How to master growing rhubarb: 5 expert tips from a gardener – including 'doing the twist'
As part of Country Living's Plot to Plate series, we’ll hear from Raymond Blanc and the team at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, on how to grow, prune and harvest the season’s very best produce and ensure these ingredients shine in the kitchen and on the table.
Rhubarb is a versatile, low-maintenance crop and a wonderful choice for novice vegetable gardeners. It's really easy to grow and, as a hardy perennial, will return every year.
It thrives equally well in sun and shade, and established plants rarely need watering, except for during our driest spells.
"The 'Timperley Early' is the variety we grow at Le Manoir," explains gardener Nadya Pearson, from Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons.
"It responds well to 'forcing' – covering the rhubarb plants with terracotta pots to exclude the light and encouraging them into early growth.
"The resulting stems are soft and tender, extra sweet and intensely pink in colour. When the plants are covered in mid-winter, we can start picking the delicate new stems by March."
If you feel inspired yourself, below Nadya shares her top tips for growing rhubarb at home:
Take your pick
When you’re harvesting, choose stems that are at least 30cm long, with a leaf that has just opened.
Skip the knife
Never cut or snap the stems as the stump left in the ground is prone to rot.
Do the twist
A better technique is to hold the stem at the base and twist it gently, easing it out of the ground.
Make more plants
Every few years, lift the plants in winter, split them using a spade and replant the sections.
Watch out
Slugs and snails are partial to rhubarb. The best way to pick them off is to head out after dark with a torch.
Gardeners Handkerchiefs
£18.00 at Country Living Marketplace
Lamb's Ladies Gardening Clog
£69.00 at Country Living Marketplace
Large Garden Scissors in Leather Holder
£16.00 at Country Living Marketplace
Recycled Leather Seed Organiser
£39.00 at Country Living Marketplace
Grow Your Own Thai Chef's Garden
£20.00 at Country Living Marketplace
Split Waist Apron
£60.00 at Country Living Marketplace
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