Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable, though it is generally used as a fruit in desserts and jams. Here’s how to plant, grow, and harvest your own rhubarb.
Of the rhubarb plant, only the stalks are eaten. These have a rich, tart flavor. The leaves of the rhubarb plant are poisonous, so be sure that they are not ingested. Rhubarb is easy to grow, but needs cool weather to thrive.
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Container Rhubarb and Hydroponic Nutrient feed
Please refer entry March 3, 2016.
Well now. Winter is over, and what a mild one we had.
I cut down a barrel sufficient to hold 50 liter of Thrive potting mix, - long term slow-release fertiliser, the same as I did last year, 2015/16. So the rhubarb is receiving the double-dose of food until the Thrive nutrient is used.
I will not use the term forced-feeding. If one uses compost or whatever, the nutrients must be leached out in a soluble form for the plant to use it. One could say that plants could be on a starvation diet if only left to Mother Nature to provide the moisture to release the nutrient. The plant will only take-up what it needs. Plants can take-up moisture only, without food, so that it can transpire in hot weather. All plants take-up the nutrients in a soluble form, so that supplying hydroponic nutrient means that it doesn’t have to wait for the next downpour of rain or until you get around to turning the hose on.
Last year I picked over 180 stalks, over 8kg, (advice is not to pick in the first year) and before the winter set-in, there were 9 buds that I could see for the coming season, 2016/17. The plant built itself up with the instant food available, and this growing season, it is developing well.
They say to only pick sparingly in the second year. My first pick of this season was on Saturday, October 8th, 2016. 6 stalks, 375grams, cut ready to cook. I have just counted and there are more than 20 stalks growing strongly and more coming on. Am I going to pick sparingly with 5 months of growing yet to come? Not likely! Last year’s pick of 8kg only gives one feed per week, so I am looking for a greater return this year.
Soluble hydroponic feed would also be beneficial for soil-grown rhubarb. As the moisture drains through the soil past the plant roots, it would be a tasty snack, a treat, a pick-me-up for any plant. So far, I am thrilled with the results of container rhubarb growing and hydroponic nutrient solution.
Rubarb Plants
I HAVE HAD 3 CROPS OF RUBARB THIS YEAR. iT IS TALL, THICK AND BEAUTIFUL EVEN NOW. iS IT ALRIGHT TO USE IT NOW?
Wait a minute--NOT
Hi, Delores: Absolutely! Don’t waste a second! And thanks for asking!
rhubarb plant
My rhubard is growing very well with huge leaves and stem which are white is this okay and can they be eaten if not red. Is there a variety that is white.
rhubarb
How interesting! It sounds as if you have an old-time variety of rhubarb. Rhubarb does not have to be red. Some varieties are more green.
what is the variety that stems with white flowers
Do I need to gut the stems, they are hollow?
Actually i have a question
Actually i have a question .my rhubarb is growing .i 've never had this happen .is it safe to eat.
If you just planted it
if you just planted it, no, do not pick in the first year. Pick very little the second year and then the third year you can pick most of it. It is safe to eat the first year but it will not come back the second year.
please understand if you have
please understand if you have legit quality manuer soil, your plant can make like 3 years progress in like half a year, so u could harvest it, but if its too dry and bad soil, yep take you years.
Rhubard
My first year rhubard is 12 inchs high and leaves are 10 or more inches long or wide and stocks are 1 inch thick can I harvest some stocks. Ps can I winterize my rhubard plants in refridgeidire and how I live in Florida larry
Wilting rhubarb
I live in eastern PA & purchased a rhubarb plant from a nursery about a month and a half ago. It had 3 small stalks about 12 - 15 inches tall. I planted it a very large pot & it has grown to 17 stalks, the oldest of which are about 1-1/4 inch thick with 12 inch leaves. We had a lot of rain a few days ago. Yesterday this plant looked great. Today all but 4 of the stalks are laying over, they have lost their rigidity, and the leaves have curled. Is this a sign of too much water or not enough? Or what else might be happening to it, please?
harvesting rhubarb
Rhubarb stalks are usually harvested in the spring. Late April/May. You don’t usually want to harvest after July 4 so that the plant has time to create crown buds for next spring. Your stalks are well past harvest time. When harvest time is over, the stalks will begin to droop.
Rhubarb
Dear Farmer,
We live in Meridian (Boise) Idaho and our rhubarb plant(s) have grown 3-4 feet tall with humongous leaves but no red stalks each year for the last 3 years. Do the stalks have to be red before harvesting and eating them or what? I know the leaves are poisonous in large quantities and I'm not big on rhubarb pie anyway. Just wondering why our rhubarbs are so huge. They are now 3 years old. We chop them down to the base each winter and each spring they grow really fast -- and BIG. Any comments are welcome.
Question: When does one harvest spaghetti squash? i.e. how do you know when it is ready?
Thanks, Mr. and Ms. Almanac.
Harry Lear
Boise, Idaho
Why rhubarb bolts
Your rhubarb is reaching out for help! You need to give your rhubarb some TLC—and a boatload of rich composted manure. The plant is stressed. Get some as soon as possible and lay it around the plant. (Cut down the leaves and stalks and discard them.) Water the plant regularly. In a week or two lay on some more manure. Repeat for the next month or so. Dig in the manure a bit around/at the edge of the roots, without disturbing them. Have no illusions that the plant will produce this year; it will not. But it needs R&R (rest and recuperation) and a lot of love. Poor soil, depleted of nutrients could have enabled bugs to settle in.
Maybe you don’t like rhubarb pie… Here’s what I do: skip the crust, just make the filling. Cook rhubarb with strawberries or raspberries. There is nothing like it. Send any unused stalks to Mr and Ms Almanac.
As for the spaghetti squash, it’s ready when it acquires a deep solid color (yellow) and the rind is hard. Test with your thumb nail.
rhubarb problems
Apparently I have red leave rhubarb disease organisms in my yard. I planted rhubarb roots and the leaves almost immediately turned red and died. When I dug up the roots they were rotted. My next door neighbour has good rhubarb with no problems.
Transplanted Rhubarb
Can you use the rhubarb the first year when it's been transplanted to a different site. They are older plants just moved to a different site
relocated rhubarb
If rhubarb is relocated to another site, it might be best to not harvest during the growing season after you transplanted. Even though the plant is more mature than a young transplant, it still will be going through some transplant shock. The plant will need its leaves to make food and encourage root growth. However, if your plant looks very robust and healthy that first year, you might be OK in harvesting lightly.
Rhubarb frames
Was reading a book that mentioned rhubarb frames, wondering what this.
rhubarb frames
I am struggling to grow Rhubarb in Australia, have had more luck this time by baracading around the plant keeping off the heat in summer but still filtered sun , plenty compost and horse poo.
am i on the right path our winter low approx 11/6 F lowest / high 40/ F to nice average 25/28 F not ground temp with Fencing and tree cover thanks Bob
volunteer plant
i have a volunteer potato coming up from last year right next to (within a couple inches) of my newly planted rhubarb. Should I discard it?
rhubarb and potato
You might want to discard the potato. It may not in itself hurt the rhubarb, but why risk a problem with your rhubarb?
Rhubarb
I've tried to grow rhubarb for the past 3 or 4 years with no success. I've bought the root and planted. I bought a fair size plant and put it in the ground. Some of the roots have never come up. Some start and then die out or wither away. The plant I bought last year looked very healthy at first, had 2 small stalks about 3 inches tall. Now it's about 5 inches tall. One stalk has died off. The other is looking spindly. What can I do?
Hi Theresa,
Hi Theresa,
Rhubarb is best planted when it is dormant in the fall or early spring. It needs rich soil. Add lots of compost or aged manure into the soil before planting. It is also important to water the plants. See our planting and care advice at the top of this page.
Rhubarb
Thank you for the response. Any suggestions on how I might save this current plant? It was planted last fall. It gets full sun. I'm assuming my soil is the problem. Do you think compost will do the trick?
Thanks again
one variety or multiple
I was wondering if it's a better idea to have multiple plants of one variety or to have one of Valentine, one of Crimson Cherry and one of the Canada Red ?
rhubarb varieties
I haven’t heard that it is preferable one way or the other. In general, planting several of one variety might attract a certain pest or disease, perhaps, if a certain variety was more susceptible to a pest. But, if you find a favorite type, you’d have more of it! Planting several types would give you a nice buffet of subtle flavor differences. Some varieties are more tolerant to milder winters, or to other conditions. Check the descriptions as to features that you’d like.
Spindly Rhubarb
Thanks for this very informative page. I've had a rhubarb patch in my garden for 30 years and never realized there were so many do's and don'ts! However, now that I've read some of these hints I want to confirm that the reason I have spindly rhubarb is that I've over harvested it all these years. I've always cleaned up my rhubarb patch in late fall, harvesting the last of the stalks and removing any dying stalk and leaves to prevent diseases or encourage insect hiding places. I do move and thin them every 5 years. And I do fertilize with well rotted horse manure. Can you please set me straight on how to get my plants to grow thick stalked rhubarb?
freezing rhubarb stalks
i have 3 plants of rhubarb.i would like to harvest the stems.can i freeze them untill i get enough to make a pie? if not how do
Cut the rhubarb into small
Cut the rhubarb into small pieces (about 1-inch long) and lay them in one layer on a baking sheet. Put the baking sheet in the freezer and wait until rhubarb is frozen–a few hours. Remove baking sheet and pack rhubarb into freezer safe zip-close bags. If you are storing rhubarb for more than a few months, you will need to blanch it before freezing.
first cutting poisonous?
I've been told that the first cutting of rhubarb each spring, regardless of how old the plant is, is not safe to eat. I don't remember ever hearing this before and have used rhubarb for years. Is this true?
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