Last week saw the arrival of my Rhubarb crowns. I ordered 9 in total... 3 Stockbridge arrow, 3 Suttons seedless and 3 Victoria. They all came from Suttons, and I am very happy with the quality of them (not that I know much about Rhubarb crowns though :).
Sunday turned out to be planting day for them, when they got to settle into their new lifelong home in one of my permanent planting beds (hopefully the start of my potager).
The soil was pretty wet, so I threw a plank of timber across to walk on, and spaced them out along it. I aimed for about 1m between each plant, but probably ended up with about 0.8m which I hope will be ok. The ground had been dug previously, but I dug out a hole with the spade and dropped some compost and fertiliser in before positioning the crowns.... after all, one can never have too much organic matter in the ground!! :)
A bit more compost then got placed around the crowns before covering back over with soil. I made sure the crowns sat just below the surface. I shall drop a mulch on top of them this weekend coming, probably of well rotted manure, and hopefully they will flourish there for the next 5 or 6 years before I need to divide them.
Unfortunately there will be no picking from them this year, so I will have to wait until next spring to try my first stems from them, I do have one existing plant that I can pick from this year though to quench my thirst for the delightful pink stalks for the time being :) I fancy a couple of those traditional rhubarb forcing pots to bring some sweet early stems on next spring, but they cost an absolute fortune whenever I have seen them before.... I may end up coming up with some kind of contraption myself :) All I can now do is wait... and dream of those rhubarb crumbles!! :)
I love those forcing pots but as you say, they're so expensive. I've had two rhubarb crowns growing in containers for the last two years, I'm hoping that I finally get them in the ground at the allotment this year.
ReplyDeleteDear Simon, As you say, those fresh young pink Rhubarb stalks are just so wonderful that one's mouth waters simply thinking of them. And, yes, Rhubarb crumble....delicious.
ReplyDeleteYour spacing will be okay, and you've got them off to a really good start so now it's just a matter of waiting...Flighty.
ReplyDeleteGet a large plant pot to put over the top of them, that what I do and much cheaper.
ReplyDeleteI ate some Rhubarb tonight - from shop-bought stalks, I'm afraid - but it was completely yummy. We cooked it in the oven, with orange juice and zest, grated ginger, and a bit of demerara sugar. The stalks we bought were HUGE. 3 stalks = 750g. I wish I had grown them myself.
ReplyDeleteSo much Rhubarb! I had a couple myself but last winter they turned to mush in the ground and I never replaced them. Seeing your photos makes me think I might have to get more in this year. Thanks for the encouragement.
ReplyDeleteRob... good idea, they are usually pretty cheap at the garden centre.
ReplyDeleteMark... that sounds lush, i shall have to give that a try soon.
Jason... when all mine comes through there will be plenty for you to have some too if you like. I may even have a crown you can have soon as i'm trying to decide whether to move my old one now or leave it until next winter.
Hi Edith, i'm glad you approve of the rhubarb. Does 'J' grow any in your garden?
ReplyDeleteFlighty... waiting is hard!! I want some rhubarb this year!!! :)
Hi Jo, do you get a good crop off them when grown in containers? I assume they are somewhat larger than your average herb pot? :)
I haven't taken anything from them yet, they were only put in containers until I got them in the ground, I wasn't anticipating them still being there at this point. Some people dig them up from the ground and put them in a container when they're forcing them, though you can do it as easily in the ground.
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ReplyDeleteHello Simon,
ReplyDeleteHow far apart did you plant your rhubarb plants?
Hi Petra, I planted them approximately 0.8m apart... I aimed for 1m, but decided I hadn't got quite enough space in the row for that, so cut it down slightly.
ReplyDelete