GROWING RHUBARB (Rheum Rhabarbarum) Dividing Crowns

In early February 2018 I received a large crown of rhubarb in exchange for digging a small hole for a fellow allotmenteer, a good example of olde fashioned #Bartering. I have never bought rhubarb let alone attempted to grow it, or even cooked with it myself. I like rhubarb, known as a 'dessert vegetable' bytheway, when baked in a pie or under crumble, or just lightly stewed and reduced into a jam, with no artificially processed sugar added. of course. The crown has sat for a number of weeks where it was left as I investigated the finer details of planting and nurturing as well as seeking out some nutritional and health benefit information.
Having been informed that the first years growth would not be edible plus taking into consideration the large number of lifted crowns dotted around the allotments, there seemed to be no urgency in a need to get planting it straight away...
 

MY GIFTED RHUBARB CROWN AWAITING A PERMANENT HOME

until today...
TUESDAY 13th MARCH 2018

PLOT SHOT FROM 4th FEBRUARY 2018 WITH RHUBARB CROWN IN THE FOREGROUND. LITTLE CHANGE FROM THEN 'TIL NOW

Armed with basic rhubarb knowledge among the tools, today is the day for dividing and planting my rhubarb crown. I've decided to split the large crown into several individual ones, potting them up and burying the pots at Rhubarb Central. This way will help to get them established in soil now and allow them to be placed in different areas of the plot, or gifted, if desired, in the future.

A full length video showing the dividing and replanting process

plus real time digging can be viewed below and on YouTube.

A shortened length video showing the dividing and replanting process

plus speed digging can be viewed below and on YouTube.

After being divided into seven individual crowns of varying sizes and planted in locations both in the ground and in sunken pots, for simpler future relocation, my crowns settle in at Rhubarb Central for a summer of acclimatising.

THE LARGER PORTION OF DIVIDED CROWN SETTLED IN AT RHUBARB CENTRAL

IMAGES BELOW SHOW THE OTHER CROWNS POTTED & LOCATED AT RHUBARB CENTRAL

RHUBARB CENTRAL

 
RHUBARB CENTRAL TWO

Further up the allotment is the siting place for a lone rhubarb crown,
the prodigal son, perhaps, in Rhubarb Central Two

ONE DIVIDED RHUBARB CROWN PLANTED AT RHUBARB CENTRAL TWO

 
SOME RHUBARB NUTRITIONAL AND HEALTH BENEFIT INFORMATION

As shown below, rhubarb would appear to be one of those plants that has an amazing amount of health and wellbeing benefits. I have therefore decided to class it as a 'super food' and hope to maintain a regular consumption as part of my everyday diet.

The preserving of any unused harvest will be necessary to avoid waste and ensure a regular supply throughout the remainder of the year, so a number of different storage, cooking and 'canning' methods will be employed. To receive future updates and notifications of new posts, subscribe for email updates from the app. in the side bar.

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RHUBARB AND SLUGS 'n' SNAILS

Rhubarb is known to attract slugs and snails, not good to have anywhere in the garden, so a slug 'n' snail deterrent, perhaps a slug repelling companion plant, is currently being sought. Chives have been noted as a possible solution, so I will try them out as an experiment, primarily planting them in pots that will be buried in close proximity to the rhubarb plant and can be easily lifted and moved relatively undisturbed if they fail to impress.

As a 'no~kill' pest controller, slug pellets are out. The only other option that springs to mind is to collect and relocate. In this case, finding an attracting plant or a highly attractive source is the mission to 'centralise' all snails for collection before finding them a new home. Obviously, the 'collect and relocate' method needs frequent monitoring with the aim being to achieve such time as all of the pests have been captured and moved on to pastures new and far away from my plot and the allotment gardens as a whole. If total banishment is achieved an option is to remove the attraction whilst continuing to monitor the area in case any homesick or new individuals 'move in'.

Will this work? I aim to find out!

COMPANION PLANTS FOR RHUBARB

Companion planting is the name given to the practice of planting certain plants in close proximity to another plant to offer a mutual benefit, including repelling pests, attracting predatory and pollinating insects, offering shade, providing nutrients, improving flavour and productivity and increasing the overall happiness of the garden.

Good companion plants, according to general consensus, for #rhubarb include:

Garlic and Onions  repel aphids. apparently!
Cabbage,
Cauliflower,
Broccoli,
Kale,
Columbines,
Strawberries.

The above list is not complete and possibly wont be
although it will be added to as knowledge is absorbed.

~ Please Note ~

 I am neither an expert gardener or a gardening expert.

This article was written in my first year of allotmenteering and of growing food en mass

so much advice picking combined with experimentation is par for the course.
This is
 ~ RiKs Allotment Garden Diary ~
the experimental professor of pottage

Who knows best?

the ones with the best crops?
or the nicest recipe?

I urge any readers of this article to treat it as a YeeHar!

Seeking and taking advice from more than one or two sources is both sensible and interesting.

For a list of gardening and health related websites that I frequently use to reference and source information

please click this link > USEFUL LINKS which takes you to the link page.

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