Rhubarb remains a very popular plant, not least because it pretty much grows itself in any good garden soil in full sun where there is no waterlogging.
A Siberian native, rhubarb has only been considered a food crop since the early 19th century. Before that, it was a pharmaceutical crop. Its great selling point in an era before long-distance shipping of fruits from around the world was that its stems were available long before strawberries and other soft fruits were ready.
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Read MoreNow, even though global fruits are sold all year, rhubarb remains a favourite for its colour, texture and sharp flavour – and also its environmental credentials, being grown in the UK.
Remember, however, that the leaves are potentially harmful and best consigned to the compost bin after harvest, where they can rot harmlessly away.
A long-lived and productive crop is guaranteed by careful pre-planting preparation. Perennial weeds should be dug out and two bucketfuls of compost or other organic matter incorporated into the soil. Ideally, plant while the “crowns” are dormant in winter, although spring works, and container-grown plants can be planted at any season. Allow at least 75cm between plants, with 90cm between rows if space is available.
Outstanding rhubarbs for flavour and texture include “Fulton’s Strawberry Surprise”, “Raspberry Red” and, for the earliest crops, “Timperley Early”.
However, many people simply use a root cut out from a generous friend’s existing flavoursome clump.
Select a strong, healthy root from the edge of the plant with at least one “eye” or bud. Once planted with the eye at soil level, an 8cm mulch of compost or other organic mulch around, but not over, the eye will help to suppress weeds, feed the plant and retain soil moisture.
Rhubarb growing under a forcing pot (Photo: RHS / Neil Hepworth)Ideally, repeat this mulch every winter. Too much fertiliser can cause flower formation, which is unwanted, but some general fertiliser every spring and before planting is usually beneficial.
Allow the plants to establish uncut for the first year, watering in dry spells. Take your first harvest of young stalks in prime condition from the following March, but be sure to leave three or four stalks to sustain the plant. Gather stalks by pulling, not cutting.
From July, leave the plants to build up reserves for the following spring. Cut out any flower stalks on sight. Each plant should remain productive for five years, after which carefully sever and dig out a new section to plant again in a new site.
For early forced shoots, cover crowns in December with a terracotta rhubarb forcer or similar container and insulate the outside with stacked fresh manure or re-used bubble wrap, when the enhanced protection should yield February sticks.
Serious forcing should be done indoors using plants dug in November, left 14 days exposed to the weather, then brought indoors, placed in a dustbin – to exclude light – covered with a little soil, and left in a warm place. Stalks should be ready within five weeks.
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