Allotments 4 All

I picked my second lot of rhubarb today and it seems to be very brittle.  It's nearly impossible to pull the sticks cleanly out of the ground.  They snap off from a few inches above ground level down to ground level.  Even brushing the leaves aside to inspect the stalks was causing them to snap.  I don't remember it being this way last year which was the first cropping year after planting.  Could it be the snow/cold weather has done it?  They're not forced crowns and the yield isn't affected.  It's cropping prolifically - I got @130 long sticks today.  Rhubarb jam this weekend1

I suspect that it is due to the wet weather making the stems excessively turgid.
Mine is similar and  I had a similar problem with my potatoes splitting as I dug them last year as you can see on my photo.

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

Thanks aal, it's good to know it's not just mine!  Excessive wetness makes sense.  Let's hope for a little bit less for the rest of the season.  I'm worrying about the garlic rotting in the ground again too - I lost a lot last year.  And I'm on very free-draining sandy soil.

You're website is great - I've bookmarked it for future reference.