Rhubarb
A rhubarb patch makes a good investment in your family’s future because once a few rhubarb plants are established, they multiply readily and their offspring can remain in your garden for generations. Want to get in on this treat? Here are some planting tips.
Care & Location
To get started, dig a trench about 3 feet wide and 8 inches deep. The bed will be in place for 5 years without being tilled or worked, so place it in a practical space and don’t skimp on organic material. Put about 4 inches of well-rotted manure or well-aged compost into the bottom of the trench and cover it with several inches of soil. Then, with a shovel, lever open a deep slit and set the crows in a zigzag pattern about 24 inches apart. Gently compress the soil around the root and water well.
Keep the bed well-watered for the first summer. Then, mulch the bed with compost or well-aged manure once a year in early spring, and keep it weeded.
Do not harvest the first the first year. Your plant needs time to establish itself. Instead, wait and then you can harvest as soon as the leaves first appear, and continue until the stalks get too tough and stringy. But, do not take more than half the stalks that come up or you’ll drain the root’s food reserves.
