The Rhubarb Experiment

Rhubarb...oh yummy for my tummy!

      When I was young, my grandmother grew it along her back fence. Bright red robust stalks, with leaves as big as dinner plates beckoned me to visit. Oh the pies, the sauces, the things that they made. I LOVE rhubarb! Living in hot and dry southern California, rhubarb never really thrived in my garden. Onward and upward, moving to the Pacific Northwest this plant was at the top of my list! 
      If you follow this blog, or randomly read it, you may have read my post, Surprises I Adore. Or maybe you didn't read it an who really cares? You'll just have to catch up! So there I was with some rather big rhubarb and totally unsure of what to do with it. Some people told me that it was too early to put it out. Others told me to go ahead, no problem, it loves cool weather. So there is was, no one really knew for sure. UGH. 
     Here's what I did. Two plants were planted in the ground on the side of our driveway. One plant was planted in a pot and placed on the deck in the backyard. Two more plants were placed in a milk jug that was cut in half and left partially open. For the next few weeks, there they were. So what happened? Which one did the best? Here's the low down on my lessons in rhubarb:

Potted, and in the ground...rhubarb!

1- Rhubarb is not a fan of pots. First of all the soil never seemed to even slightly dry, leaving it to look pretty soggy. Poor rhubarb. It survived, but looked so sad and showed no growth.

Sad, sad potted rhubarb. Look at those wimpy little leaves.

2- The plants in the ground have shown some growth. They are more perky than the potted plant for sure! They are a bit leggy, but solid with slight growth. Their color is great!

3-Now this was interesting. I was concerned that the mini greenhouse made by the milk carton my make it too warm. Also it seemed that the milk carton didn't drain effectively. I punched a million holes in the bottom, but ok whatever. The leaves actually were breaking out the sides of the milk carton! So yes, the rhubarb was happy and growing. The color, well it was a little yellow-ish, light and at the very least pale. Of course, I didn't take pictures until it was in the ground. One particular interesting characteristic was that the growth appeared much stronger in the milk jug.

Look at the big beautiful leaves. Yellowish veins, but robust stems and new growth!

      So what would I do differently? I'd combine the jug and the ground. Next season, if  I have to plant any rhubarb I will put them in the ground, and then place a half jug on top of the plant. After a few weeks, I would de-jug the plants. I wonder if that would work for any of the cool weather greens? Hmmmm.....I can see it now, my whole front yard peppered with the tops of the milk jugs from Costco! I'm sure the neighbors will love it! Here's to a good year with rhubarb, and next year a harvest!
Cheers-
Mandy