B&M rhubarb and asparagus

Eenymeeny

Eenymeeny wrote: »

Thanks very much. I'll do that today

Glad I took your advice yesterday dogstarheaven. I've woken up to thickly falling snow this morning :eek::)
Maybe it'll get planted out next week...

dogstarheaven

cjb02 wrote: »

I have had 5 small rhubarbs out all winter and they are just starting to poke out the pots (in Yorkshire) however I would try and harden shop bought ones off over several days as they are currently in frost free shops

EM: before you decide to plant out, ensure that you "harden it off" as cjb02 said as the current temp. is too cold/harsh for it to settle in. By this, you need to take it out in the day and bring it in at night, and you do this for about a week, before you plant it out. This way, it'll be able to withstand the climate that it is in. Also, you need to mulch the soil surrounding the plant with material that is suitable (rotten down leaf mould, compost. about 3" thick). This will ensure that subsequent frosts can't penetrate it's roots and also, to prevent moisture loss in the soil.

Hope this helps.

ps. was at a nursery yesterday, and found to my surprise £3 rhubarb in pots looking really healthy. Normally, these would sell for at least £6 in a corporate owned garden centre. So look around for independant nurseries as their prices are much cheaper...

Eenymeeny

Thanks for all of the advice. Will do!

sobie

dogstarheaven wrote: »

ps. was at a nursery yesterday, and found to my surprise £3 rhubarb in pots looking really healthy. Normally, these would sell for at least £6 in a corporate owned garden centre. So look around for independant nurseries as their prices are much cheaper...

Thank you for supporting your local independent garden centre/ nursery :T

Sobie.

ps. You didn't come to my garden centre by any chance did you? (Norfolk/ Suffolk Border) as that's how much we charge for potted Rhubarb

dogstarheaven

sobie wrote: »

Thank you for supporting your local independent garden centre/ nursery :T

Sobie.

ps. You didn't come to my garden centre by any chance did you? (Norfolk/ Suffolk Border) as that's how much we charge for potted Rhubarb

no, i was at Ashdale Cottage Plants in Notts., sorry. I went as part of a walk catching a bus to the outskirts of the city boundary and walked 4 fields to get to it! (i don't drive and often have to wait to till the Rare Plant Fair comes to town to get my hands on new varieties!)

I do support local and independants primarily because they have far better knowledge and they tend to grow their own and also, they're so much cheaper whereas corporates tend to buy in and the staff aren't really as knowledgable as you would expect them to be. Corporates are full of indoor tat that i can't be arxxd with, usually!

dogstarheaven

Was in the 99p Store (Nottingham) yesterday and saw to my delight a new stock of Aspagargus "Gijlim" crowns. I had to sift through all 3 boxes full just to find a pack that had the longest roots as most of them were about 2-ish" at the most. some had already sprouted, so it's best to get them now.

There about 4 varieties of potato/onion seed and quite a lot of perennials, but I didn't bother with them as the asparagus was more to my need!

pawsies

Tbh I'm not sure I'd trust the quality of them. We sell them at the garden centre I work at, it's a discount garden centre and is probably the same make as the ones at B&M. Most of them do look dead already.

Unwins asparagus may be a better bet.

dogstarheaven

pawsies wrote: »

Tbh I'm not sure I'd trust the quality of them. We sell them at the garden centre I work at, it's a discount garden centre and is probably the same make as the ones at B&M. Most of them do look dead already.

Unwins asparagus may be a better bet.

i know what i'm looking for when i was buying these as they're meant to be fleshy, pliable roots not the usual ones that are normally dried-up and twiggy (see my earlier post further up the thread)