Growing rhubarb
Everyone can grow rhubarb! It’s a vegetable full of flavour and antioxidants. In many places, harvesting starts as early as April and when the first pink buds appear in the flowerbed, it’s a sure sign that spring is here.
Rhubarb is a beloved and versatile crop
Rhubarb is a perennial crop that has been cultivated since the 17th century in Europe, first as a medicinal plant for a range of ailments. In the 19th century, as the availability of sugar increased in households, rhubarb gained more uses. Sweetness balances the natural acidity of rhubarb. Many people started growing rhubarb to make delicious pies, jams, juices and creams in early spring.
Growing rhubarb is easy
Rhubarb is hardy and thrives in rich soil in a place where it gets both shade and sun. If you’re growing rhubarb, bear in mind that the plant can grow up to two metres high. The leaves can grow so large that a stalk can almost be used as an umbrella. Rhubarb has a tendency to spread out. Therefore, do not plant it too close to other plants that you care for.
Many people harvest rhubarb year after year without having to do much more than pull the stalks from the plant. Maybe just weed it every now and then. However, if you want to get the most out of your rhubarb, you should add chicken or cow manure when the frost has gone. Feel free to fertilise again in summer if you want to continue harvesting. Adding grass clippings can be an alternative to fertilising.
When rhubarb flowers, some of the plant’s energy is used for flowering. The flowers are not eye-catching and are rarely saved for appearance. If you want to maximise the harvest, you can therefore cut them off. A rhubarb flower can be difficult to distinguish from a new bud at first, but it is mainly older rhubarb plants that flower.
To summarise, growing rhubarb successfully is all about:
- Giving the crop enough space
- Weeding out weeds that grow into the rhubarb
- Fertilising in spring and possibly later
- Remove flowers
It is possible to grow rhubarb in a pot, if the pot is big enough. Use soil that is rich in nutrients and add compost or fertiliser in spring each year.
When is it best to plant rhubarb?
If you want to grow rhubarb from seeds, it is advisable to plant in the open air in early spring. You can also do it earlier if you have access to a frost-free environment. If you already have rhubarb, you can thin out your plants and move as many as you like to a new location. This should be done when the plant is in ‘dormancy’, i.e. late autumn or early spring.
Make the most of the rhubarb harvest
Leave the rhubarb alone the first year after it is established. The second year you can start harvesting carefully. You can freeze rhubarb so that you have access to its unique and deliciously tart flavour all year round. Before freezing rhubarb, we recommend chopping the stalks into centimetre-sized pieces. You don’t need to pre-water them, but some people choose to do so because it preserves the colour better. In autumn, the stalks become woody and lose some of their flavour. Rhubarb is at its best as a starter.
Author: Johanna Damm
Fact-checked by Erik Hoekstra
Last updated 2023-11-22