growing Rhubarb

blushingbride_3

Hi there,

I'm sorting out my garden & would like to grow so rhubarb as i have a spare space, could i grow it where there is gravel? if i dig out the soil & then put the gravel back? to stop the weeds?

Also where can i get the plants? Or is it best to get seeds?

Can i plant in a shady area or do they need lots of sun?

Kimonokawaii

I have inhertied rhubarb crowns on my allotment - I'm not sure what a crown actually is but it's not what i would call a plant nor is it seed. It looks like a lump of brown wet stuff to me! I have no idea what to do with it either! It's currently planted underneath a tree so I guess partial shade is fine as it's been there a while according to my neighbours.

culpepper

Rhubarb seems to do alright in partial shade. We have some quite near to a tree.
You can get rhubarb in wilkos sometimes or get crowns which are basically clumps of the plant that have been seperated off from a bigger clump or sow seed in pots .
Ive grown some from seed and have some from my neighbour that were crowns.
The seed grown rhubarb is various colours and thicknesses while the crowns are all much more uniform.
I think you would be alright planting into earth with gravel over afterwards but I havent tried it. They will die right back in the winter to only little black bits in the earth and hopefully emerge again in spring.

Kimonokawaii

Those little black bits is what I have now I'm guessing if I just leave them well alone they'll look after themselves till spring.

Primrose

Rhubarb will grow in partial shade but will obviously do better in a sunny spot. If you deep-dig the hole where the crown will grow and dig in plenty of well rotted manure - (you can buy composted manure in bags from garden centres) before planting there's no reason why you can't put the shingle back on the surface afterwards. In any case, all the leaves and stalks rot back to ground level in the autumn. If you cover the location over in winter with a large bucket, you'll "force" your plant in the spring and will get some nice early stalks.

Jake'sGran

Mine was a gift from a lady on a SWOP forum in Allotments4All.
I planted it in partial shade but must admit it did not do too well. I did read that the second year is best for rhubarb and it needs rich soil.

Forget seeds; this would take for ever. Rhubarb is really good for you so it is worth planting properly and I would put it in a sunny spot next time.
I planted ours in a pile of home made compost from the wormery. Oh, nearly forgot, the stalks should be taken clean from the crown i.e. not cut off. Someone will put me right about this if it is incorrect.

bromsgrovebarry

I find that seed grown plants tend to flower excessively and this reduces yield. Rhubarb crowns should be in the garden centres soon if not already. I find the variety 'Timperley Early' very good. A very sweet variety is 'Cawood Delight' but it does not crop so well. Do not harvest for the first year after planting and moderately in the second year. Ensure you have got rid of perennial weed before planting and feed liberally in spring.

TravellingAbuela

How do you think rhubarb would fare planted in tubs? I have half a dozen Poundland garden waste bags full of compost, which I used for growing potatoes this year. I know not to use again for potatoes but what are anybody's thoughts on using one for rhubarb?

gillster

big tubs are OK for rhubarb. we grew ours from seed earlier this year (can't remember the variety - hope they don't flower excessively) and planted them out a short while ago. some of them are going into a large green tub (cut off end of a large plastic barrel, about 2ft diameter) and the rest in the shadier corners of the garden.

paul.

TravellingAbuela

Thanks Paul, think I will give it a go. We used to have loads of rhubarb but dug it all up when we redesigned the garden. Didn't realise how much I would miss it!