Rhubarb is back in fashion! Once a food staple, rhubarb became less fashionable during the late 70s and 80s due to the fad of pre-packed more exotic produce. This has all changed with the new culture of eating good quality ‘homely’ food that has gripped the nation and the positive press that rhubarb has received due to its health benefits.

A perennial vegetable, rhubarb is essential in every person’s allotment garden. Planting from seed can take a huge amount of time and effort to create a plant of adequate size and quality. So it is always advisable to buy established crowns or if you are lucky someone may split an established rhubarb plant for you. Always make sure that the root piece has one large crown bud so the rhubarb can establish itself mush more quickly.

Crowns should be planted in the spring about 5cm below the surface, you can use lots of organic matter on the crown, even creating a mound above the surface due to the plants requirement for lots of organic matter. Doing a pH test on the area where the rhubarb is to be planted is a good idea due to its natural tendency to like acid soils (pH 6-7).

Young plants should not be harvested frequently and not at all in the first year of planting. It is important to remember that only the stalks must be eaten, the leaves contain dangerous levels of oxalic acid which can cause severe illness.

Rhubarb can be pulled (not cut) from around April time in the UK unless it is forced.