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Feeding Rhubarb.

Hello,i planted Rhubarb which i bought from a nursery,it's doing well but wondered about best thing to feed it? i also have 4 Runner bean plants in a pot measuring about 12",is this too many?though they too look good.Thank you.

Posts

  • Mitzi3Mitzi3 Posts: 4

    Thanks for the reply,will wait for other opinions too.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    My Rhubarb gets Fish, Blood and Bone in the spring and is then mulched with farmyard manure in the spring,  then I give it another good layer of FYM in the late autumn, when I'm tidying up the garden for the winter.

     About Christmas I put a forcing pot over it and then I get an early crop of tender pink stems -  stop picking the rhubarb in May and let the plant bulk up again over the summer. I do this every year; it doesn't weaken the plant like traditional forcing where you lift the root and expose it to frost then move it to a warm dark place to force it. 

    I agree with Verdun about the beans - put them in the ground if you can - they need plenty of room and it's difficult to stake them properly in a pot as it'll get top-heavy. 

    Good luck image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ItalophileItalophile Posts: 1,731

    Rhubarb's a bit like asparagus in that wherever it's planted becomes its home for potentially a very long time. So major improvements to the soil need to be done prior to planting. Or, if you've literally only just planted, you can lift the plants, attend to the soil, and replace the plants.

    Rhubarb's actually pretty tolerant. It loves well-drained soil with plenty of organic stuff dug in but will still grow in average soil conditions as Sara's rhubarb proves. But the better conditions you give it, the more it will reward you. What sort of soil are yours planted in, Mitzi?

  • Mitzi3Mitzi3 Posts: 4

    Thank you all for your replies,i don't really want to take the rhubarb out,not it's doing well,as for the beans,i haven't got the room for them to go in the ground.Wouldn't the beans and rhubarb be ok for now,with a liquid feed of some kind?

  • ItalophileItalophile Posts: 1,731

    Mitzi, the problem with the beans is that (a) they are climbers and will grow to 6' or more and also spread sideways to an extent; and (b) will need strong supports in the form of canes of some description. One 12" pot isn't big enough to accommodate four plants and the pot isn't deep enough to provide stable support for the canes.

    You could try separating them into different pots but, again, the problem could be supporting them.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,139

    Have a look at these pictures https://www.google.com/search?q=rhubarb+roots&rlz=1C1SVEE_enGB425GB425&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Cg68UbiXNIO90QXE8oDQCw&ved=0CDEQsAQ&biw=1092&bih=514#rlz=1C1SVEE_enGB425GB425&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=rhubarb+plant+pictures&oq=rhubarb+plant&gs_l=img.1.1.0l10.30085.32590.0.34832.10.8.0.2.2.0.82.522.8.8.0...0.0.0..1c.1.17.img.i-DVbfFo4KQ&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47883778,d.d2k&fp=67de315c87a6556d&biw=1092&bih=514

    That is what your rhubarb is trying to be - if your pot is big enough then it'll be fine in a pot - if not it needs to be in the ground or it won't be able to build up a big enough crown to both give you a crop and survive the winter.

    Ignore the pic of the plant bigger than the people, that's not a rhubarb, that's a gunnera image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Mitzi3Mitzi3 Posts: 4

    The rhubarb's in the ground,so that's ok.

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