Red rhubarb is a perennial plant in cool temperatures that can still be harvested up to 20 years after planting. Its fresh, tangy taste is used by chefs seeking special ingredients for pies and other desserts. Rhubarb should be planted in a place that gets sunlight and is provided with plenty of nutrients to grow healthy and strong. Read on to learn how to grow, care for, and harvest rhubarb.
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Part 1 of 3: Growing Rhubarb
Step 1. Determine if you live in the right place for growing rhubarb
Rhubarb is a plant that is suitable to be planted in a cool place with temperatures below 4 degrees Celsius to stimulate growth. The northern United States and Canada are great places to grow rhubarb. Check where you live to see if it is suitable for growing rhubarb.
Rhubarb will shrivel during the hot summer sun. If you live in the south, you may find it difficult to grow this plant
Step 2. Prepare the rhubarb crowns for planting in the spring
Rhubarb is best grown from the root (crown), not from the seed, because the time it takes for the seeds to germinate is very long, it is not even certain whether the seeds will germinate at all. Visit your local plant store, and buy rhubarb root, or order it online.
Step 3. Decide where to plant
Rhubarb should be planted in a place that gets full sun. Look for a place with good drainage, as rhubarb will not grow well if there is water standing over the roots. To determine a place that has good drainage, dig a hole and fill it with water. If water stagnates in the hole, then the drainage is poor. However, if the water is directly absorbed into the soil, then this place is suitable for planting rhubarb.
Step 4. Prepare the soil for planting
Remove weeds and other nuisance plants. Dig up your planting area to a few tens of centimeters and add compost, rotted animal manure, or other organic matter to enrich the soil with nutrients. This step is very important because rhubarb requires a lot of nutrients to grow properly.
- You might also consider building walls to grow rhubarb and other vegetables. That way, you can control soil drainage and weed populations more easily.
- Do not spray herbicides or pesticides on the planting area; rhubarb should be planted in clean soil.
- Do not use chemical fertilizers to nourish the soil during the first year of growing rhubarb; use only organic materials until the second or third year.
Step 5. Dig 10 - 12 cm holes 0.9 - 1.2 m apart from each other
Rhubarb plants can grow quite large, so it is important to give them enough space. Make holes in rows.
Step 6. Plant the rhubarb roots 5 cm deep below the soil
Place the roots in the hole, and gently fill it with compost-rich soil. Water the rhubarb roots after planting.
Part 2 of 3: Caring for Rhubarb
Step 1. Apply a layer of mulch over the soil where the rhubarb grows in the spring and fall
Use hay and cow dung to prevent weeds from growing and continue to provide nutrients to the rhubarb.
Step 2. Water the rhubarb during the summer
The soil in which rhubarb grows should remain moist and well-draining during hot summers. Water the rhubarb when the soil begins to look dry.
Step 3. Cut the stems of the rhubarb seeds before they grow
The stems of rhubarb seeds make it difficult for this plant to grow tall and large, as it absorbs most of the plant's energy.
Step 4. Remove stem borer (curculio) from rhubarb
Rhubarb is not a plant that is frequently attacked by pests, but you may notice stem borer on the stems. This insect is light gray in color, measuring about 1 cm. Get rid of these insects one by one. Do not use pesticides to kill them, as they can damage your rhubarb plants.
Step 5. Fertilize the rhubarb each spring
After the first year has passed, apply a high-nitrogen fertilizer to restore the health of the rhubarb plant. Apply fertilizer when the snow starts to melt.
Part 3 of 3: Harvesting and Using Rhubarb
Step 1. Wait until the second year
Rhubarb takes about a year to grow vigorously, so you will need to wait until the second year before harvesting the stems.
Step 2. Harvest the ripe stems
Its length should reach 30 - 45 cm. Continue harvesting throughout the summer - which should last for 8 to 10 weeks. Harvest rhubarb in late May or June by cutting the stems with a sharp knife just above the ground. Harvesting multiple times is the right choice, by harvesting several stems from one plant at a time. Harvesting slowly also allows the remaining stems to absorb energy from the plant.
- The harvest season ends when the rhubarb stems start to thin out.
- Some rhubarb plants will continue to grow for up to 20 years after planting.
Step 3. Store the rhubarb in the refrigerator
If you're not using it right away, store it in an airtight food bag in the refrigerator. This will preserve the rhubarb for up to a week. You can also cut the rhubarb stalks into chunks and freeze them in a freezer-resistant container for several months.
Step 4. Use rhubarb in recipes
Red cherry rhubarb is usually cooked into desserts, as it has a strong and tangy flavor to pies and tarts. Enjoy the rhubarb you grow in the garden in one of these recipes:
- Rhubarb pie. This classic rhubarb dish will not disappoint you. Rhubarb is cooked with sugar and strawberries to make a delicious filling.
- Rhubarb crumbs. This rhubarb dessert is quicker to make than pie, but no less enjoyable.
- Rhubarb cream. The flavor of the rhubarb along with the honey and cream creates a delicious cream for any dessert.
- Rhubarb ice cream. There's nothing more delicious than ice cream made with fresh herbs from the garden.
Tips
- Apply compost, animal manure, or fertilizer to the topsoil around the rhubarb to increase the yield of your crop. Be careful not to damage the roots around the crown of the rhubarb. Even if you bury the rhubarb crown when you plant it, burying the mature crown can cause the plant to rot. Enriching soil nutrients is especially important during later years, when mature plants begin to lack nutrients.
- Prune the rhubarb every four to five years if the plants start to crowd. You can also split mature plants to plant new rhubarb. To do this, carefully dig up the mature plant, and use your hands to split the crown into two halves. Be careful so that each part of the crown has at least one shoot and sufficient root base. Replant one part of the crown in its original place, and the other in the new place.
