking a bit poxy actually ::) Is there anything I can feed it with at this time of year to revive it?
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About a week away from the first harvest here-Cambourne-that sounds like a seed head,just pull it out
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thanks cleo I will pull it tonight before i water :-)
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I've never seen a rhubarb seed .....
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it looks a little rude ;D
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Covers her eyes 8)
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Cor That looks smashing - I had to move mine this year & it seems to have survived but the new growth is very thin & weedy so I shall leave it to recover - so no crumbles this year. :(
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yup seeds look a little like parsnip seed but bigger, the seed stalk itself is a little rude, if its looking a little down give it a good mulch of rotted manure or pot ash that should perk it up, but if you have thin stems then best to leave for this year
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First harvest of rhubarb was on Tuesday. Plenty of good cherry-red sticks and around half a dozen flowers. Expecting a bumper harvest in a couple of weeks.
Tuesday also saw the first asparagus of the year. Four spears cut, cooked and eaten - with another six expected at the weekend.
What a strange world! Harvesting already and still haven't got the spuds in!
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agreed, i might pull a few sticks of rhubarb myself while i am at it.
I am told that if you boil it with an apple it does not need any extra suger.
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I have been pulling rhubarb for about 10 days and it is looking and tasting great. Wish we could have a good downpour though to really make it race away.
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Mines looking a bit short and stumpy.....lack of rain?
:(
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We've just picked the first few stalks. We planted quite a few new crowns late last year, and mostly they're looking good, but obviously we won't be picking them this year. The only failures were the 6 crowns I bought from Thompson & Morgan early last year, but only one of those survived!
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Sorry to boast, but we first picked ours on February 24th. It's on its last legs now, but the main crop's coming on well.
Nothing to do with me, I should add. We inherited it. I assume it's Timperley Early. But it obviously loves the site. We've passed quite a few offshoots around.
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With regards to Rhubarb from seed, yes it is possible. I sowed some 2 years ago and they are doing well at the moment, the only draw back is that I cannot pull any sticks until they are 3 years old
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also been picking for about 10 days,
gave it and the globe artichokes a good water yesterday as they were wilting,/ shades x
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Some of ours is early too, we have been using it for about three weeks. Seed pods are popping up but I take them off. Other one still comong, not enough for the kids in my cookery class today, they wanted to make crumble bless em. Next week.
Cambourne, try microwaving rather than boiling, and you don't need to add any fluid apart from a teaspoon full maybe...or a wee bit if white wine XX Jeannine
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thanks Jeannine i will try.
My crowns from seed are 2 years old so I am not supposed to take any this year, but i will experiment with one crown by taking a little and see what happens. Afterall i do have 4 crowns which is far 2 much.
And that said i am sowing another seed this year for someone else so if i lose one i just grow 2 :-)
Cambourne7
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yeah pick a little and taste just dont take too much
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I have just picked a bumper bundle that I had forced under a new compost bin (it came free with a water butt I had ordered and I already have and prefer a nice big open heap ) it worked brilliantly ! :D Great long thick sticks of crimson rhubarb , which some I will give away ,some for rhubarb and custard tonight and the rest to chop and fast freeze . NOW THEN ...how do I treat the now almost exhausted rhubarb clump. It still has lots of leaves coming but very thin ? Thankyou Rohaise :)
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I inherited 5 rhubarb plants with the allotment. 2 I covered and the other three, left them alone. I am not sure when I should pick them for eating, can you tell by the look of them, If so, how should they look??
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Can't beat the taste of the early pickings - we have had a couple of crumbles already
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put a piccy on and we can can help decide
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Just had my first Dustbin forced Rhubarb of the season. Long red stems chopped into 3 inch lengths and poached gently in Ginger wine....served with whipped double cream....bloody gorgeous ...Dinger... :P ;D
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I have just taken the seed heads from the rhubarb and i will give the plants a couple of weeks to recover before i pull any.
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Planted as crown this year so small leaves, but very pretty and looking hopeful for next year. They were mulched with well rotted manure and shredded paper.
Do the tops of the crown need to be exposed? I've seen some exposed and some well buried. I buried mine.... ???
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We have been picking ours for about a month - it is an early variety, but planted it about 20yrs ago and have forgotten what it is. Love the idea of poaching it in ginger wine, Dingerbell.
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Planted as crown this year so small leaves, but very pretty and looking hopeful for next year. They were mulched with well rotted manure and shredded paper.
Do the tops of the crown need to be exposed? I've seen some exposed and some well buried. I buried mine.... ???
No need to worry. Some of mine have been well buried, some, where I didn't get the hole deep enough, have been well clear of the surface. It makes no difference at all.
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Picked our first stems at the Lottie today (very old crowns which we inherited) absolute mass of stems, has shot up over last few days.
Had some this evening with Custard .... wonderful
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don't know what variety we have got, it was on the lottie whwn we took over in 1991, but it tastes terrific and goes on producing every year. I have only split the crowns twice I think
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I have about 15 plants dotted around the lottie, which I inherited. The are hardly growing at all, only had enough for two tiny crumbles - should I water them ? The bindweed will be higher than them in a week or so.
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I have not watered but mulched with strawy manure and it seems to have done the trick but could do with rain - maybe wednesday according to the Beeb
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I had a couple of rhubarb crowns which never did anything, and I finally got rid of them over the winter. The rest is shooting up, and I just took the first flower off today. I'll nip down after school one day during the week and get some for a crumble.
Mc55, try giving it loads of organic matter - I mean loads - and see how it responds. If it's no good by next year, root it out and replace it.
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Does Rhubarb suffer from pests? I planted some rhubarb about 4 weeks ago, but is not doing very well. The new leaves look very holey as though something is eating them and they are going yellow at the edges and the leaves seem limp. Is there any hope fo it? Any suggestions please? Thanks
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It sounds as though it's a bit weak; there's very little that eats them due to the amount of oxalic acid in the leaves. Try watering and giving it some manure or fertiliser.
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My new ones have been attacked by slugs & also have little holes in the leaves. I resorted to a few pellets a couple of weeks back & they haven't been touched since.
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I covered our main-crop rhubarb (4 plants) several weeks again (before there was any sign of life) with 2 huge barrow-loads of strawy horse manure. It's ready to start picking now, with stalks as thick as my arm!
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i would split the crowns every 5 years and each year give it a barrow of manure to perk it up, then you will also enjoy the wonderful red and green stuff.
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I planted my first crown just over a week ago, and like goldendaisy123 says, my leaves seem to have a few holes appeared in them and one has gone very yellow. New ones are comign through though I don't seem to have killed it...
Assuming it needs a bit of a 'feed' what should I use? Very new at all this so if you can be specific about what and where to get it that'd be good... otherwise I tend to just use 'multi purpose compost' which I'm guessing is a bit of a jack of all trades, master of none.
Ta muchly :)
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It's fairly difficult to kill rhubarb. Have you watered it in well? It's been very dry. I think I'd give it a couple of cans of water and then cover with something like straw or rotted horse manure; whatever you can get, but preferably something bulky, rather than potting compost. Let the leaves show through, but pack the stuff all round it. You can't actually pull any until this time next year.
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hi all, :)
Like others here I gave my oldest crown a covering of horse muck a few weeks ago, nothing happened for a while but in the last three weeks its grown stems as big as my wrist. I`m eating crumble every day and giving loads away.
It does have a little slug damage but nothing to worry over.
Its grown from a sad peice barely bigger than my thumb that I discovered when I first got the plot, it had one tiny leaf to identify it as rhubarb.
I`ve also got last years splits of crowns from other plot holders coming along in other places to secure future harvests.
Col
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yes we are having another crumble this evening v nice
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Pulled some of the main crop yesterday to make a batch of Rhubarb & Ginger Jam. Nice job for a rainy day!
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we have 5 lots of rhubarb it has really started to grow the last week or so have been watering them and the leaves are enormous now and really thick stems, these where left on our plot when we took it over no idea what kind but hubby enjoys it and so do the neighbours and friends me i can't stand the stuff.
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I planted my first crown just over a week ago, and like goldendaisy123 says, my leaves seem to have a few holes appeared in them and one has gone very yellow. New ones are comign through though I don't seem to have killed it...
Assuming it needs a bit of a 'feed' what should I use? Very new at all this so if you can be specific about what and where to get it that'd be good... otherwise I tend to just use 'multi purpose compost' which I'm guessing is a bit of a jack of all trades, master of none.
Ta muchly :)
As long as you had some compost at least under the crown. Manure would be better but chicken pellets are brilliant just chucked on top and watered in as they're pretty acidic.
Apparently urine is good chucked on your rhubarb (I know it is). :P
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hmm urine havent tried that one.
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I've just bottled last year's rhubarb wine to make room for the next batch. The rhubarb is glorious and far too much for us but other lottie holders know to help themselves. I can only cope with so much crumble but I make rhubarb and ginger jam which goes down well with the troops! ;) and lasts for ever. I give the rhubarb a good shovelful of manure in springtime as it starts growing and water occasionally with "comfrey soup" or "nettle soup" during the season.
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I give them some fertiliser from the pee barrel now and then; they thrive on it.
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What do you guys recon could be up with my little plant, it has purple patches over its one leaf??
Joe
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Mine's rubbish, keeps flagging on me! Posted this on another thread.
Moved it last November and it seemed OK ish, someone said put a collar of manure around it, then fellow plotholder said "it's planted too deep, crowns need to be above the level of the ground, just lift it, back fill and it'll be better than ever". Another fellow plotholder said to me today "I watered your rhubarb today cos it looked so sad for itself".
Looked OK at the weekend then has flagged again on me with lots of little holes in the leaves. Victoria isn't living up to her name, any help!
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When was it planted?
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I removed it from it's old position about Feb time, frosted it above ground for a week or so then replanted in it's new position.
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My rhubarb is amazing! It has really come on so much. The only trouble is that because of the weather conditions, mainly lack of rain I think,some have started to go to seed. This has never happened so early in the season, and it is usually July or August this happens. Any one else have this problem? ??? busy_lizzie
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Yes, I pulled a flower off at the weekend. It's going to be a weird season.
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My rhubarb is exectly the same Ninnyscrops. >:( Lots of little holes and seeming limp. I just don't know whats wrong. I've fed it given it manure lots of water but it's not a well bunny!
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We forced our 2 year old Victoria rhubarb crown this year for the first time. Plonked a load of rotten horse muck around the crown and covered it with an unpturned black dustbin about a month ago.
Today we picked our first stalks, very large and fat ones too, leaving plenty behind and some new shoots showing through. We're very impressed.
What we need to know is what happens next? How long can we continue to force it for and what do we do when it slows down?
Stewed rhubarb and fresh cream, mmmmmmmmm.
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I have never forced my rhubarb, on second picking this season, and loads waiting ...
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But forced rhubarb is so gorgeous. Far superior to the rhubarb grown without a little 'help'.
Just the way it's grown in the Yorkshire triangle.
Not that I don't like it however it's grown, I just want to have my cake and eat it!
Sand :)
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As my crowns were grown from seed almost 2 years ago there is a greater tendancy to go to seed which they have been doing. I have cut about 3 seed heads from each crown. But there is some wonderful stems and so far no slugs as i think there is a hedgehog down that part of the plot.
...my crowns are under weed membrane and planted into holes to stop weeds and cut moisture loss.
I am tempted to cut the membrane a little more and add some horse poop ( i dont have any well rotted stuff so i think a dressing of chicken poo and compost will keep them happy.
I have been giving them a little water but the ground a couple of inches below the top of the soil is still wet.
Cambourne7