Growing and harvesting rhubarb

Rhubarb is easy to care for and should be productive for up to ten years. If you plant out rhubarb plants now, you can enjoy harvesting your own next spring…

Choose a sunny position and plant your rhubarb in well manured, rich soil (next to the compost heap is ideal.) Dig a good sized hole and pop the crown in just below ground level. Cover with soil and water well. If you’re planting more than one rhubarb crown then leave 90cm between them. It’s a really good idea to mulch below the leaves of your freshly planted crown to keep moisture in the soil.

Rhubarb is easy to care for and should be productive for up to ten years. You can harvest your plants next spring after they have had a year to establish. In the autumn the plant will die down. At this time, remove dead leaves and mulch with well rotted manure or garden compost and wait for it to spring back to life.

You can force it in late winter, by placing a light-excluding bucket over the top of the crown, but this isn’t necessary and you can quite happily leave it to its own devices. Harvest stalks as you want to use them from spring through to early summer – perfect for crumbles, fools and other puddings!