Rhubarb

Location

Rhubarb prefers a sunny or lightly shaded spot in a slightly acid, well-drained soil.

Planting

Rhubarb should be planted 3-4’ apart and at the same depth as in the pot. Mix peat moss, compost, and well-rotted manure into the top foot of the soil before planting. When the plants are 4-6” tall, apply a mulch of straw or bark.

Fertilization

Fertilize with plant starter when initially planted and for the remainder of the first year. Mulch with compost and/or well-rotted manure in fall and dig this into the soil the following spring.

Harvest

Do not harvest any rhubarb the first year and only sparingly during the second year. Beginning the third year, your plants should yield well. Rhubarb is harvested by pulling an entire leaf-stalk from the plant.

Maintenance

To keep rhubarb growing vigorously, remove any seed heads that appear. After frost, the old foliage can be cut off at ground level. A layer of compost should be used to mulch the plants after the ground freezes in fall.