"Paul" wrote in message
...
I understand it's best not to pull the first year's
crop - do I let
the leaves and stalks just wither and rot back into
the ground, or
should I remove them when they start to go over?


Yes let them wither and rot back. Every 3 years, you
can (during Winter) split the crown in half and form
two plants. Over the years I've managed to produce
about 12 crowns, which form a double row across the
allotment.
I take stalks from late Spring thru to mid August. I
always leave about 3 stalks on each crown - to wither
and rot.