Rhubarb

[Chantal]

When you plant new rhubarb, should you pick it in the first year? If not, what happens to the leaves and stalks (some of them very big) are they just left to rot?

[Geoff]

I usually stick with the rules and harvest none in the first Spring and little in the second Spring - I suppose how much you take in the second depends whether you Autumn planted or Spring planted and how big they are. I usually clear away all the stalks and foliage when they are rotted to deter slugs. I leave it exposed through the Winter then feed and mulch early February after it has had a frosting. I don't force any so your treatment might be slightly different if you are forcing.

[Chantal]

Thanks Geoff

It's not my rhubarb, it's my plot neighbour who asked me and I have no idea, so I'll pass this on to him.

[PLUMPUDDING]

If it is a big plant, take a couple of the stalks, but if it only has a few leave them on until they die back and then stick them in the compost heap. I cover my plant with a couple of sacks of hen hut cleanings when the leaves have died down in autumn (a mixture of soft wood shavings and hen manure) and the plant is now extremely vigorous and produces far more than we could possibly eat.