I have a 4 ft. by 12 ft. raised bed of rhubarb. I inherited the roots about 15 years ago it when my aging father wanted to close down his gardening. The roots originally came from my grandparents place (mother's side), split off from their stock that they had been keeping going since the mid 1920's!! I have no idea what variety it is but I guess it would be considered 'heirloom"! I always know spring is here when I notice the rhubarb budding up from the ground.
It does well in the raised bed but does need some manure top dressing this year. I decided to establish my rhubarb in a raised bed to keep weeds at bay. I remembered the difficulty of weeding the ground level bed my dad had them in. They were at the edge of the garden and lawn, grass was always invading the rhubarb, and it made for quite a chore to clean it out. My raised bed has been successful at minimizing weeds. Every year it provides all the rhubarb I need and can share. I have even sent a huge bundle overnight express (yes, $$, that was a bit pricey!) to a colleague in El Paso Texas after he visited this area (upstate NY) for work and I shared some rhubarb pie (NEVER with strawberries!!!) with him that he loved! Once I have harvested all I want I leave the plants to grow and feed the root. I only have to cut off the flower stalks and pluck leaves as they age and are replaced by new ones.
Also, I have heard that rhubarb leaves can be used to make a "tea" (extracting the acids and toxins) to make a natural pesticide. Does anyone else have any insight into making or using that?
I have a 4 ft. by 12 ft. raised bed of rhubarb. I inherited the roots about 15 years ago it when my aging father wanted to close down his gardening. The roots originally came from my grandparents place (mother's side), split off from their stock that they had been keeping going since the mid 1920's!! I have no idea what variety it is but I guess it would be considered 'heirloom"! I always know spring is here when I notice the rhubarb budding up from the ground.
It does well in the raised bed but does need some manure top dressing this year. I decided to establish my rhubarb in a raised bed to keep weeds at bay. I remembered the difficulty of weeding the ground level bed my dad had them in. They were at the edge of the garden and lawn, grass was always invading the rhubarb, and it made for quite a chore to clean it out. My raised bed has been successful at minimizing weeds. Every year it provides all the rhubarb I need and can share. I have even sent a huge bundle overnight express (yes, $$, that was a bit pricey!) to a colleague in El Paso Texas after he visited this area (upstate NY) for work and I shared some rhubarb pie (NEVER with strawberries!!!) with him that he loved! Once I have harvested all I want I leave the plants to grow and feed the root. I only have to cut off the flower stalks and pluck leaves as they age and are replaced by new ones.
Also, I have heard that rhubarb leaves can be used to make a "tea" (extracting the acids and toxins) to make a natural pesticide. Does anyone else have any insight into making or using that?