Rhubarb pulling
I've been posting here a little for a while, but I ought to do a proper
introduction, so... I'm a student and, for the first time I'm living in a house that a) doesn't have wall-to-wall grass or concrete or someone to maintain it and b) I don't get chucked out of in June (bit annoying from a gardening point of view, that). With much learnt from this group and not much help from the weather the vegetable plot is in full swing and I'm trying to work out what else has been left by previous occupants. AFAICS the garden has once had gardening efforts applied given there were a few self-seeded lettuces around, some things that look something like wild carrots (they're feathery but have a big taproot but not really rounded like a carrot) and a large patch of rhubarb. It's about 1m wide by 8m long at the south east end of the garden so that it gets sun for a large proportion of the day, but up against the shed on the SE side and a fence on the SW side. Last year we moved in in July and it was heavily cropping: I don't think the people who were here before us for 2 years touched it. So we were eating as much rhubarb as we could and it was still going in October. I covered it with maybe 1-2cm manure and come March it was peeping up again. As far as I could see the woody bit of each plant was maybe 1ft across. It's been growing vigourously since then except about three weeks ago there was a storm in which what appeared to be icecubes fell from the sky - they were solid clear ice, not white like hailstones, maybe 7mm across. Having this pelted at it flattened the rhubarb quite considerably and it's looking rather unhappy now, like it's been sat on. We haven't been eating very much since then. There are lots of thin (1/2 inch) shoots at ground level, but fewer thick shoots going upwards. I pulled some of the broken stems yesterday (there were some with ants living inside) and took about 8 more good ones to eat. So I'm wondering what's the best thing to do: pull more so new growth comes through or thin out to allow existing squashed ones to fatten up? Does it matter, from the plant's point of view, that the shoots are flat against the ground with thin stems since I assume they are still receiving sunlight OK? Thanks Theo -- Theo Markettos Clare Hall, Cambridge CB3 9AL, UK http://www.markettos.org.uk/ |
"Theo Markettos" wrote in message ... I've been posting here a little for a while, but I ought to do a proper introduction, so... I'm a student and, for the first time I'm living in a house that a) doesn't have wall-to-wall grass or concrete or someone to maintain it and b) I don't get chucked out of in June (bit annoying from a gardening point of view, that). With much learnt from this group and not much help from the weather the vegetable plot is in full swing and I'm trying to work out what else has been left by previous occupants. AFAICS the garden has once had gardening efforts applied given there were a few self-seeded lettuces around, some things that look something like wild carrots (they're feathery but have a big taproot but not really rounded like a carrot) and a large patch of rhubarb. It's about 1m wide by 8m long at the south east end of the garden so that it gets sun for a large proportion of the day, but up against the shed on the SE side and a fence on the SW side. Last year we moved in in July and it was heavily cropping: I don't think the people who were here before us for 2 years touched it. So we were eating as much rhubarb as we could and it was still going in October. I covered it with maybe 1-2cm manure and come March it was peeping up again. As far as I could see the woody bit of each plant was maybe 1ft across. It's been growing vigourously since then except about three weeks ago there was a storm in which what appeared to be icecubes fell from the sky - they were solid clear ice, not white like hailstones, maybe 7mm across. Having this pelted at it flattened the rhubarb quite considerably and it's looking rather unhappy now, like it's been sat on. We haven't been eating very much since then. There are lots of thin (1/2 inch) shoots at ground level, but fewer thick shoots going upwards. I pulled some of the broken stems yesterday (there were some with ants living inside) and took about 8 more good ones to eat. So I'm wondering what's the best thing to do: pull more so new growth comes through or thin out to allow existing squashed ones to fatten up? Does it matter, from the plant's point of view, that the shoots are flat against the ground with thin stems since I assume they are still receiving sunlight OK? It should be. Rhubarb is generally as tough as old boots.I'm surprised that you got stems off it until October. The perceived wisdom is that you should crop rhubarb until you start cropping gooseberries, which we started here in Dorset a week ago, although I have to admit to a bit of overlapping. All right then, quite a lot. My own view is that if it's happy to keep producing, I'm happy to keep eating. When it dies down, I chuck loads of manure on it, and ignore it until next year. Steve http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/steveandmaggiesplot |
In article , shazzbat
writes It should be. Rhubarb is generally as tough as old boots.I'm surprised that you got stems off it until October. The perceived wisdom is that you should crop rhubarb until you start cropping gooseberries, which we started here in Dorset a week ago, although I have to admit to a bit of overlapping. All right then, quite a lot. My own view is that if it's happy to keep producing, I'm happy to keep eating. When it dies down, I chuck loads of manure on it, and ignore it until next year. there are two reasons to stop cropping. One is to allow the plant to use its leaves to provide food for it to store to give a big crop the following year. So I'm wondering if the thin stems are nothing to do with the storm and more to do with too much cutting last year The second reason is that the oxalic acid levels are supposed to increase later in the year, so after about June it's not all that good for you. -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
Theo Markettos wrote:
:: I've been posting here a little for a while, but I ought to do a :: proper introduction, so... :: :: I'm a student and, for the first time I'm living in a house that :: a) doesn't have wall-to-wall grass or concrete or someone to :: maintain it and b) I don't get chucked out of in June (bit :: annoying from a gardening point of view, that). With much learnt :: from this group and not much help from the weather the vegetable :: plot is in full swing and I'm trying to work out what else has :: been left by previous occupants. :: :: AFAICS the garden has once had gardening efforts applied given :: there were a few self-seeded lettuces around, some things that :: look something like wild carrots (they're feathery but have a big :: taproot but not really rounded like a carrot) and a large patch of :: rhubarb. It's about 1m wide by 8m long at :: the south east end of the garden so that it gets sun for a large :: proportion of the day, but up against the shed on the SE side and :: a fence on the SW side. :: :: Last year we moved in in July and it was heavily cropping: I don't :: think the people who were here before us for 2 years touched it. :: So we were eating as much rhubarb as we could and it was still :: going in October. I covered it with maybe 1-2cm manure and come :: March it was peeping up again. As far as I could see the woody :: bit of each plant was maybe 1ft across. :: :: It's been growing vigourously since then except about three weeks :: ago there was a storm in which what appeared to be icecubes fell :: from the sky - they were solid clear ice, not white like :: hailstones, maybe 7mm across. Having this pelted at it flattened :: the rhubarb quite considerably and it's looking rather unhappy :: now, like it's been sat on. We haven't been eating very much :: since then. There are lots of thin (1/2 inch) shoots at ground :: level, but fewer thick shoots going upwards. :: :: I pulled some of the broken stems yesterday (there were some with :: ants :: living inside) and took about 8 more good ones to eat. So I'm :: wondering what's the best thing to do: pull more so new growth :: comes through or thin out to allow existing squashed ones to :: fatten up? Does it matter, from the plant's point of view, that :: the shoots are flat against the ground with thin stems since I :: assume they are still receiving sunlight OK? My rhubarb is very prolific although we eat very little of it[1], it's fairly sheltered having walls to the North and West of it so it can be picked as early as March, I have never given it any kind of fertiliser, watered it or anything else and it just keeps getting bigger, the one plant must be 2 metres across, it invades the path and I keep chopping about 15 - 20 sticks and leaves off but I have to do this about every month from late April through to about September. Only if we have apple & rhubarb crumble (with the obligatory custard of course), which is about five or six times per year! -- If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs. |
Kay wrote in
: there are two reasons to stop cropping. One is to allow the plant to use its leaves to provide food for it to store to give a big crop the following year. So I'm wondering if the thin stems are nothing to do with the storm and more to do with too much cutting last year That was my guess, specially if it hasn't been fed at all this year. I tend to pull and compost weedy thin stems, but I also take them as a warning that the plant is hungry and apply loads of compost & chicken poo. Haven't seen any for a couple of years now, even in my thin stony soil! Victoria -- gardening on a north-facing hill in South-East Cornwall -- |
The message
from Theo Markettos contains these words: Last year we moved in in July and it was heavily cropping: I don't think the people who were here before us for 2 years touched it. So we were eating as much rhubarb as we could and it was still going in October. I covered it with maybe 1-2cm manure and come March it was peeping up again. As far as I could see the woody bit of each plant was maybe 1ft across. You shouldn't pull any after mid-June. It's been growing vigourously since then except about three weeks ago there was a storm in which what appeared to be icecubes fell from the sky - they were solid clear ice, not white like hailstones, maybe 7mm across. Having this pelted at it flattened the rhubarb quite considerably and it's looking rather unhappy now, like it's been sat on. We haven't been eating very much since then. There are lots of thin (1/2 inch) shoots at ground level, but fewer thick shoots going upwards. That's because you overcropped it last year. It might never recover. Unfortunately, the remedy (digging up a crown in the autumn, splitting-off the outside new growth, and preparing a bed and planting only the outside bits) leaves you without rhubarb for a year - unless you can dig one crown and make a new bed. Of course, a year is a long time in student accommodation. I pulled some of the broken stems yesterday (there were some with ants living inside) and took about 8 more good ones to eat. So I'm wondering what's the best thing to do: pull more so new growth comes through or thin out to allow existing squashed ones to fatten up? Does it matter, from the plant's point of view, that the shoots are flat against the ground with thin stems since I assume they are still receiving sunlight OK? Leave the damaged stuff. Pull new growth when the leaves have uncrinkled, but before they go dull and leathery. If you have a pressure-cooker, put freshly-cooked rhubarb in screwtop jars in the pressure-cooker, and simmer for a while. Replace lids on jars and leave them for half a minute (for the space to fill with steam and expel the air), tighten lids. Keep in a dark place, and the rhubarb will keep indefinitely. But don't pull any after mid June! -- Rusty Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar. http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
Victoria Clare wrote:
That was my guess, specially if it hasn't been fed at all this year. What do you mean by feeding? Liquid or solid? How do you apply it when it's in leaf? I probably didn't put enough manure on it over the winter, but am wondering how to feed without submerging the leaves. I don't think there was much more pulling last year than would be expected in a season: AFAICS it hadn't been pulled at all before August so unless I was disturbing something by pulling too late I don't think it was overpulled. I tend to pull and compost weedy thin stems, but I also take them as a warning that the plant is hungry and apply loads of compost & chicken poo. Haven't seen any for a couple of years now, even in my thin stony soil! I think the reason ours has weedy stems is that because it was flattened they had to grow further to get to the light (all the leaves have been compressed together). Some of the leaves are yellow and ragged where they don't get enough light. The central stems are still strong, but it's the ones around the edges that have been flattened which I'm wondering what to do with. Thanks Theo |
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
The message from Theo Markettos contains these words: Last year we moved in in July and it was heavily cropping: I don't think the people who were here before us for 2 years touched it. So we were eating as much rhubarb as we could and it was still going in October. I covered it with maybe 1-2cm manure and come March it was peeping up again. As far as I could see the woody bit of each plant was maybe 1ft across. You shouldn't pull any after mid-June. It's been growing vigourously since then except about three weeks ago there was a storm in which what appeared to be icecubes fell from the sky - they were solid clear ice, not white like hailstones, maybe 7mm across. Having this pelted at it flattened the rhubarb quite considerably and it's looking rather unhappy now, like it's been sat on. We haven't been eating very much since then. There are lots of thin (1/2 inch) shoots at ground level, but fewer thick shoots going upwards. That's because you overcropped it last year. It might never recover. Unfortunately, the remedy (digging up a crown in the autumn, splitting-off the outside new growth, and preparing a bed and planting only the outside bits) leaves you without rhubarb for a year - unless you can dig one crown and make a new bed. Of course, a year is a long time in student accommodation. I pulled some of the broken stems yesterday (there were some with ants living inside) and took about 8 more good ones to eat. So I'm wondering what's the best thing to do: pull more so new growth comes through or thin out to allow existing squashed ones to fatten up? Does it matter, from the plant's point of view, that the shoots are flat against the ground with thin stems since I assume they are still receiving sunlight OK? Leave the damaged stuff. Pull new growth when the leaves have uncrinkled, but before they go dull and leathery. If you have a pressure-cooker, put freshly-cooked rhubarb in screwtop jars in the pressure-cooker, and simmer for a while. Replace lids on jars and leave them for half a minute (for the space to fill with steam and expel the air), tighten lids. Keep in a dark place, and the rhubarb will keep indefinitely. But don't pull any after mid June! I wouldn't recommend anybody living the student lifestyle to indulge in sugar-free preserving like that. Yes, you can do it, particularly, I imagine, with something as acid as rhubarb; but I'd hesitate to take responsibility for somebody else's skills. Or is rhubarb indeed so acid as to be a special case? -- Mike. |
The message
from Theo Markettos contains these words: I think the reason ours has weedy stems is that because it was flattened they had to grow further to get to the light (all the leaves have been compressed together). Some of the leaves are yellow and ragged where they don't get enough light. The central stems are still strong, but it's the ones around the edges that have been flattened which I'm wondering what to do with. I've been pulling my rhubarb quite heavily, and new stems coming up are still nearly as thick as tubes of tomato purée. You can see a couple of pretty basic pics of it at: http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/roobarb1.jpg and http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/roobarb2.jpg Those were taken was at the end of last year - its first year, a side-shoot from a crown of Timperley Early which was between the size of a large carrot and a small parsnip. With rhubarb, feeding is half the answer, The other three halves are watering it. For now, any general purpose liquid feed will do: mix it as per the instructions on the container, and give each crown at least two gallons of it, distributed *ROUND* it. Repeat a couple more times during the year. When the crowns die back in the autumn, you can pile all sorts of stuff round them: wood ash, compost, horse/cow/pig manure (and it doesn't have to be rotted, so long as you don't cover the crown with it.), bonemeal, any old stock which has gone off, etc. Careful with chicken manu it's best to compost that with stuff like leaves and grass-cuttings first. Stop feeding with this sort of stuff around January. I generally continue to give mine the washing-up water, especially if it's a bit soupy. (Never put water containing washing powders such as Ariel, Persil, Daz etc - they contain borax.) Living alone as I do, I tend to allow a plastic bowl to fill with items to wash up before doing the job - saves hot water, is my excuse. So, the soup^H^H^H^water afterwards is very acceptable to rhubarb... I reckon to kive my one crown at least a gallon of water a day, and in hot dry weather, four gallons. -- Rusty Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar. |
The message
from "Mike Lyle" contains these words: I wouldn't recommend anybody living the student lifestyle to indulge in sugar-free preserving like that. Yes, you can do it, particularly, I imagine, with something as acid as rhubarb; but I'd hesitate to take responsibility for somebody else's skills. Or is rhubarb indeed so acid as to be a special case? I've never had any problems with rhubarb. Of course, you can always add sugar, but the pressure-cooking raises the temperature significantly above 100° C, and as long as you expel the air with steam (the jars will continue to simmer when you've removed the lid of the cooker) you're left with a pretty good vacuum in the space at the top of the jar. The only unsweetened fruit I've had trouble with is black nightshade, and I lost the lot last year. This year I shall add lots of sugar... For anyone who unforgets our thread on black nightshade last year, the golden variety I found was identified by Kew as red nightshade. I don't know why it's called 'red' because it's the colour of a golden tomato, but translucent. It has a slightly nicer flavour than the black variety... -- Rusty Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar. http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
For now, any general purpose liquid feed will do: mix it as per the instructions on the container, and give each crown at least two gallons of it, distributed *ROUND* it. Repeat a couple more times during the year. Aha, thanks. Stop feeding with this sort of stuff around January. I generally continue to give mine the washing-up water, especially if it's a bit soupy. (Never put water containing washing powders such as Ariel, Persil, Daz etc - they contain borax.) I've wondered about that - whether it was a particularly good idea to put (dilute) washing up liquid on veg. I suppose I could switch back to the Ecover harms-nothing-including-dirt brand. Though now I've done a bit of research it seems they don't have significant toxicity: http://www.medtox.org/info/pdq/npisv1i3.pdf But presumably the phosphate in the liquid act as fertiliser from the rhubarb :-) Theo |
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
For now, any general purpose liquid feed will do: mix it as per the instructions on the container, and give each crown at least two gallons of it, distributed *ROUND* it. Repeat a couple more times during the year. Aha, thanks. Stop feeding with this sort of stuff around January. I generally continue to give mine the washing-up water, especially if it's a bit soupy. (Never put water containing washing powders such as Ariel, Persil, Daz etc - they contain borax.) I've wondered about that - whether it was a particularly good idea to put (dilute) washing up liquid on veg. I suppose I could switch back to the Ecover harms-nothing-including-dirt brand. Though now I've done a bit of research it seems they don't have significant toxicity: http://www.medtox.org/info/pdq/npisv1i3.pdf (surprisingly, the National Poisons Information Service newsletters are quite an interesting read in general) But presumably the phosphate in the liquid act as fertiliser from the rhubarb :-) Theo |
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