Little red buds are appearing in the rhubarb patch. It will be another month or more until it is ready for harvest, but now is the time to divide it if you haven’t done so for several years. Dividing rhubarb keeps it producing well. If the stalks are getting spindly, it’s time to divide.
Use a spade to dig all around the crown and then lift it from the soil. Break the crown into pieces, making sure each piece has one or two buds and a root. If you cannot identify a bud, just divide it into several good-sized clumps. Replant the divisions so that the buds are just covered with soil, about the same depth it was before you dug it up.
While the rhubarb is out of the ground, take the opportunity to remove weeds and add some rotted manure or other organic fertilizer to the soil.
Do not harvest any rhubarb the first year after dividing. The plants need this year to re-establish themselves. Harvest lightly the second year, and after the third year, harvest as much as you want, never taking more than half the stalks at a time. Fertilize after harvest is completed each year.
To avoid the waiting period, use a sharp spade to slice down the middle of the crown while it is still in the ground and lift just half of the plant. Continue to harvest from the original plant while the new divisions are establishing themselves.
All that said, if your rhubarb hasn’t been divided for many years and is prolifically producing good thick stalks, don’t bother dividing it until you have to!
Rhubarb will grow in just about any kind of soil, but does best in loose, well-drained, fertile soil.
To harvest rhubarb, select firm, crisp stalks and gently tug and twist them from the ground. Cut off the leaf. Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid and are toxic, so wash your hands after harvesting.
Store fresh rhubarb stalks, unwashed, in the refrigerator up to two weeks. Rhubarb can be rinsed, cut into inch-long pieces, and frozen in freezer bags.
Always remove the thick flower stalks that shoot up from the center of the plant as soon as you see them. They take energy from the plant that is put to better use in growing the stalks you will harvest. Some rhubarb cultivars are more likely to produce flower stalks than others, and some produce them some years and not others, depending on soil conditions and weather.
If you are planting rhubarb for the first time, there are several cultivars to choose from. If you are buying crowns to plant rather than getting divisions from a friend, read the descriptions to help you decide which one to choose. Some cultivars are sweeter than others, and colors range from green to pink to red.
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