Known for its use in pies and jellies, rhubarb is an easy-to-grow summer vegetable that does best in cooler climates. Red, stalky rhubarb is one of few perennial vegetables, and can continue to produce in the same spot for 10 or 15 years.
Known for its use in pies and jellies, rhubarb is an easy-to-grow summer vegetable that does best in cooler climates. Red, stalky rhubarb is one of few perennial vegetables, and can continue to produce in the same spot for 10 or 15 years.
Rhubarb should be planted after danger of any frost has passed. It is important to prepare the soil with plenty of compost so it can have nutrients to support the plant for years to come. It does best in slightly acidic soil with a pH level between 6.0 and 6.8.
The plant is easiest to grow from crowns instead of seeds.Plant rhubarb crowns in early spring in cooler zones (and in fall in warmer regions) about 3 inches below the soil surface with crown buds about 2 inches below the surface. Give at least 3 feet between plants. Mulch heavily and provide about one inch of water weekly. The crowns will break dormancy and begin to grow when temperatures hit around 40 F.
Don’t harvest the first or second year, but from the third year forward, Harvest leaf stalks when they are about the thickness of a finger. The roots and leaves of rhubarb are poisonous to humans, so don’t eat anything but the leaf stalks. Every four or five years, separate root clumps to propagate the plant.
Leave a Comment