The Potting Shed - come on in, the kettle's on!

mutley74

Keiss_21 wrote: »

Have you been watering the rhubarb regularly since it was planted mutley? It has been a pretty dry Spring this year. Rhubarb likes quite damp rich soil and will tolerate some shade, but prefers full sun...again keep up with the watering.

Did you prepare the soil with lots for fertiliser/compost/farm-yard manure before planting your rhubarb..and have you added more since?? They are quite hungry plants, so feed them well.

You should not eat any rhubarb the first year after planting...well, only one or two stalks, as you want the plant to develop a good strong set of roots. Let the leaves and stalks die down naturally, letting all the goodness go back down into the crown and roots.

Don't forget, once the plants is growing well and producing lots of healthy stalks, pull the stalks, rather than cut them...they should come away from the base cleanly. Also, you shouldn't pick rhubarb much after the end of May/beginning of June. By then the plants are wanting to die down naturally, and the oxalic acid (poison to humans) in the leaves starts entering the stems....and will make anyone eating them pretty ill!!

Sorry for the long waffle, but growing rhubarb is easy (honest!!) once you get it off to a good start.

Off to sort out house stuff, with the plan of getting out into the garden this afternoon...and all weekend!! At least the wind has died down now, so I can get more plants out to harden off with little chance of them being flattened!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Thanks for the tips.
When the crown was planted last year, put some compost with it but probably not a lot at the time for various reasons.
Anyway i have been adding some feed pellets a few times and try and water it every other day if it not had any rain.
i am suprised about your point not to eat the stalks this season, we have already tried 2, and had hopes to try another few later. But will take your comment on board.
thanks

Keiss_21

Hya mutley

Just be aware, as soon as you seen the leaves starting to die back, then the oxalic acid acid in the stems will start to build towards toxic levels...but if none are dying back, then go for it!

When you do put compost/muck/fertiliser on your plant, please make sure it doesn't touch the crown...as it could cause it damage and affect growth. Spread/mix it around the crown area, then water well. then stand back and watch the rhubarb grow!

Had a busy day ttoday, potting up all my chilli and sweet pepper plants...didn't realize I had kept quite so many for myself!! :rotfl: Also been moving loads of plants out to harden off, then got them all in again tonight. Still, should get rid of all of the plants I have sold next week....all 38 of them :T. Still have a few beef and plum toms left, but will probably take them to a garden open day next weekend to sell off for charity.

Also got my French beans planted at last...they are looking good. Still have enough for my lil'sis, so potted them on from the root-trainers.

Great excitement today, DH and DS2 have at last made a move to get the new paved area started. They laid out the slabs today to decide on the best layout, then marked it out. Tomorrow they should get the area levelled and then make a move on getting the slabs laid...:j:j Here's hoping they can get it finished this weekend, though the forecast for Monday doesn't look good.

We got all the slabs from next door when she had her courtyard re-done. Us taking the slabs meant she didn't have to pay someone to take them away, so we got them for nothing...and there are over 35 60x6ocm slabs! :j Very MS, Martin would be proud :money:!

Right, off to get more stitching done...detemined to work on my cross-stitch every day, so I can get it finished soon.

Have a good day tomorrow, whatever you do.

Dustykitten

Have done loads in the garden today including:

Planted out corn
Planted around new pond
Planted out dahlias
picked first bowl full of strawberries

Tomorrow a bit more planting to do and some seed sowing, also must get the growbags for the toms. I feel the end of the mad May rush is insight (good job too as May is nearly out).

[Deleted User]

we did some watering with comfrey liquid (a bag of the leaves is hanging in a waterbutt, which we keep full from the tap) by golly it has a ripe old smell so must be doing good. We are dry as a dust bowl here, 4 mm of rain in the whole of april and a spit last thursday and that is all. I see that we are going to have rain tomorrow and netweather says`torrential` as does metcheck. Arghh :eek: that is too much all at once. It`ll be pouring off the fields

I`ll be sorting my seeds out in the next couple of weeks for winter harvesting and the overwintered onions are starting to flop. Nature just keeps going, whatever happens all around

greenmoneysaver_2

Thanks MBE - thread on marital garden warfare looming. . .
I fancy trying this comfrey thing, how much do you need for a 60 litre water butt?

cootambear

Dustykitten wrote: »

Have done loads in the garden today including:

Planted out corn
Planted around new pond
Planted out dahlias
picked first bowl full of strawberries

Tomorrow a bit more planting to do and some seed sowing, also must get the growbags for the toms. I feel the end of the mad May rush is insight (good job too as May is nearly out).

jammy !!!!!!. I`m at least 2 weeks away from that

katholicos

Took some cuttings today around the garden....of rosemary, honeyberry, gojiberry, gooseberry, blueberry and potted them up. Potted on some basil. Rescued two bees from one of the tub trugs of water i have at various points around the back garden. Picked some herbs i'd grown from seed.....celery par cel....coriander....oregano....parsley and chives. Big bunches of each. Washed and dried them all and they are now in my dehydrator. When they have been dehydrated completly, I'll whizz them in the blender thingy and store them. Yay for free (ish) food!

annie123

cootambear wrote: »

jammy !!!!!!. I`m at least 2 weeks away from that

I've had 4 with a big bowl full ready in about 48 hours:D

Knowing your love of strawberries I thought you'd be the first.

Keiss_21

Some of our resident furry-critters (rats/mice/shrews/voles??) had the first of our ripe strawberries...and they are in a fruit cage :mad: Can't believe our currants are already starting to ripen too! :eek:

Lots of busy gardening done this weekend...not sure if the weather will be great tomorrow though....but we do need the rain..it's been so dry here!

mrbadexample

greenmoneysaver wrote: »

Thanks MBE - thread on marital garden warfare looming. . .

I can't see the point in wanting them in the greenhouse. They'll probably be worse off in there, with less insects to pollinate the flowers. If French beans are like runner beans, they'll like a cool, wet summer.

greenmoneysaver wrote: »

I fancy trying this comfrey thing, how much do you need for a 60 litre water butt?

Err..some.