A few questions on this plant:
a) Can you use the stalks all year round as long as they are being produced?
b) Or is it at it's peak between certain times of the year?
c) Are certain varieties sweeter than others?
The reason I ask is that I have seen posts which suggest you can get away with little or no sweetening sometimes, but our rhubarb is toe curlingly sour :o.
Cheers
Hi - I was always taught that you don't crop rhubarb after July. I think this is to give the plant chance to recover.
I think varieties do vary - I had tasters from everyone on our allotments and then begged a couple of crowns off the one I liked best - which turned out to be Champagne.
Also, make sure it is well watered and fed - that might impact upon acidity.
Hope that helps.
I gather that around this time of year, the stalks start to get tougher, and also more oxalic acid is drawn into the stems, so it is advisable to avoid excessive consumption. If you continue to harvest off the plant, it is also likely to be weakened.
I believe that forcing produces sweeter stems, but I have never tried this, so my opinion is probably worthless :D
I thought I'd buy some to put down on the allotment, but I'm not sure what variety to try, as the one at home seems to be very sharp and I don't have a clue what variety it is as it's been there forever.
If anyone has any suggestions about their favourite variety, I'd love to hear.
So, do you do a final pull and clear the plants of stalks, or do you just let it die off
Thanks
Don't cut it, it has to have enough leaf to build up its strength again for next year. They do get tougher and less juicy as the season progresses, and the oxalic acid level rises.
Friend says the saying is don't eat rhubarb when there is an r in the month which I guess works out about right.
People always talk about red rhubarb which I think would be tasty and pretty.
You can add shredded angelica leaves which takes the edge of the sharpness. I have a feeling there is another herb that does the same.
I crop until the start of august and then I leave the crowns alone. To be honest, the growth starts to slow and I just let the leaves and stems die back naturally. I do make sure I remove all rotting and dying leaves so they don't rot back into the crown.
If you have forced any they take a lot longer to recover or just chuck them and start again by dividing an old crown!
;D
Carol Klein was recommending sweet cicely for sweetening rhubarb the other day. Anybody tried it?
My plants were grown from seed and planted out in October. They are monster big but no red - just green stalks. Why?