Confessions of a rhubarb virgin

As a result of the lame efforts of the postman (who didn’t wait after ringing the doorbell) and despite the recent wintry weather, I took a trip to the local Royal Mail sorting office to collect my parcel of rhubarb crowns from  Marshalls Seeds. I had ordered a pack with two different rhubarb varieties so I can compare the difference as they grow (aka spreading the risks in case one dies!).

One variety is called Stockbridge Arrow (allegedly) one of the best varieties available with long, thick stems that are topped with arrow shaped leaves.

The other one is Champagne, an old variety is  reliable and easy to grow. The young plants  quickly mature with crowns big enough to harvest around 2 years after planting.

My plan is to grow them together in a large (approx. 3ft diameter) pot for the moment so that they can be easily transported when we finally sell our house and move to a new place.  The conditions were admittedly not ideal when I got the parcel back home but the instructions included in the box were very clear – plant the crowns out as soon as possible after receiving them. Luckily I have had the pot ready for some time and it has been covered with bubble wrap as a token gesture to “warm” the soil. I doubt that it has made much difference but it should hopefully have prevented the worst effects of the cold weather recently.

The pot has now been moved into the garage as we don’t have a greenhouse or similar that could be used and the crowns were planted according to the instructions included. The only change I made was to cover them with a clear propagation tray lid in the hope that keeps off the worst of the temperature drop. There might not be quite enough organic matter in there but I’m hoping that this is only a temporary home for a year or so and no more than that.

Obviously there isn’t much to show at the moment but pictures will follow as soon as there is some action!

Once the current snow, sleet and ice has cleared I can move the pot back outside again and hopefully by that time my order from Greenfingers.com will have arrived. I don’t urgently need the new spring tine rake that I’ve ordered but the protective garden fleece will come in very handy!

This will be my first attempt at growing rhubarb so I have read up on information around the web and I thought it was worth including a selection of links here for reference purposes as I’m always misplacing useful web links:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_growingrhubarb1.shtml

http://www.brandycarrnurseries.co.uk/rhubarb/growing-rhubarb-tips.htm

http://www.allotment.org.uk/grow-your-own/fruit/rhubarb

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/how-to-grow/growing-rhubarb