Growing Rhubarb: Plant Once and Harvest for Years

What grows after 5 years or more of planting, can be processed into everything from jam (or jam) to a tasty crumble, and is almost free of pests? It's rhubarb! Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) is one of the earliest fruits you can grow in the year. Growing rhubarb is not difficult at all. In this article I will tell you about the different methods you can use to grow your own rhubarb and give you tips on how to take good care of it .

There are several ways to grow rhubarb

There are several ways to grow rhubarb. You can grow rhubarb from seed, divide rhubarb and then replant it or start from a plant or tuber from our webshop. Growing rhubarb from a tuber or existing plant is of course the fastest way, but the most pride comes from sowing your own rhubarb plant.

Growing Rhubarb from Seed

Rhubarb can be grown from seed, but this will require much more time and patience compared to planting a rhubarb plant or rootstock.

Start pre-sowing indoors from March to May, approximately 8 to 10 weeks before the last frost ( Ice Saints +/- 15 May). This way your seedling still has enough time to grow into a strong plant before you have to plant it out.

What do you need?

• seeds, of course??
• a container filled with a little lukewarm water to soak the seeds in
• quality potting soil or garden soil mixed with compost
• P9 pots
• base, e.g. a Danish box
• possibly: a greenhouse or propagator to create the ideal conditions (read more here )

Soak the seeds in lukewarm water for 1 to 2 hours. This will help them germinate faster.

Fill your P9 pots with potting soil . Make a hole of about 1 cm deep. Drop one to 2 seeds in each cell and close the hole again. By sowing 2 seeds you can choose the strongest seedling after germination. Place your pots on a base or Danish tray and moisten the soil with a plant sprayer . Your patience is now being tested for the first time ??. The seeds take about 7 to 14 days to germinate at 21°C.

Check the soil daily. Make sure it is not soaking wet but never let it dry out, otherwise it is game over. As soon as the seeds have germinated, water from below. This prevents the cotyledons from burning.

Provide sufficient growth light as soon as your seeds have germinated. This will give you a compact, sturdy plant. Outside it is still too cold and the sun is still too weak and not present for enough hours. Turn on your lamp in the morning when you get up and turn your lamp off when you go to bed. This way you follow the sun, your plant gets enough light but also rest at night to grow.

Would you rather start from an existing rhubarb plant? Then definitely read on.

When to plant rhubarb?

Rhubarb is planted out in late autumn or early spring. It is important that you plant your plant as deep as the depth of your plant pot. Make sure that the growing points are placed just above the ground.

Location

Rhubarb is a perennial plant and grows large. After planting it produces for many years, five or more. Therefore rhubarb should be planted in a spot in the garden where it can grow undisturbed. Rhubarb grows well in soil with a lot of well-rotted manure or compost . In my vegetable garden the rhubarb is next to the compost bin, it likes it there because every spring I make rhubarb-strawberry jam with rhubarb and strawberries from my own garden, delicious ??

Choose a spot with well-draining, fertile soil. Rhubarb grows best in full sun, but will tolerate partial shade. Good drainage is essential, as rhubarb will rot if it is too wet. Mix compost , well-rotted manure or other organic matter into the soil. Rhubarb plants are greedy plants and need this organic matter. You can read more about soil preparation and basic fertilization in this article or Tom explains in this video .

Rhubarb grows tall. Keep 1 meter distance in all directions between each plant.

Growing rhubarb: care tips

Rhubarb is generally a fairly low maintenance plant and can last for many years if properly cared for.

Keep the soil evenly moist, but avoid allowing the roots to remain wet for too long. Overwatering can cause root rot.

Give a good dose of fertilizer or compost in the spring to encourage growth. Dried cow manure is ideal. It is not only a fertilizer but also improves your soil. It is an organic fertilizer so you can never really give too much. About 2 handfuls per square meter is perfect.

Give a handful of berry fertilizer from March to October. This fertilizer provides nutrition for 2 to 3 months. Give a dose in March, July and October. This keeps your plant strong and healthy.

Remove weeds around the rhubarb to minimize competition for nutrients. Rhubarb does not always flower, but when flowers do appear, it is better to cut them off. This allows the plant to put its energy into the leaves and stems.

Harvesting rhubarb

Wait the first year after planting before you start harvesting. Rhubarb is harvested from April to the end of June. Do not cut off the stems, but twist or tear them off. From July onwards, leave the leaves on the plant, because they transport nutrients to the roots. In the autumn, the leaves die off and your rhubarb disappears, so to speak. This is completely normal. As soon as the spring sun warms up your soil, it will peep out of its own accord.

Hopefully I have convinced you to plant rhubarb in your vegetable garden. You will enjoy it for years to come. If you find this information valuable, consider purchasing your products in our webshop . In this way, you support our team in sharing more free vegetable garden information.

Use the discount code BIOMOESTUIN and get €5.00 off when placing a first order. With the code MOESTUINSPULLEN you get €5.00 off on every order over €50.00.

Greetings, Sarah