The message
from "Cumberpach" contains these words:

I have 8 good sized crowns - dunno how old they are. Enough to try 2 outside
and 2 inside as per Alan Gould. Thanks to you both.

The usual way of dealing with a 'good-sized' crown is to separate off
the new young crownlets on the outside and plant those, discarding the
old middle bit.

With eight crowns you should be able to plant a jungle of rhubarb. I'd
wait until it dies down at the end of the season now it's sprouting.

The tried recipe is to dig a trench - four feet deep is recommended, but
the deepest I'v managed is three feet.

Raid jumble sales and buy up bags of old leather shoes and old woollies
afterwards. Get bones from the butcher - he'll usually give them to you
- and put the bones and the shoes in the bottom of the trench and cover
with soil and water it down, then put more soil, compost, rotted manure,
woollies and bonemeal or hoof and horn until the trench is filled in
(and you will have a raised bed because of the extras you have bunged
in).

Plant rhubarb about three feet apart AND DO NOT PULL A SINGLE STICK in
the first year.

If your rhubarb isn't established, and the right-shaped tuits can't be
found to molish a proper trench before the middle of February, plant and
keep say, two crowns without pulling from them and use those for
splitting and planting for next year.

--
Rusty Hinge http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm

Dark thoughts about the Wumpus concerto played with piano,
iron bar and two sledge hammers. (Wumpus, 15/11/03)