Forcing Rhubarb

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7 - Forcing Rhubarb In Winter

7.1 - Forcing Rhubarb indoors

Rhubarb can be grown year round. You can grow tender stalks out of season by “forcing” rhubarb at home during the late winter and early spring. Forcing is most successful with large diameter roots. Dig up the roots of plants that are to be forced (three-year-old plants are best) keeping excess soil on the roots to prevent damage from subzero freezing. Pot them in large pots and leave them outside exposed to several hard freezes. After the roots are thoroughly chilled, take them indoors to a warm (with a temperature of 50 to 65 F), dark place (a cellar, hot bed, etc.) and cover them with peat, soil, or sawdust. A wooden bushel basket makes an ideal container for forcing. Keep them moist. Harvest the stalks when they are 12 to 18 inches high. The leaves will be small and the petioles will be tender and uniformly bright pink. The harvest period for forced roots is about one month. After the harvest set the plants outside and protect them with mulch. They can be replanted in the spring. For longer harvests bring a few roots in at one time. To get enough to use in most recipes you will need to force 3-4 plants. 1 2 3

Rhubarb can also be forced outdoors during the winter by placing large light-proof pots (like plastic garbage cans) over the crowns and if possible insulating with straw, or better still, fresh horse manure which is warm and will speed up the forcing process. 4


A Rhubarb Forcing Shed
Figure 7.1: A Rhubarb Forcing Shed

7.1.1 - Step by step: Forcing Rhubarb


1. We start with a small rhubarb rhizome. In this case, this is a small division from an established plant, I just sliced off a section of the rhizome and root this last fall (November 1996). Put the rhizome in a large pot (this one is 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter) and cover with soil leaving just the growing bud exposed. Leave this outside in the cold for 3-4 weeks. Rhubarb needs to be exposed to several days at freezing temperatures (32 degrees F or 0 degrees C). Then bring the pot indoors to a dark and cool (50 degrees C or 10 degrees C) place like a basement or a corner in a garage. Shown here is the rhubarb plant 2 weeks after being brought indoors for forcing.

1. We start with a small rhubarb rhizome. In this case, this is a small division from an established plant, I just sliced off a section of the rhizome and root this last fall (November 1996). Put the rhizome in a large pot (this one is 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter) and cover with soil leaving just the growing bud exposed. Leave this outside in the cold for 3-4 weeks. Rhubarb needs to be exposed to several days at freezing temperatures (32 degrees F or 0 degrees C). Then bring the pot indoors to a dark and cool (50 degrees C or 10 degrees C) place like a basement or a corner in a garage. Shown here is the rhubarb plant 2 weeks after being brought indoors for forcing.


			---		Forcing Rhubarb (6 weeks)


a clay rhubarb forcer
Figure 7.4: a clay rhubarb forcer

Readers of The Rhubarb Compendium may be interested in…

Smith & Hawken Forcing, Etc : The Indoor Gardener’s Guide to Bringing Bulbs, Seeds, and Branches into Bloom

Richard Felber (Photographer), Katherine Whiteside

Combines hands-on-how-to with an artist’s passion for detail to show how to grow dozens of common and exotic plants, including hardy bulbs—crocus, narcissus, muscari, and iris; tender bulbs—oxalis, calla lily, clivia; branches—apple and apricot to bittersweet, moosewood, and quince; and tender plants—fuchsia, coleus, clematis, lemongrass, and scented geraniums. In addition, the author focuses on presentation and display: choosing unexpected containers; creating tripods, trellises, and tuteurs; and orchestrating an indoor garden for balance of bloom and color.

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Footnotes:

Rhubarb, http://www.veg.org/veg/Orgs/VegSocUK/Recipes/rhubarb2.html, an article from “The Vegetarian”, Spring 1995, Moved to: http://www.vegsoc.org/- 01701479 (Rhubarb, Pieplant.), http://lep.cl.msu.edu/msueimp/htdoc/mod03/01701479.html- RHUBARB - Rheum rhaponticum, http://uaexsun.uaex.arknet.edu/Vegfacs/rhubarb.html- Rhubarb Revisited - this fabulous foliage plant is under review, http://www.internetgarden.co.uk/index.htm

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Updated on September 1, 2004
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