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Can anyone tell me what to do with my rhubarb plant, its in a very big tub, I bought it this time last year and it grew quiet well then the winter and the frost and snow came and I forgot to protect it and I thought blow that's it its a goner.
I would say that at around the end of Feb maybe half way through Feb things started happening and now its like this.......................................so what do I need to do now
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You should kick the bottom out of a bucket and place it over the plant before it breaks the surface of the soil its called "forcing" thats what my grandad used to do :-)
But if its not for eating then Alan has said it all.
Chris S.
A very old Shropshire Lad.
Pauline G said: ...so what do I need to do now
...so what do I need to do now
I would have thought the time has come to eat it. Leave some stalks growing amd make sure you pull the stalks dont cut them.
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To be honest the best thing you can do for your Rhubarb is plant it, if not possible, plenty of water and pull only the odd stick for eating, never eat the leaves, And yes you can compost the leaves.!!
Never pick sticks for eating after July, as you need to let the plant build up for the coming winter.
Suggestion, oven roast chopped sticks drizzled with honey till soft, serve with Ice Cream & invite me round. :-)
Thanks for all your replies, I will try pulling not cutting some of the stalks but they are very thin and spindly by pulling some off will it make further stalks thicker.
Oh and I will feed them, what kind of plant food do I need, I got my plant because I was fed up of paying exorbitant prices and I thought it might be fun as well
well i cant do anything with mine because some daft Mallard has built a nest bang in the middle of it! normally we just keep breaking ours off and freeze it ready for cooking ...
Juno said: never eat the leaves, And yes you can compost the leaves.!!
never eat the leaves, And yes you can compost the leaves.!!
Never eat the leaves because they are very poisonous but if you boil the odd leaf, strain it and dilute the liquid you have an organic pesticide that you can spray on vegetables without any problems.
EDIT: Thought I had better add again that the leaves are very poisonous so only use the liquid as a pesticide.
Unknown said: never eat the leaves, And yes you can compost the leaves.!!
Never eat the leaves because they are poisonous but if you boil the leaves, strain them and dilute the liquid you have an organic pesticide that you can spray on vegetables without any problems.
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That's a good idea Bob. Now all I have to do is to buy a rhubarb plant :-))
Best wishes Chris
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Hi Polly
My mum has grown Rhubarb successfully in her garden, and to be honest it is quite difficult to kill - it sprouts over and over again throughout the year - but I would take the advise form Juno when to stop eating the stalks.
My mum just took the Rhubarb as she needed it
Love stewed Rhubarb with some plain yoghurt - yum...
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Polly, how much sun is it getting? rhubarb is better off in partial shade and as said if there is a chance ot plant it it would be better. If it gets too hot in the container it will stop growing. If you see any flower spikes deadhead them straight away. If you can get hold of some well rotted horse manure you could top dress with that once the leaves die back but do not cover the crown.
Caroline in Jersey
Cin J
Germain said: Polly, how much sun is it getting? rhubarb is better off in partial shade and as said if there is a chance ot plant it it would be better. If it gets too hot in the container it will stop growing. If you see any flower spikes deadhead them straight away. If you can get hold of some well rotted horse manure you could top dress with that once the leaves die back but do not cover the crown. Caroline in Jersey
Hi Caroline, it's standing in a big pot on my patio which in the mornings gets no sunshine then from about 11 - 11.30 to about 3 gets lots of sun from then on the sun moves round and it becomes shaded, my garage see's to that so I would say the rhubarb gets 3 - 4 hours of sunshine do you think I should move it to some where else.
With regards to the horse manure, dash, I almost stepped in some which was on the pavement lol had I have realized I would have got a bucket, strange isn't it I can remember my mum saying she,as a small girl, used to pick up horsey poo for her dad's allotment and now here am I thinking of doing the same thing