great ACDC and thanks to your dad's wisdom tell him

Last edited by Grand_Ma (Wed 23 Mar 11 1:20pm)

thanks for your tips nanster I like very much this growing tips passaparola from one generation to another which seems to cover a considerable number of years,  I'll let you know how I go on with my rhubarb adventure, I bought three new plants this year without really knowing i would have needed them, so I'll spare the old ones after the spring crop ................ and first of all you make me remeber that I still have a bag of frozen chopped rabarbaro in my freezer
   
what would my freezer teacher Maddi think of me, just in time to make a crostata before it gets too old

Hi Mada,

Your questions are never silly. Firstly - how old are your Rhubarb crowns - if it is the first year I wouldn't pick any.

Secondly - the leaves should be ready for picking about 8 weeks after forcing - so is it time to pick them yet? If not - can you use a bucket, or even a dustbin for a few more weeks and then pick them? Any you don't want you can leave in the open air to help the plant recover.

All best, Robin

This is something I am actually familiar with, living in snowy Canada! We have a great old man rhubarb that pushes through every March and then gets snowed on a few more times. I do nothing with him and he perseveres and produces beautiful red stalks for me consistently May - October. Gotta love the tough ol' guy.

My Rhubarb is sprouting for the first lime since I planted it last year..I keep looking at it but know that I should not eat any this year .

I remember my lovely Father had a huge Rhubarb patch when I was a child , it was at the end of the garden . He used to drive some wooden stakes into the ground and sort of 'box in' the Rhubarb with sheets of old metal . I was always in trouble as I loved the leaves and would take the 'top bit of metal  off the rhubarb with my brother . We wanted the big leaves to grow so that we could play with them !
As a child I could never understand why the Rhubarb had to be kept away from light for what seemed like an eternity.
Mostly once we were able to pick it , we ate the sticks of rhubarb dipping the sticks into  a little pot of sugar after each bite.