Rhubarb

Rhubarb, a popular ingredient in pies, is believed to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of cancer.

It is best to grow rhubarb in well drained soil that is cool, moist, rich and deep.

You can grow rhubarb on sandy soil if you add an abundant amount of manure to it.

Rhubarb is usually propagated by root division. To plant rhubarb, dig up old rhubarb roots, then cut them up with a spade, removing the portions of root that have been damaged.

If you have never grown rhubarb before, you should be able to buy old roots from other growers.

You can also grow rhubarb from seed.

Sow seeds in March as soon as you can get the soil in a fine tilth.

Rhubarb seeds should be sown in rows 1 foot apart, with the seeds placed 1 inch deep in the soil.

As soon as the seedlings start to come through, thin them out so that they are 10 inches apart. This will allow them to grow good crowns.

If you grow rhubarb from seeds, you may not always get true varieties. During the late summer, you and discard the seedlings that are obviously the wrong variety.

When the plants are a year old, move them to their permanent bed.

To prepare for planting, plow the land in February or March. Plow it 9 feet deep.

Place the plants in rows 3 feet apart, and place the plants 2 ½ feet within the rows.

The plants should be placed at the level of the soil. Never bury the buds underneath the soil.

Be sure to protect your rhubarb plants from cold winds.

The soil should be cultivated at regular intervals

During the first year, you can grow a catch crop of spinach or lettuce between the rows of rhubarb.

In the winter, you should cultivate the soil between the rows and remove old leaves and stalks.

When you are digging in the winter, draw the soil slightly up to the crowns so that the crop is not visible

Every year, add a complete fertilizer with a high level of nitrogen. You can add ammonium sulfate the first year and a combination of farmyard manure and ammonium sulfate the second year.

You should also add a combination of superphosphate, potassium sulfate and steamed bone flour regularly.

In January, in preparation for early pulling, place a large amount of litter along the rows of rhubarb. You can use stable manure or barley straw as litter.

If you don't plan to lift your rhubarb plans and force them (grow them out of season) indoors, you can leave them down for seven or eight years before you split them up.

Rhubarb that is to be forced should be dug up after a three year period.

Do not pull any stalks during the first season, and pull only a small amount during the second season.

You should not pull too many leaves from one plant at a time, and you should not pull any leaves at all after the end of July.

Rhubarb can be forced in glasshouse, pits, frames or small sheds.

You can pack large crowns in beds, without any space between them. If there are spaces, fill them with soil or a combination of soil and leaf mold.

Keep the temperature at about 45 degrees Fahrenheit the first week, 50 degrees Fahrenheit the second week and 60 degrees Fahrenheit the third week and beyond.

The earlier you force your rhubarb, the smaller your plants will be.

You should spray your rhubarb plants from overhead everyday so that the soil remains moist. Do not soak the beds.

Rhubarb can also be forced by placing the crowns over hotbeds in trenches that are about 2 feet deep and 4 feet wide, then covering the trenches with boards and sacks.

You can place shutters around the trenches and then pile farmyard manure around them.