I know someone did this already, but I've lost the thread, sorry.

Popped along to the allotment yesterday and had a look, and the rhubarb is
showing! Now this was showing on one plant a couple of weeks ago, just
about, but now /both/ are well on their way!

Nick is furious cos he wanted to split them!

--

wrote in message
...
I know someone did this already, but I've lost the thread, sorry.

Popped along to the allotment yesterday and had a look, and the rhubarb is
showing! Now this was showing on one plant a couple of weeks ago, just
about, but now /both/ are well on their way!

Nick is furious cos he wanted to split them!

Oh dear, I'd better go out and look at mine!

Alan



--

wrote in message
...
I know someone did this already, but I've lost the thread, sorry.

Popped along to the allotment yesterday and had a look, and the rhubarb is
showing! Now this was showing on one plant a couple of weeks ago, just
about, but now /both/ are well on their way!

Nick is furious cos he wanted to split them!



Are you going to force it? At least put a bucket over it.

Bill

wrote:
I know someone did this already, but I've lost the thread, sorry.

Popped along to the allotment yesterday and had a look, and the rhubarb is
showing! Now this was showing on one plant a couple of weeks ago, just
about, but now /both/ are well on their way!

So's mine, so I've done some weeding and covered them with a bit of
protection.

--
Rusty

Bill Grey wrote:
wrote in message
...
I know someone did this already, but I've lost the thread, sorry.

Popped along to the allotment yesterday and had a look, and the rhubarb is
showing! Now this was showing on one plant a couple of weeks ago, just
about, but now /both/ are well on their way!

Nick is furious cos he wanted to split them!



Are you going to force it? At least put a bucket over it.

Only if you're going to dig it up and throw it away afterwards...

--
Rusty

Bill Grey wrote:
Are you going to force it? At least put a bucket over it.

I don't think we were planning to. We forced it 2 years ago and then let it
grow naturally last year to recover, thought maybe we'd give it another easy
year. Or maybe we could force one and leave the other. Hmm. Decision
time!

"Rusty Hinge" wrote in message
...
Bill Grey wrote:
wrote in message
...
I know someone did this already, but I've lost the thread, sorry.

Popped along to the allotment yesterday and had a look, and the rhubarb
is
showing! Now this was showing on one plant a couple of weeks ago, just
about, but now /both/ are well on their way!

Nick is furious cos he wanted to split them!



Are you going to force it? At least put a bucket over it.

Only if you're going to dig it up and throw it away afterwards...

--
Rusty

I thought Rhubarb was fairly indestructible. I was given a root many years
ago and in due course it was buried with building rubble, this it survived,
then later I lit a graden fire roughtly on the spot where the Rhubarb was
buried, this it also survived. The root originally came from Somerset in
the mid 1800s by the grandfather of a pal of mine. The stalks were huge and
the leaves were very big. If picked when quite young the rhubarb was very
nice.

Bill

"Bill Grey" wrote in message
news

"Rusty Hinge" wrote in message
...
Bill Grey wrote:
wrote in message
...
I know someone did this already, but I've lost the thread, sorry.

Popped along to the allotment yesterday and had a look, and the rhubarb
is
showing! Now this was showing on one plant a couple of weeks ago, just
about, but now /both/ are well on their way!

Nick is furious cos he wanted to split them!



Are you going to force it? At least put a bucket over it.

Only if you're going to dig it up and throw it away afterwards...

--
Rusty

I thought Rhubarb was fairly indestructible. I was given a root many
years ago and in due course it was buried with building rubble, this it
survived, then later I lit a graden fire roughtly on the spot where the
Rhubarb was buried, this it also survived. The root originally came from
Somerset in the mid 1800s by the grandfather of a pal of mine. The stalks
were huge and the leaves were very big. If picked when quite young the
rhubarb was very nice.

Bill


I was under the same impression, I rescued one which was poking its nose up
under a site hut on a building site. Had to get it out in bits and pieces,
dumped them in a wheelbarrow, took them home, dumped them in the ground :-))
Had rhubarb ever since :-))

Perhaps it's my wife's skills, she's only been gardening for 51 years though
;-((

Mike


--

....................................
Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive
....................................

Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...
Bill Grey wrote:
wrote in message
...
I know someone did this already, but I've lost the thread, sorry.

Popped along to the allotment yesterday and had a look, and the rhubarb is
showing! Now this was showing on one plant a couple of weeks ago, just
about, but now /both/ are well on their way!

Nick is furious cos he wanted to split them!


Are you going to force it? At least put a bucket over it.
Only if you're going to dig it up and throw it away afterwards...

why? Forcing doesn't harm rhubarb.

Depends on how long you force it.

--
Rusty

Bill Grey wrote:
"Rusty Hinge" wrote in message
...
Bill Grey wrote:
wrote in message
...
I know someone did this already, but I've lost the thread, sorry.

Popped along to the allotment yesterday and had a look, and the rhubarb
is
showing! Now this was showing on one plant a couple of weeks ago, just
about, but now /both/ are well on their way!

Nick is furious cos he wanted to split them!


Are you going to force it? At least put a bucket over it.
Only if you're going to dig it up and throw it away afterwards...

--
Rusty

I thought Rhubarb was fairly indestructible. I was given a root many years
ago and in due course it was buried with building rubble, this it survived,
then later I lit a graden fire roughtly on the spot where the Rhubarb was
buried, this it also survived. The root originally came from Somerset in
the mid 1800s by the grandfather of a pal of mine. The stalks were huge and
the leaves were very big. If picked when quite young the rhubarb was very
nice.

Indestructible almost. but if you don't treat it well, it will sulk and
go all weedy.

--
Rusty

wrote:
Bill Grey wrote:
Are you going to force it? At least put a bucket over it.

I don't think we were planning to. We forced it 2 years ago and then let it
grow naturally last year to recover, thought maybe we'd give it another easy
year. Or maybe we could force one and leave the other. Hmm. Decision
time!

Do what the commercial growers do: split the crown and replant the best
young satellites, then replant the remainder in tubs in a shed and force
that, and don't pull even a stick from the new crown(s) until the
following year.

You can take the forced roots out when they've been plundered, keep them
well watered and fed (pongy nettlejuice is good) and keep them if
necessary until the new crowns are well established.

Cosseted, you can expect to get stalks weighing up to a pound each. My
old man dug up and threw away all the rhubarb because he'd not fed it,
and it was really skinny - stalks almost as thick as yer finger...

I dug a four foot deep by two foot trench round a bed and filled it with
old woollies (not Woolies), bones, leather, well-rotted horsesh, soil
from the trench, bonemeal, and planted the satellites in the resulting
mound.

Continually watered and left for a year without pulling, the following
year's crop was gigantic.

--
Rusty

Rusty Hinge wrote:
Are you going to force it? At least put a bucket over it.
Only if you're going to dig it up and throw it away afterwards...
why? Forcing doesn't harm rhubarb.
Depends on how long you force it.

We forced both of ours a few years ago, and they still grew like evil giant
flesh-eating plants from outer space last year.