Rhubarb in a raised bed (and any other suggestions)

VoucherMan

In my small back yard I've got a small (4' x 2' x 6") raised bed. I've placed it on top of the concrete slabs. It's on the south side of the yard so gets very little sunshine - maybe up to 3 hours late morning/early afternoon in the middle of summer.

I originally put it there as an outdoor litter tray for the cats, thinking I couldn't grow anything worthwhile there, but the cats weren't interested. No point in trying to grow flowers there as it's not visible from the house.

Last autumn I got some mint from my parents which I decided to put in the raised bed since mint grows anywhere (it has). Then a few months ago while wondering around the local garden centre I found some rhubarb crowns. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I bought one and stuck it in the bed.

It's now got about 16 healthy looking stalks which I've resisted the urge to pull. But is a 6" deep bed going to be deep enough for rhubarb? Or would it benefit from building up the bed to maybe 12 or 18 inches deep? I'm guessing the roots could grow horizontally but don't know if this will effect it's growth or make it less firm in the ground when I start to pull some.

Also, if anyone's got any suggestions on anything else I could grow in a shallow, shady (even more so now with the big rhubarb leaves) bed.

ladylouise62

It would normally be grown in deeper soil than that - partly due to stability but also due to the need for good water and nutrient uptake. I think you may well struggle with it.