Your rhubarb this year

[vegetable-gardener]

We have around 5 rhubarb plants and this yeat they are slow in producing. At the start the produced galore - but now the look sad. We have watered them when it was dry. We gave them loads of horse manure in the winter. So don't know what's up. Wondering if its the year because other people have said the have the same problem. Anyone else on the forum...?

[bantiekeeper]

We also have not had a very good year with rhubarb but we did split the plants last year so they probably need time to re-establish. It is recommended that rhubarb is not harvested after July. I would just keep them fed and watered.

[Lesley Jay]

Hi VG, I was told years ago not to pull rhubarb after June 24th as the oxalic acid in the leaves starts to travel down the stems from the leaves. It might be an old wives tale but I wouldn't pull your rhubarb now. When I had my allotments I always treated the rhubarb 'mean' - the crowns never got horse manure and they were watered when it rained!!!! We always had far too much rhubarb each year.

[vegetable-gardener]

Thanks - maybe I'll start treating it mean to keep it keen

[Turfwars]

Our rhubarb was fantastic last year! Strange that your's was a bit slow.

It was particularly wet with us in S.Wales last year so we barely touched ours with the hose. Maybe you over-watered yours?

As this article says, most people tend to over-water theirs, so this tough love attitude might be the right way to go!