Rhubarb: agrotechnics of cultivation. Growing rhubarb in the backyard

Hello dear friends!

One of the regular readers of my blog asked me a question:

« We have on suburban area rhubarb grows, but, unfortunately, we do not know how to properly care for it. I beg you, please write about it and its positive properties. It is believed that in a certain period (after flowering) this plant has toxic substances and has bad influence on the human body, is it true?»

So about that how to grow rhubarb in open field and care for him, as well as about his useful, and in some cases, harmful properties I will tell today.

Rhubarb is perennial. In vegetable rhubarb, the petioles of the leaves are eaten. By chemical composition and nutritional value they are almost equivalent to apples. Pectin substances more than 1.5%, contain organic acids (citric, ascorbic) more than 2.5%, vitamins and mineral salts that are useful for humans.

As far back as the third millennium BC, rhubarb was mentioned by Chinese herbalists as first of all a medicinal, and then a vegetable plant.

Rhubarb grows in early spring and provides the first "charge" of vitamins after winter. Malic and oxalic acids are especially abundant in petioles of rhubarb in combination with sugars. The content of oxalic acid increases from the point of attachment of the leaf petiole to its tip.

So, although oxalic acid has a blood-purifying effect, but when using old leaves, when excreted from the body, it has negative impact on the kidneys. The leaves also contain anthroquinone, which, when consumed in large quantities, can have a toxic effect on the body. But all of the above applies to old rhubarb leaves and petioles.

Therefore, it is necessary to eat and process young leaf petioles.

Growing conditions for rhubarb

As for the cultivation of rhubarb, we can say the following: it can grow in one place up to 12 years, but it is advisable to plant it by dividing the rhizome or sow seeds again after 5 years.

Rhubarb culture is not capricious for zones middle lane and the middle Volga region is very “comfortable”. This is a cold hardy plant.

Rhubarb is undemanding to light. Needs good soil moisture. Due to lack of moisture, the leaf rosette develops poorly. Petioles coarsen, become low-juicy and fibrous. It is advisable to choose a site immediately under the rhubarb with fertile soil to ground water do not get too close to the soil surface.

In autumn, 2-3 buckets of compost or humus per 1 square meter must be added to the soil. meter, and in the spring before planting, you need to add 30 grams of urea, 60 grams of superphosphate and 30 grams of potassium chloride per 1 sq. meter.

And if you decide to propagate rhubarb through seeds, you must first grow seedlings.

How to grow rhubarb from seedlings

Seeds must first be germinated, and then slightly dried and sown. Sowing is carried out in moist soil necessarily with watering. It should be sown in late April - early May in an ordinary way with a distance between rows of 25 cm, on ridges or on a flat surface. Sowing is carried out to a depth of 2 - 3 cm. Seed consumption per 1 sq. meter 3 - 4 grams.

When seedlings form 1-2 leaves, they are thinned out, leaving 20 cm between adjacent plants.

Seedlings are looked after, watered and carried out 2 - 3 top dressing. Either liquid organic fertilizers (mullein, bird droppings), or make 20 g of urea, 40 g of superphosphate and 15 g of potassium chloride per 1 sq. m.

By autumn, seedlings should reach 20 - 30 cm in height and have 3 - 4 well-developed leaves. From 1 sq.m. nursery receive 15 - 20 plants. In early spring, seedlings are dug up for planting. Rhubarb planting material is the roots of seedlings or segments of rhizomes with buds that have just begun to grow. Planting is carried out in holes with previously prepared soil, as described above, according to the following scheme: 70x70 cm - early ripening varieties and 90x90 cm - late ripening varieties.

Planting rhubarb is carried out so that the soil is firmly pressed to the roots, and the apical bud is covered with earth by no more than 1 - 2 cm.

Care for rhubarb outdoors

Rhubarb care is simple and consists of loosening row spacings, weeding, watering and removing flower arrows, when they appear in the petioles, the content of oxalic acid increases. And it is advisable to carry out 2-3 feedings with the same composition that you fed the seedlings (only phosphate fertilizers you need to take one third less). But it is better to feed (1:6) or (1:20).

After 3 - 4 years, rhubarb must be added to the aisle organic fertilizers 1 - 2 buckets per 1 sq. m.

Rhubarb harvest

As for harvesting, it is recommended that it be carried out only in the second year after planting, since harvesting in the first year greatly weakens the plants. Harvesting begins in May, when the petioles reach 1.5 cm and a length of 25 - 30 cm. Harvesting is carried out several times during the summer, and in late July - early August, it is recommended to stop harvesting so that the plants can overwinter well.

It is very important to observe the technique of collecting rhubarb: the petioles are broken out at the base (do not cut), then the leaf blade is cut off. Productivity from one bush in the first two - three years can reach 1 - 2 kg of petioles, and then 4 - 6 kg each.

For cultivation in the conditions of the middle Volga region and the middle zone, it is possible to recommend planting the following varieties:

large-petiolate
Moscow 42
Orgsky 13
Stubborn

Large-leaved variety refers to early ripe varieties of rhubarb. This variety has a large petiole, raspberry color, with pronounced pigment stripes. Petioles are juicy, tender, 45 - 50 cm long. Sweet and sour in taste. Productivity - 1.3 kg\sq.m.

Variety Moscow 42 early maturing, petiole light green, with solid raspberry pigmentation at the base, slightly ribbed. The thickness of the petiole is 2.2 cm, and the length is 50 cm. The yield of this variety is 2 kg / sq.m.

Another early ripe variety called Stubborn. The petiole is light green, with anthocyanin coloration at the base. Petiole length 55 cm, weight 104 - 180 g. Productivity - 5.5 kg / sq.m.

To mid-season varieties refers to the variety Orgsky 13. At the base, the petiole is red, turning into green. The color of the pulp is green. Petiole weight up to 196 g. Yield 2 kg/sq.m.

Try growing rhubarb in your garden beds for a vitamin boost from early spring! See you, friends!

How to grow sage Hello, dear friends! AT old times sage was counted among magical plants that excites sympathy and love. This is a perennial...

The main value of rhubarb is large juicy petioles with a pleasant sour taste. In one place, the bush can grow up to 15 years, but brings large yields only in the first years. For building large volume green mass needs good nutrition, and under old bushes the land is depleted over time. Agronomists advise replanting rhubarb every 5 years or re-sowing it with seeds.

Brief description of rhubarb

Rhubarb - herbaceous plant belonging to the Buckwheat family. It has huge leaves with long succulent petioles and a powerful root system consisting of thick and branched roots. It is believed that rhubarb came to us from Asia, but in the wild it can be found in Siberia, the Caucasus, and the Far East.

Wild rhubarb, which grows on mountain slopes and forest edges, is the ancestor of most cultural forms.

Petioles and leaves of wild rhubarb contain a lot of oxalic acid, which can be consumed in small quantities. And cultivated plants are rich in healthy malic acid.

Rhubarb tolerates winter frosts well, and in most regions of our country it can winter without shelter. With the onset of heat, the plant quickly builds up a rosette of leaves, and already at the beginning of summer flower arrows appear.

This culture prefers to grow in a sunny place or in partial shade; loves moisture-permeable nutrient soils with high content humus. AT favorable conditions bushes grow rapidly and form large colonies. However, over time, the leaves and petioles become smaller, the quantity and quality of the crop deteriorates. Therefore, thickened plantings of rhubarb need to be divided and transplanted from time to time.

If rhubarb grows in one place for many years, it forms a large colony

Dates and methods of landing

Rhubarb can be propagated in two ways:

rhizome,
seeds.

If you have the opportunity to choose, then give preference to the vegetative method. The seed method of reproduction is more time-consuming, the harvest will have to wait 2-3 years.

Plants from own seeds collected at their summer cottage often acquire the properties of wild forms.

Planting dates depend on the method of propagation of rhubarb, namely:

Rhizome (part of the bush) plants are planted in spring or autumn.
Seeds are sown in open ground before winter, when the top layer of the earth freezes, or in spring - from April to early June.
Seeds are sown for seedlings in March.

Observing these terms, by the autumn you will get a bush 20-30 cm high from the seed, which can safely survive the winter.

By autumn, a young rhubarb bush has time to form a large rosette of leaves and a strong root system.

Planting rhubarb rhizome

For this method, you need a uterine bush. If there are several plants on the site, then choose the most beautiful and healthy bush, the most appropriate varietal characteristics. Plants that produce few or no flower stalks are considered the best. The optimal age of the bush from which the delenka is taken is 4–5 years.

For propagation by rhizome, a healthy rhubarb bush is chosen, on which few peduncles are formed.

Preparing for landing

Before you start separating the basal rosette, prepare landing pit. Her optimal dimensions- 50 cm deep and wide. Rhubarb does not require a hole to be dug ahead of time like many other crops. Even if the earth sags along with the bush, this will only benefit the plant. Bushes can be planted deeper than in the previous place, and even spud. There is only one exception: the pits need to be prepared at least 2-3 weeks in advance if you use mineral fertilizers (they must have time to dissolve in the soil).

If you decide to plant several bushes, then place them, observing the minimum distance between plants:

for medium-sized varieties - 50 cm;
for tall people - 70 cm.

For one family, 2-3 rhubarb bushes will be enough. The harvest is enough to cook borscht, kissels, compotes all summer long and even make preparations for the winter.

A few bushes of rhubarb are enough to make preparations for the whole family.

The culture is demanding on soil fertility, so during planting you need to create a large supply of food. For each bush, prepare:

0.5 l wood ash;
1 bucket of peat;
1 bucket of humus (fresh manure is also suitable).

Division of the rhizome

When the pits and fertilizers are prepared, you can begin to divide the bush. If you need to take a division, and not transplant the entire bush, then do it like this:

Sections do not need to be dried, let alone sprinkled with ashes, as advised in some articles. Alkali will corrode, dry out the already injured root. A neighbor gave me a piece of rhubarb. I immediately dug a hole and planted it. The bush took root well and is still growing.

Fit Options

If you are using fresh manure, then plant rhubarb like this:

The essence of such a planting is not to burn the roots with either ash or fresh manure. The ash will gradually dissolve with water and penetrate from the top layer to the thin nourishing roots. The manure, which is located under the roots, is separated from them by a layer of peat soil. Until the rhubarb takes root and begins to grow, the manure will already partially rot and will not be dangerous.

Experts do not advise applying mineral fertilizers under rhubarb, and especially superphosphate. Rhubarb fertilized with it will produce more flower stalks than leaves.

Planting rhubarb in a pit with humus (compost) is carried out as follows:

Rhubarb loves moist soil, but will consume little water immediately after transplanting. Therefore, it is not necessary to water it every day. Constant dampness can lead to root rot. Check the soil under the mulch and water only when it dries out.

Video: how to plant and grow rhubarb

Planting rhubarb seeds

Rhubarb from seeds is grown in two ways:

sowing in open ground;
through seedlings.

Rhubarb seeds can be bought in specialized stores

The simplest thing is to sow rhubarb with dry seeds before winter. Under natural conditions without outside help seeds successfully pass through stratification, soaking and successfully germinate next spring.

But, as a rule, gardeners buy seeds in winter - at the beginning of spring, and no one wants to wait until autumn. In this case, it is advisable to prepare the seeds before sowing, otherwise the seedlings will have to wait 16–20 days.

Preparing seeds for sowing

To speed up the emergence of seedlings, use the following agricultural practices:

You can not carry out all these activities together, but limit yourself to soaking or sowing the seeds dry. However, stratified planting material sprouts a week earlier - 8–12 days after sowing, and germinated after stratification - after 5–6 days.

Sowing in open ground

On seed bags you can find recommendations for sowing in late April - early May. But in the northern regions and in Siberia, it is better to postpone this event until the end of May, especially if the seeds have germinated. You can sow rhubarb until the beginning of June inclusive.

Favorable temperature for rhubarb: +16… +20 ⁰C. Mature plants are not afraid of frosts down to -10 ⁰C, young buds and leaves die at -2 ... -6 ⁰C.

The process of growing rhubarb from seeds is carried out in several stages:

Sowing for seedlings

The most impatient ones are in a hurry to sow the seeds already in February, but in this case, a phytolamp will be needed. It is better to start sowing rhubarb seeds in the second decade of March.

The length of daylight hours when growing seedlings should be more than 10 hours.

To grow good seedlings it is advisable to adhere to the following recommendations:

Video: sowing rhubarb with dry seeds in cassettes

Features of transplanting rhubarb depending on the season

The best timing for transplanting rhubarb:

in autumn, a month before the onset of cold weather;
in the spring, before the leaves begin to grow.

At this time, all the juices are concentrated in the roots, the leaves do not take food and do not evaporate water. The roots do not need to support the existence of a large above-ground part of the rhubarb, and the plant establishes itself easily.

There are several horticultural crops, supplying us with vitamins before other plants: onion - batun and chives, sorrel, parsley, etc.

Sweet rhubarb, which came to us from Central Asian countries, also belongs to early-growing crops, and its cultivation is possible by vegetative and seed methods. Its green or red (depending on the variety) petioles contain natural sugars, many vitamins and other beneficial substances.

Varieties and photos of rhubarb

In addition to the Victoria rhubarb, popular with gardeners, there are many other varieties. different term maturation. Most often lovers home greenery grow the following varieties this plant from the buckwheat family:

Tukums 5. crop plant early ripening with excellent taste and juicy pulp. Its smooth, often slightly ribbed bottom petioles are rounded and grow up to 70 cm in length. The weight of one adult petiole is 130-155 grams. A third of the petiole closer to the base has a rich red color.
Moscow 42. Another early variety with tasty juicy pulp and large petioles. Their height reaches 70 cm, thickness - 30 mm. They have smooth surface and dyed in green color with reddish patches. The base of the petiole is decorated with a solid red stripe.
Ogre 13. A variety of medium ripening, giving a lot of juicy, slightly fibrous petioles with tender pulp. Their length is 60-70 cm, thickness - 30-35 mm, weight - from 150 to 620 grams. The bottom of the stems is colored red, but upwards the red color is gradually replaced by green.

And, of course, it is worth mentioning the Victoria rhubarb - the famous early ripe variety, which is often grown for decorative purposes, as it is very abundant in color.

Rhubarb "Victoria"

The thickness of its petioles is 35 mm, the height is about 70 cm. They are green in color, but only up to the middle or a third of the stem: below they are dotted with tiny reddish spots. They are clearly visible in the photo of rhubarb.

Rhubarb: planting and care in the open field

Experienced gardeners advise growing two varieties at once - early ripening and late ripening. It is desirable that more early variety the petioles were green, while the late one was red.

Green petioles will be needed for summer salads, soups and mashed potatoes, red ones - for preparations for the winter (jams and compotes).
Because of their bright color, red stems are good to stuff open pies: they turn out both tasty and elegant.

How to grow rhubarb from seeds

When obtaining plants from seeds, it is possible to collect petioles only on next year when the bushes get stronger and grow enough green mass. If you cut the greens this year, the bushes will weaken and develop poorly.

Preparing the site for sowing

As a perennial, rhubarb can grow in one area for about 10 years, the main thing is that the sowing site is suitable: moist enough, with fertile and well-breathing soil.

We prepare the site for sowing seeds in the fall, digging the ground for 1 bayonet and flavoring each square meter a bucket of rotted manure or humus. If the soil is sour, we turn it into neutral by adding 300-700 g of slaked lime per 1 m² (the higher the acidity, the more lime is required).

In the spring, we loosen the dug-up area with a rake, flavoring mineral fertilizers based on 1 m²:

Urea - 30 grams;
Superphosphate - 60 grams;
Potassium chloride - 30 grams.

Now you can start sowing the area with rhubarb seeds.

Sowing seeds in the ground

We sow rhubarb seeds using the following technology:

We place the seeds in gauze folded in a few words and moisten it with water, adding moisture as it dries, until millimeter-sized sprouts appear from the seeds.
We take out the seeds from the gauze and dry it slightly so that it is convenient to sow.
We cut grooves in the area with a depth of not more than 2 cm.
Rinse them carefully with warm water.
We sow the seeds and lightly sprinkle them with earth.

After five days, rhubarb shoots will appear. When a pair of true leaves grows on the plants, we thin out the seedlings, leaving the plants stronger. The distance between them should be 25 cm. These plants will make excellent seedlings for the subsequent transplantation of rhubarb to a permanent place.

Seedling care

Before growing bushy rhubarb from seeds, it is important to provide seedlings with proper care:

Water the young rhubarb regularly with warm water.
We weed and loosen the area.
Every month we feed the seedlings with complex mineral fertilizers and nitrogen-rich organic matter.

With good care, developed strong bushes will form from seedlings in autumn. After wintering, in March or April (it depends on the climatic features of the area), we carry out further planting of rhubarb and take care of it.

Between plants transplanted to permanent places, there must be a distance of at least 1 meter, otherwise they will be cramped. It is also important not to deepen the apical buds: cover them with soil by a maximum of 1.5 cm.

Now, from the transplanted bushes, strong plants with lush greenery and plump stems will be obtained, which can be harvested for the winter and added to various dishes.

This technique is used if you need to expand or update planting rhubarb. It is propagated like this:

Before transplanting, we take healthy bushes that are 4 years old (old bushes do not give plants with rich greenery) and cut the roots with a knife into several parts: each seedling should have two growth buds.
We make holes with a diameter of 60 cm in a selected and prepared area every 100 cm from each other.
We put rotted manure or compost in each hole - 1 handful.
We place the seedlings in the holes and cover them with earth, tamping it tightly, but without falling asleep the growth buds.
We water the plantings abundantly for 7 days so that they take root faster.

It is best to engage in vegetative propagation of rhubarb bushes in the first in March or mid-October.

Further care for rhubarb plantings

After transplanting seedlings or seedlings obtained vegetatively, provide plants good care consisting of the following procedures:

Regular watering. Rhubarb bushes cannot stand drought, and therefore we water them abundantly and regularly, especially during the period of growing green mass. At this time, each plant should receive 25 liters of water per watering. If there is not enough water, the petioles will grow rough and not juicy.
Loosening and getting rid of weeds. As weeds appear, we weed and immediately loosen the soil under the bushes so that the roots receive enough oxygen.
Feeding procedures. Every three years, at the beginning of October, we introduce one and a half buckets of organic fertilizers per 1 square meter into the soil between rhubarb bushes. In March, we feed the bushes with complex mineral fertilizers.
pruning. In the second year of life and in the future, we cut off the uterine rhubarb stalks of rhubarb: they take away the strength of the plants, preventing them from growing good petioles and foliage. We do the same with flower stalks, if rhubarb is not grown for decorative purposes.
Disease protection and harmful insects . Usually rhubarb is attacked by rhubarb bugs and rhubarb elephants, it is affected by buckwheat fleas, gray mold or spotting. We treat the bushes with insecticides and other chemicals, but only when we remove the last crop of this year.

Regularly watered and fed plants, not damaged by diseases and pests, quickly grow petioles and greenery.

How to harvest rhubarb

In the second and third years of plant life, up to 2.5 kg of stems are collected from one bush. In the future, productivity only grows, and 5-6 kg of selected petioles will be harvested from the plant.

We start harvesting in early April, choosing stems with a diameter of 1.5 cm or more. We do not cut them, but twist them at the very bottom.

We continue to collect delicious raw materials several more times, carrying out the last procedure 45 days before the end of the growing season, otherwise the rhubarb will not have time to gain strength for the winter.

Following the advice on planting and caring for a plant such as rhubarb, which can be grown in one place for up to ten years, we get excellent harvest petioles for various culinary purposes. Delicious mousses, jams, jellies, compotes and stuffing for buns and pies are made from red stems, cold soups, vegetable stews, salads and mashed potatoes are made from green petioles.

Rhubarb - leaf perennial cold-resistant and frost-resistant vegetable crop, belonging to the family of spinach plants, giving early greens that can be used both raw and boiled. Rhubarb petioles have high taste qualities, when cooked they acquire the taste of apples (after all, rhubarb contains not only oxalic, citric, but malic acids). The peculiarity of growing rhubarb is that it is not only frost-resistant, but also tolerates shading, high temperatures and even drought, so it is good to cultivate it in the conditions of the Urals. Today you will learn about rhubarb farming techniques that allow me to grow excellent harvest.

soil for rhubarb

In one place, rhubarb grows up to 12 years, so it prefers fertile, light sandy or loamy, deeply (up to 70 centimeters) cultivated, but not waterlogged soils.

When planting rhubarb under the root, compost or humus is necessarily added (5 kg / m 2 is enough) and 40 grams of a fertilizer mixture, which can be replaced with superphosphate (20 g / m 2) and potassium chloride (25 grams), everything is very thoroughly mixed with the ground.

Rhubarb planting time

Rhubarb can be propagated by seeds or division of the rhizome. The time of planting depends on the chosen method of propagation of rhubarb.

When planting seedlings, pay attention to the fact that the apical bud remains at ground level when the ground settles. If the bud is buried, it will rot and the plant will die; if the bud is high, it will dry out, and the plant will also die.

Growing seedlings is quite laborious, so I prefer to breed rhubarb by dividing the bush. On my site, rhubarb appeared as a result of dividing the rhizome.

If you want to get a rhubarb harvest the next year after planting, then do not buy plants sold in garden centers in pots - it will take more than one year to develop them. It is better to ask a gardener friend for a piece of a young rhizome with 1-2 buds from an adult 4-5 year old plant. If you take a rhizome from an old plant, then it will quickly bloom, and will not give leaves, all the strength will go into color.

For planting, it is better to use the lateral parts of the rhizome, they do not contain flowering buds, so the yield will be larger.

This rhizome is best planted in the garden (outside the crop rotation) in May or August. Plant according to the scheme 70 by 70, but you do not need many plants. By the way, one or two bushes are enough for one family.

The first time after planting rhubarb, the free space between the bushes can be used: plant spinach, kohlrabi, various salads.

Rhubarb Care

Every year in early spring rhubarb must be fed with slurry (for one part of manure 8 parts of water) or bird droppings(for one part 20 parts of water) and an ash solution (a half-liter jar of ash per bucket of water).

In the absence of organic fertilizers, mineral fertilizers are applied: urea (10 grams / m 2), superphosphate (30 grams / m 2) and calcium chloride (20 grams / m 2).

In the heat, rhubarb needs abundant watering (2-3 liters under the root), but rhubarb does not tolerate stagnant water in the soil, it can rot.

Every year, humus must be added to the aisles, this will protect the roots and buds of rhubarb from exposure.

Before the onset of frost, it is better to cover the roots with compost, grass, peat, foliage, sawdust, straw.

Rhubarb harvest

To preserve the strength of the bush in the first year, when harvesting, it is necessary to leave 20-25% of the leaves, and in the future it is better to collect the petioles regularly in order to prevent the flowering of the plant, which greatly depletes the bush and reduces its yield.

During the season, the petioles are harvested 3-4 times when they reach a length of 20-30 centimeters. Stem collection stops two months before the end of the growing season.

When harvesting, it is better not to cut the leaves, but to carefully break them out at the very base, twisting the leaf slightly from side to side - just like flower arrows, so as not to weaken the plant.

Ogre (mid-season, high-yielding, resistant to shooting), Victoria (early, but prone to flowering), Moscow (yielding).

Today I talked about growing rhubarb, I wish you all excellent harvests.

Every year for 10-15 years, each plant produces 2-3 kg of petioles, from which you can cook a wide variety of dishes: salads, jams, ice cream, kvass and even ... fine wine.

Variety of types of rhubarb

Used for food different kinds rhubarb (Rheum palmatum, R. officinale, R. rhabarbarum, R. rhaponticum) and their hybrids under common name cultural rhubarb (Rheum x cultorum). Several varieties of rhubarb are known, the best of which are Canada Red, Cherry Red, Crimson Red, MacDonald, Ruby Valentine with red petioles, Appleton's Forcing, Victoria, Baker's All Season with pinkish-green petioles, Moskovsky 42, Zaryanka, Gigantic, Stubborn, Large-stalked, Ogre 13, Tukums 5 with green petioles. Rhubarb varieties are not registered in the Register of Ukraine, but this does not prevent the plant from proudly occupying a prominent place in our household plots.

Our advice:

And while rhubarb isn't exactly ornamental plant, but its massive bush with wide, slightly wavy leaves looks very impressive in the garden, and during flowering it involuntarily attracts the eye, so it can be successfully used for growing in the garden.

The main characteristics of rhubarb

Rhubarb is a perennial herbaceous plant with a short multi-headed dark brown rhizome 4-6 cm in diameter and large, fleshy, yellow roots in the cut. Stem erect, up to 2.5 m high, finely furrowed, slightly branched. Rhubarb leaves on cylindrical red or green (depending on the variety) half-meter-long petioles extend from the root, forming a powerful rosette. Leaf blade up to 75 cm in diameter, broadly ovate, with small villi scattered above, densely covered with long hairs from below over the entire surface.

Tall straight peduncles are covered with red spots.

During seed maturation, they take vertical position and cling to the stem. The flowers are small, greenish-white, collected in many-flowered paniculate inflorescences. Rhubarb blooms in June bountiful harvest seed ripens in July.

The fruit is a trihedral brown-red flying nutlet 7-10 mm long with a perianth.

Rhubarb root system

Rhubarb has a very powerful, large bush, so at least 1 m 2 of area is required to grow each plant. His root system penetrates the soil to a depth of 2.5 m. The largest number of suction roots is located at a depth of half a meter, where they are protected from the effects of drought. The rhizome itself is short, large and fleshy. Stock nutrients in rhubarb ensures the rapid growth of leaves after the snow melts.

Since rhubarb is a cold-resistant plant, its root system overwinters well. The aerial part dies off for the winter, but already 3-4 weeks after the soil thaws, huge leaves unfold on the cuttings.

For growing rhubarb, it is better to choose loamy, slightly acidic, humus-rich soils.

Rhubarb grows well as in open sunny areas, as well as in partial shade. Only young plants are sensitive to light.

The rhubarb rhizome does not tolerate prolonged flooding, but watering in hot weather is necessary, otherwise the leaf rosette develops poorly, and the petioles become coarse, become low-juicy and fibrous.

In the first year of life, rhubarb forms a rosette of 5-7 basal leaves. Single specimens bloom in the second year, mass flowering occurs in the third year. From the second year after planting (in May), flowering shoots appear.

Our advice:

To get delicious, tender and juicy petioles, remove the flower stalks immediately when they appear and do this throughout the summer, otherwise they greatly deplete the plants.

Rhubarb: cultivation and care

Before planting rhubarb, the soil is dug up in autumn to a depth of 25-30 cm and well seasoned (at the rate of 8-10 kg of organic fertilizers - peat compost or manure - per 1 m 2). Under spring processing make 30 g ammonium nitrate, 70 g of superphosphate and 60 g of potassium salt per 1 m 2.

Rhubarb care during cultivation consists in weed control, timely watering, loosening of row spacing. You can feed rhubarb with mineral or organic fertilizers 1-2 times per season (1 teaspoon of urea, 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska and 0.5 liters of mullein per 10 liters of water). Every 3-4 years, organic fertilizers must be applied between the rows (1-2 buckets per 1 m 2).

Rhubarb diseases

The high acidity of rhubarb helps it actively resist diseases and pests. Of the rhubarb diseases, the most common are white spotting (ascochitosis), false powdery mildew, rust and gray rot. Rhubarb can be damaged by such pests as beetles and larvae of the rhubarb elephant, buckwheat flea, rhubarb bug. Pesticides for disease and pest control can only be used after harvesting the last crop of petioles of the season.

Harvest Features

The first crop of rhubarb is harvested a year after planting, while the petioles are removed, and not cut off (the stump from the cut rots). The petioles begin to be removed in May, when they reach technical maturity: approximately 1.5 cm thick and 25-30 cm long. At least 3-4 leaves should remain on the plant at all times. The next time you can remove the petioles from the plant after 10 days. From one rhubarb bush in the first 2-3 years, 1-2 kg of petioles are collected, in subsequent years - up to 6 kg.

Two months before the end of the growing season, leaf harvesting is stopped so that the plant has time to prepare for winter. After the onset of frost, the aerial part of the rhubarb is cut off.

Our advice:

To provide early harvest, the plant can be covered with a large pot without a bottom so that the grown leaves come out and the plant receives sunlight. The stems at this time remain closed - they stretch and become more tender. Rhubarb expelled in this way is ready for use in April or May. In forcing rhubarb, the petioles are more delicate and have an intense pink color.

Rhubarb: planting and propagation

Rhubarb is propagated by (dry or germinated) seeds, sowing them in spring or before winter. The sowing rate of seeds is 8 g per hundred square meters (the weight of 1000 seeds is 13-15 g). Seeds are soaked four days before sowing in warm water for 10 hours, and then kept in a damp cloth until germination. Sow (in October or February-March) to a depth of 1.0-1.5 cm.

In the second half of May, when true leaves appear, rhubarb seedlings are planted according to a 10x10 cm pattern. Until August, young plants are watered and fed every 10 days. They can be planted in a permanent place in late August-early September. Or you can grow seedlings and plant them in the garden next spring.

At vegetative propagation rhubarb, a rhubarb bush that is not prone to flowering at the age of 4-5 years is dug up in early spring or autumn and divided into parts with a knife (not a shovel!) So that each new plant has a good root and 2-3 large buds. It is advisable to dry the cut rhubarb rhizomes slightly in the sun - this will prevent them from rotting in the soil after planting. When planting, the buds should be at a depth of 5 cm on heavy soils, and at least 8 cm on sandy ones. If you plant rhubarb shallow, the plants will bulge out when the soil thaws from year to year.

During vegetative reproduction (rhizome division), all varietal characteristics are preserved in rhubarb deletions.

In addition, rhubarb grown from delenki quickly come into fruition. The bed should be mulched after planting. Autumn planting (October-November) is preferable, since young rhubarb forms a sufficient number of roots before frost. The next year, these plants are able to give a small harvest, but it is better to refrain from harvesting it and give the plant the opportunity to grow and get stronger.

Medicinal properties of rhubarb

For therapeutic purposes, rhubarb uses the aerial part and rhizome with roots. The roots are harvested in the 3rd-4th year of the plant's life in early spring or in August-September. The above-ground part is harvested in the spring. The roots are washed in running water, cleaned of remnants of stems, bark and rot and cut into pieces. Then they are dried under a canopy or in a well-ventilated room and dried at a temperature of 60 ° C. Raw materials are stored in boxes, paper bags, boxes in a dry room.

The shelf life of rhubarb rhizomes is up to 5 years.

To get rhubarb seeds, 1-2 strong peduncles are left in 3-4-year-old plants. When the inflorescences turn brown, the plants are mowed, dried in sheaves, then threshed by hand, the seeds are separated from the chaff and other impurities and dried to a moisture content of not more than 12%. Store in bags in well ventilated dry rooms.

For winter distillation, rhubarb bushes are dug up in autumn, planted in a box and placed in the basement. In winter, it is transferred to a room with a temperature of 20 ° C, and after 25-30 days, petioles can already be removed from the plants. After harvesting, the rhubarb should be brought into the basement, and planted in the ground in the spring. In June, one more harvest can be obtained from these plants. For the next winter forcing, you need to use other bushes.

Cooking rhubarb pies

In America, rhubarb is known as the "pie plant". Its juicy stalks make excellent pies, crumbles (crumble is a traditional British dessert, which is baked fruit covered with shortbread crumbs), jellies and other desserts. Sweet dishes from this plant are popular in the national cuisine of the Germans, Danes, Swedes, Estonians and Latvians. In Britain, ginger and cloves are traditionally added to rhubarb dishes, and in the United States, cinnamon is added. Young petioles of all types of rhubarb are used in fresh. Salads, jelly, marmalade, candied fruits are prepared from them, puddings, pies, pancakes and pancakes are baked. Rhubarb is stuffed with a bird (for example, a goose), it can be replaced with sorrel in green cabbage soup and borscht.