what to do with my Easter present?

[Hot_Potato]

No, not a choccie question (sadly) but I was given a magnificent pot with a very well formed and growing crown of rhubarb in it :D by my youngest son and his wife - I was very surprised when they carried it into the room!

they thought I'd not got one cos I was always asking for some of their's (grown in their garden and not used much) for the much loved rhubarb chutney (E.J's recipe) that I like to make & they also like to eat, which is gorgeous :P

I do have a crown of my own on my allotment which is now coming up to 3 years old and doing really well this year and producing well.

I've decided to keep this one for 'home' and plant it into the border near my flat in a shared communal garden (this border is mine to do as I like with) but.......I can't get access to manure which I know the rhubarb would like but have got any of the following:

       pelleted chicken manure,     blood, fish & bone     or growmore

which one would be best to put into the hole where I plant it or around it - how best should I do it please?

thanks, H.P.

[Hot_Potato]

[allaboutliverpool]

Blood fish and bone is long lasting and shoud be sprinkled into the hole and mixed about. Plant the rhubarb and sprinkle growmore on the surface and mix into the top 2 inches. It is used more slowly and dissolves in the rain. Wait a bit for the chicken pellets and sprinkle them on the surface every 4 weeks in a months time. They are short acting.

Water well, and if you can get any compost or manure use it as a mulch. The worms will drag it down.

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments2_my_allotment_in_liverpool.html

[Hot_Potato]

thanks so much ABL for such a detailed answer - just what I needed - surprised tho that I'm going to be using all 3 of 'the products' but happy to do so.

One thing I forgot to say and maybe should have is......I do not get much sun in my border (or patio area) but at the height of the Summer will get a bit for a few weeks.....hope that will suit the rhubarb - it does say on it's label it likes a damp and shady spot so feel it'll be ok where I'm planting it.

Would you agree please?

[Tee Gee]

I never feed mine and it produces so much each year that I give more away than I use and I still have plenty.

If I did feed I would use the FB&B or Growmore. Don't like the smell of the pellets!

[Hot_Potato]

well the deed is done :)

dug deepish hole, found it very sticky and almost yellow clay lower down (this is a new building, think the builders chucked heaps of clay there and top dressed with some soil then bark chippings (to keep down weeds) I broke it up as best I could - scattered some better soil into the hole with B.F & B. which I forked about so it didn't make direct contact with root ball......and backfilled & have scattered growmore around and into top couple of inches.

looks good - thanks for help ;)

[saddad]

Once it gets established it will relish the water holding capacity of that deep yellow clay...
;D

[Hot_Potato]

Really!!   that's brilliant news - was a bit worried cos of lack of sun but keeping fingers crossed.

planning to plant a courgette not too far from there also - bet that wont like it so much!