Talkback: Flowering rhubarb - Talkback

11/05/2008 at 17:05

I have several crowns, one in the garden and several in big pots but they seem to be dying off prematurely, can a crown have a limited life span or are they lacking in nutrients?

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12/05/2008 at 17:50

I grew rhubarb from seed for my allotment and with 3 seeds I got three lovely plants, but the rhubarb wasn't ready to pick until about september and old hands told me it shouldn't be picked after midsummers day. It was lovely right into october.Now I have had to leave my allotment and my one plant in my garden flowered before anything grew, I snapped it off, it's not recovering very quickly.

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14/05/2008 at 07:13

how can i keep ferral pidgeons out of my garden

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15/05/2008 at 17:31

I've tried using the juice from stewed rhubarb and making a bucks fizz with champagne! incredible!

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15/05/2008 at 20:43

Gunnera substitute. I grew a proper crown (like a giant doughnut) for years. A friend had thrown it on his rubbish heap and I made him retreive it. I grew it in dry soil next to a pond mainly for the leaves and the flowers and it flowered every year. I only removed it when I re-shaped my pond. It must have been very old. I don't know the variety. The flower stems were not as high as 'Champagne' but then it was never fed.

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11/06/2008 at 09:48

I have tree rhubarb crowns in my garden which belonged to an old tenant,the rhubarb is about forty years old, they love it in the shade, and the start of winter i pile the earth up and over the crowns and every year i get tall, thick stems and rhubarb that melts in the mouth.

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09/07/2008 at 13:13

I bought a 1 year old crown from Wisley last year and planted it as recommended. Unfortunately it has rotted off! I bought a forcer and placed it on top of the crown as soon as buds appeared in the ground, got a few stems and that was it. What could have caused this? Should i have left it a year before picking? Or shouldn't i have forced it so soon? Any help would be appreciated.

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29/07/2008 at 20:19

I have just bought 3 rhubarb crowns for my new allotment and they have about 4 stalks on each. Will these stalks die off in time to just leave the crown or will they stay on over Winter. I know I should cover the crowns with manure in January/February.

Any other tips please....one of the leaves has turned brown so I have removed both the leaf and stalk.

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09/08/2008 at 16:40

I'm new to growing rhubarb but not to cooking and eating it. Most stalks have small lumps of clear firm jelly on them which, when rubbed off, reveals a brownish stain, even a hole, in the stalk. Is it eggs or a secretion? Can I eat it?There are holes on the leaves and I've found 2 pale green caterpillars on the underside about 1cm long.

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18/08/2008 at 22:39

I also have the clear jelly on my rhubarb...I didn't have it earlier in the year ...does anyone know what it is?

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24/08/2008 at 22:57

I think I have found out what causes the clear jelly...the Rhubarb weevil/snout beetle. The jelly is sap from the rhubarb... the beetle lays in eggs in the stalk then in some plants the larvae burrow down the stalk -but in rhubarb the larvae can't grow..so it doesn't really harm the plant but marks the stalk. The only way to get rid of them that I've found is to keep the surrounding area clear of weeds -especially docks..but I don't have any around mine...so if anyone can come up with a better way to get rid of them I'd love to know...thanks

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25/08/2008 at 22:48

I got a feeling that the clear jelly is actually what they put inside a nappy. most likely got at by a fox and riped apart. I have seen them do it and the stuff looks like a clear jelly, water retaining crystal.

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06/05/2009 at 21:12

I am a complete garden novice and need help! I've got some rhubarb that has been completely neglected and unharvested in very poor soil in a shady area of the garden for about 10 years. I'm a reformed character and now want to rescue the rhubarb and move it to a more suitable area where I can tend and bring it back to life....Is this possible? If so, how do I do it??

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13/05/2009 at 16:44

[...] rhubarb – not only is it 6 ft tall and taking over a half of a bed, its started to flower. I’ve just Googled it, and Pippa Greenwood (her of the BBC, hence in my book, an expert) says [...]

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01/06/2009 at 12:31

I noticed that something was eating the leaves of my Rhubarg and found a large beetles with red body and black other parts.Anyone know what this beetle might be. I cannot find it anywhere on the internet. Who would eat poisonous rhubarb leaves???

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01/06/2009 at 16:43

i moved into a house 4 years ago and the rhubarb was delicious but last year a flower grew which i cut out but this year there were 3 or 4 flowers which once again i cut out but the rhubarb has gone all limp and does not look nice at all can you tell me wether the soil need some sort of feeding if so what and the corns do they need digging up and cutting

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05/06/2009 at 14:57

Hello, Iam new to growing veg un fruit and could do with some advice on rhubarb. I recently purchased a crown but the label doesnt say how old it is, it is only a small one but have at least 5 rather large leaves with thick stems. Questions are how can you tell if it is ready to eat? How can you tell how old it is? many thanks

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08/06/2009 at 18:55

Has anyone else had my problem this year with Rhubarb Mine has been trying to grow flowers and none of the stems have turned red they just stay green What have I done wrong

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30/07/2009 at 13:47

Is it true that there are times of the year when you should not pick and eat rhubarb?

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08/09/2009 at 17:21

I have lots of rhubarb still growing fine but I was told that it shouldn't be eaten after August as it becomes poisonous.Is this true?