Guelph-Wellington Master Gardeners

How to Start a Rhubarb Patch

The tart stalks of rhubarb are used for pie, jams and savoury sauces.  Select an area for your patch in full sun with good drainage or use raised beds and work well rotted manure or compost into the bed.  Plant the crowns 5 cm deep and 90 to 120 cm apart.  Do not harvest the first year and harvest only for one to two weeks the second year.  You can have a full harvest from late May to July in the third year.  There will be a short second harvest in August but avoid late autumn harvest; the plant needs to keep its leaves to build roots for the next year’s production.  Harvest stalks by grasping close to the ground and pulling to avoid breaking the stalks.

To maintain your patch, divide the roots and replant every five years as older plants produce smaller, poorer quality stalks.  Fertilize annually in the spring before growth starts, rhubarb is a heavy feeder so side dress with nitrogen in July and with compost in autumn.  A light mulch suppresses weeds and retains moisture; apply it around the plants but do not cover the crowns.  Rhubarb is a hardy, easy to grow plant with few pests.  Crown rot can be a problem in wet areas or if crowns are covered.

Buy named variety rhubarb crowns or get a root division from a friend with a tasty variety; rhubarb does not grow true from seed.  Some recommended varieties are:

  • Canada Red with thick solid red stalks and sweeter taste
  • Crimson Cherry is an earlier variety with good cold tolerance
  • German Wine is one of the sweetest with red speckled green stalks
  • MacDonald Red is vigorous with root rot resistance and deep red stalks
  • Victoria is a large, very productive variety with red skin and green interior.

Recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Flan

Serves 12

Base

  • 1 ½ cup flour
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 cup soft butter or margarine
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Fruit

  • 2 cups rhubarb cut in ½ inch slice
  • 2 cups sliced strawberries

Topping

  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups low fat Greek yogurt
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp grated orange rind
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Combine base ingredients, mix well and press into bottom of 10 in springform round pan.  Sprinkle with fruit.  Mix topping ingredients, pour over fruit.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 70 to 80 minutes until golden and edges are set.

— Judy Brisson, Guelph Wellington Master Gardeners

This post was first published in the June 2018 issue of the Puslinch Pioneer.