[taytors]

is this cold weather affecting anyone else s rhubarb, i have half my crowns under buckets forcing them and half uncoverered. absolutely no difference. any ideas? 

[RichardA]

I treated myself to a victorian style terracotta rhubarb forcer and it has worked very well, sticks are twice as high as those in the open and very tender looking. I never found buckets much use but plastic dustbins with some straw in them certainly worked in all previous years. This year sticks are a bit late getting very tall though both in open and under bins.
R

[fatcat1955]

I will be picking my first stick's at the weekend.

[finleyfreyaseth]

i thought id read somewere thar forcing rhubarb seriously damages the crown and it can take years to recover and sometimes doesnt

[sowitgrowit]

I'm not forcing mine, or probably even picking anything this year.  My crowns went in last April/May and this is the first real growth from it so I'm letting them establish.

Very jealous of those of you getting lovely rhubarb sticks shortly :-(

[compostqueen]

I am forcing a clump at the moment and they are looking promising. My plot neighbour has begun to harvest his tender, pink sticks. Darn it    I was green with envy as he toted his booty down the path towards rhubarb Eton mess heaven 

[pdblake]

Mine are only just showing through, but they were inherited with the plot and I've no idea what variety they are. I think I was told Victoria, but not sure really. Other plots on the same site seem to bursting with rhubarb though. The timperley early at home is well up though and should be ready in a few more weeks.

And I still have tons of the stuff in the freezer

[compostqueen]

The pink forced stuff seems to bear no resemblance to the thick usual stalks. A gourmet treat indeed  Enjoy it while it lasts

[parsley]

I inherited a crown of rhubarb as well, only discovered it yesterday when I cleared some nettles. Looks very pathetic compared to everyone else's and it's now been christened "Stumpy" 

[Dullnote]

I forced one crown, but did a silly thing taken bucket off as the leaves were reaching the top, left the stalks to get bigger, frost and snow came back and the forced rhubarb stalks went soft . Now the forced crown is the same as the other two stalks about 2 " high

Dullnote

[Lardman]

I checked mine this morning, there are a few very short stems and what looks to be a flower already !   

[surbie100]

I've got v short stems (and not very many) on the early crown and potentially some shoots coming on the other. They are both 2 year old crowns. I've noticed that the older/bigger crowns on site are further ahead, and my cunning neighbour who stuck his behind a south facing greenhouse has already got enough (unforced) sticks to make about 3 crumbles. Jammy beggar!

[mumofstig]

I picked enough for a crumble yesterday, but it is in a very sheltered corner *smug smiley face* 

[mrswashi]

How long should you let them grow before picking? I too inherited my one crown and it seems to be doing very well. The sticks are almost 4 in long. Should I pull or cut? And do they grow more
Obviously a novice!

[mumofstig]

Once each leaf is unfurled, I don't think the stem get any longer - so I pick them then - leaving the furled leaves for the next picking