Rhubarb, growing from seeds at home. Rhubarb: features of growing in open ground Rhubarb drink

Rhubarb can be propagated either vegetatively or by seeds. In the first case, the rhizomes are cut with a sharp shovel so that 3-4 apical buds remain on each part. The resulting planting material must be immediately planted in a permanent place.

Before planting rhubarb, you need two shovels' worth of soil, as the roots penetrate to a depth of up to a meter. When preparing a ridge, it is necessary to add rotted manure or other organic fertilizer to the soil.

For one bush, leave a space of one square meter. Planted plants are watered thoroughly. If you spread well-rotted manure over the planted roots, this will protect the ground from deep freezing in winter. And then in the spring the rhubarb will begin its growing season faster.

Rhubarb itself fights weeds; it simply drowns them out with its wide leaves. It is better to remove the first flower stalks, otherwise they will slow down the growth of young leaves.

You can speed up the growth of rhubarb by covering it with film or a large hollow object. Boxes, buckets without a bottom, and simple film shelters are suitable for this purpose. These “caps” are sprinkled on the sides with manure or earth. The top opening of the box or bucket is also covered until the leaves reach a height of 30 cm. Harvesting is thereby brought forward by 8-10 days.

The most popular varieties of rhubarb

Victoria- an early ripening winter-hardy variety of rhubarb. Petioles are pink in color, up to 50 cm long, 2.7-3 cm wide.

Large petiolate- an early ripening variety of rhubarb. The succulent petioles are dark red, up to 80 cm long, 2.3 cm wide.

Moskovsky 42- early ripening variety. The petioles are large, red at the base, about 50 cm long, 2.2 cm wide.

Juicy rhubarb, video

Among all the spices, vegetables and fruits on the site you can find some “pluck and eat” delicacies. It can be sorrel, chives, and rhubarb. The latter is one of the tastes of childhood. I remember the indescribable delight from the whole range of taste sensations in my mouth when my friends at the site picked this long thick stem covered with red grooves from the garden bed and handed it to me. Not all gardeners grow rhubarb, but those who start growing it usually plant it every year.

What's good about rhubarb?

This question is for those who have not yet tasted this amazing creation of nature or have never grown it. I do not advocate, but only advise, and therefore further you will learn everything without embellishment.

So, rhubarb is a fairly unpretentious buckwheat perennial, and it can be grown in one place for ten years. Considering that in the spring it gets to work quite early, then by the beginning of summer you can get an excellent source of vitamins before the first berries and vegetables ripen. And so every season.

Rhubarb is a storehouse of vitamins and has an unusual sweet and sour juicy taste

Jelly, desserts, compotes, jam - this is what is prepared from rhubarb and then enjoyed on long winter, and not only, evenings. Citric and malic acids, vitamin C and many other useful substances are already a reason to plant rhubarb in your area. It is the acids contained in the stems of this plant that cause the pleasant sweet and sour taste. It is the petioles that are eaten raw, unlike the leaves, which contain another acid – oxalic. However, they are not so in demand in cooking and are usually used to acidify cabbage soup or borscht.

They make jelly from rhubarb and make wonderful jam.

Rhubarb varieties

Considering that rhubarb is not one of the popular crops grown, you will not find a wide variety of its varieties on sale. However, some of them are well known. These are primarily Victoria, Tukumsky, Krupnochereshkovy, Moscow, Cyclops and Ogre. These varieties differ in taste, color, petiole size and ripening time.

Photo gallery of rhubarb varieties

Tangut rhubarb Variety “Victoria” Variety “Kiselnye Berega”

Growing (video)

As I already mentioned, rhubarb is not a very capricious plant, but you can’t grow it using the “throw it in and it sprouted and ripened” principle. It is not too demanding on the soil, but shows its qualities best on not too heavy soils with slightly acidic soil. The earth must be dug deeply, and large quantities of humus and nutrients must be added to it.

Rhubarb prefers to grow in the sun, but can also be grown in partial shade - however, its ripening there will be delayed.

What this crop definitely doesn’t like is excessive moisture, so take care of good drainage at the place where it is grown. The soil needs to be prepared in the fall. It is dug up to a depth of 25-30 cm and compost or manure is added in an amount of five to ten kilograms per square meter. The amount of fertilizer applied depends on the condition of the soil. Fertilizers are applied to a depth of 20 cm. Superphosphate and ammonium nitrate will not be superfluous - they are added at 40g per square, as well as potassium chloride - 30g.

Rhubarb does not like excess moisture; the soil for growing it must be well drained

Rhubarb is a fairly cold-resistant and drought-resistant crop. It is an excellent honey plant that attracts pollinating insects to the garden. It feels good in places where perennial grasses grew before it. It’s even better if the predecessors were onions, lettuce and radishes. But it is better not to plant rhubarb in the place where sorrel grew.

Planting seeds

Rhubarb is propagated vegetatively (by dividing the rhizome) and by seeds. The first method is faster and more efficient, but it’s too simple. There are many among us for whom not only the result is important, but also the process. It's like a challenge that you accept and go through to the end.

Rhubarb seeds ripen in such inflorescences, but most often their flower stalks are cut off so that all the power goes to the petioles and leaves

Once you have rhubarb seeds, you will need to soak them for ten hours. You can choose the soaking method to your liking - a rag, gauze, cotton pads - all this, kept moist but not flooded, will allow the seeds to quickly hatch in the light. As soon as the hatched sprouts reach a length of 1-2mm, we take them out of the container or from the tray, dry them and plant them in the ground to a depth of 2-3cm. In just 4-5 days the sprouts will appear, and when they form the first leaves, it will be time to thin out the seedlings. Maintain a distance of 20cm between plants.

After planting, the bed is usually mulched to retain heat and moisture.

Planting care

We planted the seeds, waited for them to sprout, and don’t relax. No, of course you don’t need to put in excessive effort, but we also won’t throw rhubarb unattended.

What is the care for growing rhubarb? This is, first of all, watering, weeding, loosening row spacing and removing flower shoots. Once a season, you can treat rhubarb with a mixture of minerals and organic matter, collected in the following composition: urea - 5g, mullein - 500ml, nitrophoska - 20mg - dilute all this with ten liters of water.

Once every four years, manure or compost is applied between the rows, after which they are hilled up.

Usually in the second year of growing rhubarb, peduncles appear that need to be removed so that they do not take all the useful and nutrients from the plant.

In the fall, before the leaves begin to die, all plants with weak, thin and short petioles are removed, and almost the entire vegetative part of healthy ones is cut off.

In some cases, you have to deal with rust and downy mildew - these are the common diseases that affect rhubarb.

And it’s also worth remembering that during the growing season it is better to leave at least half of the leaves on the plant so as not to deplete it. When collecting leaves, you do not need to cut them with a knife, just break them out, as if pulling them out of the plant.

The younger the plant, the more tender and juicy its petioles, and the milder the taste.

In order for rhubarb to please you again with its pleasant taste next year, in late autumn it is recommended to fertilize with complex mineral fertilizer at the rate of 80g per square meter, and then mulch the soil with manure or compost.

Growing rhubarb is not at all difficult, you just need to pay due attention and provide developing plants with vitamins in a timely manner, and then you will receive a wonderful supply of vitamins and nutrients in your garden bed.

Rhubarb (lat. Rheum)- a genus of perennial herbaceous plants belonging to the Buckwheat family. Rhubarb is most widely distributed in Europe and the United States, although it also grows in Asia. The origins of rhubarb are quite confusing. This culture is mentioned in the writings of Pedanius Dioscorides, who lived in the first century AD. In the 11th-12th centuries, rhubarb began to arrive in Europe from Asia through Persia. Marco Polo, who visited the Tangut kingdom, claimed that rhubarb root was grown there and harvested in large quantities. In 1640, rhubarb root was brought to England from China via India, and the British considered it a Cantonese, Chinese, or East Indian vegetable. Rhubarb most likely came to the territory of modern Russia from the Crimean peninsula.

Planting and caring for rhubarb (in brief)

Landing: sowing seeds in open ground - in February-March or early October, sowing seeds for seedlings - in early April, planting seedlings in open ground - in August or early September.
Lighting: bright sunlight, diffused light or partial shade.
The soil: moist, permeable, high humus content and pH 4.5.
Watering: regular and abundant: 3-4 times per season with a consumption of 30-40 liters of water per m².
Feeding: 1-2 times per summer with an organic or mineral solution, and once every 4-5 years 1-2 buckets of humus are added under the bushes. It is better to add organic matter in the fall, and mineral complexes in the spring.
Reproduction: seeds, division of rhizomes.
Pests: cutworm caterpillars, onion nematodes and rhubarb weevil.
Diseases: ramulariasis, ascochyta blight, powdery mildew and rust.
Properties: rhubarb contains biologically active substances and has medicinal properties.

Rhubarb plant - description

Rhubarb has a dark brown branched woody rhizome with a diameter of 4-6 cm, overgrown with small roots. Rhubarb root lives for 12 years or more. Aboveground stems are straight, thick, hollow, slightly grooved, annual. The large basal leaves of rhubarb are entire, serrated or palmate-lobed, often wavy along the edge, located on long multifaceted or cylindrical petioles, equipped with wide bells at the base. The stem leaves are much smaller than the rosette leaves. The erect, weakly branched stem of rhubarb can reach a height of 2.5 m. Tall, straight, peduncles covered with red spots end in paniculate inflorescences consisting of small white, greenish, pink or red bisexual flowers, which, if underdeveloped, can be unisexual. Rhubarb blooms in late May or early June. The fruit of rhubarb is a triangular nut of a red-brown hue, 7-10 cm long. The petioles of leaves and the root of rhubarb are of medicinal value.

Sowing rhubarb for seedlings

When to plant rhubarb for seedlings

Growing rhubarb from seeds is a troublesome task, and you will only get your first harvest after a few years, but in order to provide yourself with a tasty and healthy vegetable for many years, it makes sense to try. Rhubarb seeds can be purchased in agricultural stores or online from well-established manufacturers or sellers. 4 days before sowing, the seeds are immersed in water at room temperature for 10 hours to swell, then they are disinfected for an hour in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, transferred to a damp cloth and wait for the seeds to hatch.

Rhubarb is sown for seedlings in early April in pots with a diameter of 10-12 cm to a depth of 2-3 cm. Before emergence, the substrate in the pots must be kept slightly moist at all times.

Caring for rhubarb seedlings

Seeds begin to germinate after 2-3 weeks, and when seedlings appear, the crops should be immediately moved to a bright place. Caring for seedlings consists of regular watering, loosening the substrate and feeding once every 10 days. The seedlings are cared for all summer, and 90-100 days after sowing, that is, in August or early September, the seedlings are planted in the garden so that they have time to take root before winter.

Growing rhubarb from seeds in the garden

Planting rhubarb in the ground

Since rhubarb is a cold-resistant plant, its seeds can be sown directly into the garden, bypassing the stage of growing seedlings. When to plant rhubarb in open ground? Planting rhubarb seeds is carried out in early spring (in March or even February) or in mid-October.

The plant is not only cold-resistant, but also unpretentious, so planting rhubarb and caring for it does not involve any difficulties. It can be planted in a remote corner of the garden in the sun or partial shade, under the canopy of fruit trees. The plant prefers soils that are moist and permeable, with a high humus content and acidity at 4.5 pH. Several months before planting, the rhubarb area is dug up with humus at the rate of 3 buckets of fertilizer per m². Rhubarb can grow in one place for 15 or more years.

How to plant rhubarb in a garden bed in open ground? First, the seeds are germinated as described above, and then they are densely laid out in furrows 1-1.5 cm deep, located at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other in the seedling bed, and sealed. If sowing is carried out before winter, the surface of the bed is completely mulched with a 1 cm thick layer of leaf humus, garden compost or other organic material. When sowing in spring, the area is mulched after germination. When growing rhubarb by seedlings, mulch is placed immediately after transplanting the seedlings into open ground.

Whenever you sow the seeds - in early spring or in October - seedlings will appear in the garden bed in the spring, but keep in mind that the germination rate of rhubarb seeds is quite low. In the second half of May, when 1-2 true leaves develop on the seedlings, the seedlings are planted according to a 10x10 cm pattern. How to grow rhubarb in open ground? Until autumn, caring for seedlings consists of regular watering, loosening the soil around them, weeding and fertilizing with complex mineral fertilizer once every 10 days. At the beginning of autumn, fertilizing and watering are stopped, and rhubarb from seeds is transplanted to a permanent place, although many gardeners believe that it is better for seedlings to grow in a school for another year. When planting seedlings in a permanent place, keep in mind that one plant will need a feeding area of at least 1 m².

Watering rhubarb

Large rhubarb petioles can only be obtained with regular and abundant watering. During the season, rhubarb is watered 3-4 times, using 30-40 liters of water per m² of plot. The more abundant and frequent watering, the less oxalic acid in the petioles. When flower stalks appear on the rhubarb, they are cut off, since the development of flower arrows slows down the growth of leaves and the development of petioles. After watering, it is advisable to loosen the soil around the plants and remove weeds.

Feeding rhubarb

Rhubarb is fed 1-2 times per season with liquid organic or complex mineral fertilizers, for example, by mixing half a liter of mullein in 10 liters of water. In addition, every 4-5 years, 1-2 buckets of humus or manure are added under the bushes. It is better to feed rhubarb with mineral fertilizers in the spring, and it is better to feed it with organic matter in the fall.

Wintering rhubarb

In summer, perennial rhubarb is rejuvenated by cutting leaves with cuttings and leaving only 2-3 leaves to feed the plant, but by autumn the bush is again overgrown with leaves, a third of which can be used for food, and 2/3 of the leaves are left on the bush so that the plant can prepare for winter. For the winter, rhubarb bushes are covered with fallen leaves or covered with dry soil. In spring, the bush is freed from its covering so that the plant can grow leaves.

Pests and diseases of rhubarb

Rhubarb diseases

Not so long ago, it was believed that rhubarb was invulnerable to both infections and harmful insects, but with poor care, even this plant can get sick. Most often, rhubarb is affected by ramularia, ascochyta blight, powdery mildew and rust.

Ramulariasis: Signs of this fungal disease appear as red-brown spots with a dark red border on rhubarb leaves. As the disease progresses, the spots increase in size and merge with each other, and their middle gradually turns pale. In dry weather, the tissue inside the stains cracks and falls out, and in humid weather, the stains become covered with a white or silver-gray powdery coating. The disease progresses in dense plantings, especially in warm, humid weather. For preventive purposes, it is necessary to remove plant debris from the area in the fall, after which the surface should be treated with one percent Bordeaux mixture or any other copper-containing preparation.

Powdery mildew– this disease can be recognized by a whitish, loose coating on the leaves of the plant, which over time becomes dense and brown. The disease appears in early summer. As a result, the affected areas stop growing, turn black and die, the inflorescences do not form ovaries, and the plants lose winter hardiness. Powdery mildew must be combated using the same methods as ramulariasis. The best drugs for this infection are the biofungicides Alirin-B, Gamair, Planriz and the like.

Rust- This is also a fungal infection that forms pustules on rhubarb leaves, from which, when cracked, a rust-colored powder spills out - fungal spores. The affected plant's metabolism is disrupted and growth is reduced. Diseased leaves must be removed and the plant treated with Topaz 2-3 times with an interval of 10 days.

Ascochyta blight forms large brick-ocher spots of irregular elongated shape on the leaves. The tissues in these places crack, dry out and crumble. The infection can be destroyed by treating rhubarb with one percent Bordeaux mixture.

However, since plants have the ability to accumulate poisons and toxins in their stems, leaves, petioles and roots, try to refrain from using fungicidal drugs. It is better to use mullein infusion against fungal diseases. It is prepared like this: pour a third of a bucket of fresh cow dung with cold water and, stirring from time to time, leave for three days. Then the composition is filtered through thick cloth, diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 and the rhubarb is treated with this composition the next evening after sunset.

Rhubarb pests

Among the pests that are dangerous for rhubarb are cutworm caterpillars, onion nematodes and rhubarb weevil.

Scoop eggs hibernate near rhubarb bushes, in spring dirty white or yellow caterpillars up to 45 mm long crawl out of them, which penetrate into the stem and petioles and feed on their pulp. Damaged tissues dry out, and caterpillars crawl into petioles that are not yet damaged. To get rid of these pests, you need to immediately cut out the damaged stems and petioles, as well as destroy the weeds near which the scoops lay their eggs.

Rhubarb weevil- a bug up to 6 mm long, the elytra of which are covered with light gray and brown scales. Weevils feed on rhubarb leaves, and the females lay their eggs in the petioles of the leaves. The emerging legless, dirty yellow larvae live on the leaves, feed on them and pupate in them. You can repel weevils by treating rhubarb with a solution of 5 g of potassium permanganate in 10 liters of water.

Onion nematodes- microscopic worms that live in the stems, petioles and leaves of rhubarb. They cause the tissues of the plant to soften and swell, causing the plant to die. Effective measures to combat nematodes have not yet been invented, so affected specimens should be removed and burned, and nothing should be grown in the area where these pests are found for at least two years.

Types and varieties of rhubarb

There are more than 20 types of rhubarb in nature, but in addition to species plants, there are many hybrids and varieties. The most famous types of culture are:

or compact (Rheum compactum = Rheum orientale) - a plant reaching a height of 30 to 120 cm, with a thick hollow stem and a very thickened root. The rosette leaves of this plant are long-petiolate, almost round or round-ovate, deeply heart-shaped at the base, somewhat wavy or flat, reaching 60 cm in diameter. There are few upper leaves, they are much smaller and located on the stem on short petioles;

- a perennial up to 2.5 m high with a spreading crown up to 150 m in diameter, consisting of large palmately divided leaves on long petioles. The flowers of this species are greenish-yellow, collected in panicles up to 50 cm long;

or rhubarb wavy, or Siberian rhubarb It is distinguished by curly leaves, which are very wrinkled at an early age, but as soon as they bloom, they become wavy, as if decorated with ruffles along the edges. The length of the leaves is about 70, and the width is about 50 cm. This type of rhubarb is very beautiful in flowering, when panicles of inflorescences consisting of yellowish flowers rise above the rosette on peduncles up to one and a half meters long;

Wittrock's rhubarb (Rheum wittrockii)

- a small plant compared to other species with ovate-triangular leaves up to 50 cm long and up to 40 cm wide, folded along the edge, on short pubescent petioles. White or pinkish flowers are collected in a spreading panicle;

native to the mountainous regions of Western and Southern China. It is a perennial with large roots and bare, reddish ribbed stems up to 2 m high. The giant leaves in the basal rosette are five to seven lobed, heart-shaped at the base, about 80 cm in diameter. Stem leaves are almost sessile, alternate. The color of the opening leaves is purple, then the tone becomes almost violet, but already in June the leaves acquire a dark green color, and only the underside of the leaf blade remains reddish. Greenish-white, pinkish or reddish flowers are collected in panicles up to half a meter long. The plant has been in cultivation since 1763. The most attractive variety of palmate rhubarb is Atrosanginium, with purple leaves, petioles and stems;

originally from Tibet. This is a perennial up to 2.5 m high with very large three-to-four-lobed green leaves, reaching a length of one and a half meters, while the length of the petioles is approximately 1 m. Small pale green flowers form a large paniculate inflorescence up to half a meter long, located on a two-meter peduncle . In European culture, the view is from 1871;

Rhubarb (Rheum nobile)

found in nature at an altitude of 4.5 thousand m, reaches a height of 2 m, its rosette is formed from bare large leaves of an ovoid shape. Yellow-green panicles practically sit on a flat rosette.

In addition to the described species, rhubarb Maksimovich, ribez, Black Sea, Alexandra and Delaway are grown in culture.

Garden rhubarb varieties are divided into early, mid-ripening and late ripening according to ripening time. The best early varieties include:

Altai dawns– a variety with a spreading rosette of large leaves on long red petioles weighing from 80 to 120 g of excellent taste;
Rhubarb Victoria– a series of early-ripening, productive varieties with large or medium-sized compact rosettes, consisting of ovate or broadly ovate leaves on light green, slightly ribbed petioles with a red base, from 33 to 50 cm long;
Large petiolate– a disease- and cold-resistant variety with red to mid-length petioles, 65-70 long and about 3 cm thick. The pulp of the petioles is light green, often with pink spots, and has a sweet and sour taste;
Stubborn– a variety with a high spreading rosette of leaves with large light green anthocyanin-colored petioles at the base, up to 55 cm long and weighing up to 180 g;
Moskovsky 42– a productive, stem-resistant variety with wavy, smooth, large leaves on thick and long, slightly ribbed petioles with pale green flesh;
Robin- a variety with a spreading rosette of leaves on beautiful cherry petioles up to 45 cm long with sweet and sour greenish-pink pulp.

The most commonly grown mid-season rhubarb varieties are:

Obsky– a cold-resistant, moisture-loving variety with a rosette of large, slightly corrugated green leaves up to 120 cm in diameter. The petioles are long, thick, dark pink at the base, with delicate sweet and sour pulp;
Tukumsky 5– a variety with large dark green leaves with wavy edges on rounded light green petioles with crimson pigmentation up to half a meter long;
Ogresky 13– a bolting-resistant, productive variety up to 80 cm high with a compact rosette of large dark green leaves. The petioles are slightly ribbed, dark red at the base, up to 70 cm long and about 4 cm in diameter, some reaching a mass of 350 g. The pulp of the petioles is distinguished by high taste;
Tsukatny– a variety with large wide petioles weighing about 200 g with pinkish pulp of excellent taste;
Cyclone– a variety with rapidly growing medium-sized leaves on large green petioles of moderate thickness with tasty sweet and sour pulp.

Popular late-ripening varieties of rhubarb include:

Gigantic– a disease-resistant variety with long, fragile dark red petioles of excellent taste;
Goliath series- productive varieties for canning purposes, representing large, tall and spreading plants with wide bubbly leaves with wavy edges on grooved green petioles, sometimes colored, sometimes speckled at the base. The pulp of these varieties is green and dense;
Red petiolate late- compact plants of medium height with leaves wavy at the edges on dark or bright red petioles up to 50 cm long and up to 3 cm thick with red or pink-red flesh.

Properties of rhubarb - harm and benefit

Useful properties of rhubarb

Rhubarb petioles and its young leaves, which have a refreshing sour taste due to the presence of citric and malic acid in them, are eaten. The petioles also contain carbohydrates, vitamins C, PP, group B, fiber, pectins, carotene, magnesium salts, calcium, potassium and phosphorus. Eating rhubarb has a positive effect on the functioning of the intestines and kidneys. It is indicated for people with low acidity and is effective in the treatment of purulent formations, wounds, burns, colds, sinusitis and runny nose.

Rhubarb contains biologically active substances that prevent the development of cardiovascular diseases, strengthen the myocardial muscle, cure heart failure and significantly reduce the risk of stroke.

The medicinal properties of rhubarb have been known for a long time. Rhizome preparations have greater healing properties, which in large doses act as a laxative, and in small doses as an astringent. Rhizome preparations are prescribed for constipation, gas accumulation, and intestinal atony. However, people suffering from hemorrhoids should not take them. In small doses, the rhizome preparation is taken as an antidiarrheal (at a dosage of 0.2 to 0.8 g) and choleretic (from 0.1 to 0.5 g) agent. The rhizome preparation in small doses is prescribed for tuberculosis and anemia as a general tonic. For the same purpose, you can drink half a glass of rhubarb juice 3 times a day. Externally, rhubarb is used to get rid of white spots on the skin caused by vitiligo.

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The juicy leaves and petioles of rhubarb are an excellent addition to your daily diet. Growing rhubarb in open ground is not difficult if you create the right conditions for the crop. The material from our article will tell you how to grow rhubarb in the country, care for it and harvest it.

You will learn what period is considered the most successful for planting crops, and what care plants require during different periods of the growing season.

How to grow rhubarb from seeds at home

Rhubarb is a herbaceous plant with a thick stem and large leaves. Young and juicy petioles are eaten in salads instead of spinach and as a filling in sweet pies, compotes and jam.

The stems of the plant are rich in malic and citric acid, so they have a pleasant, refreshing taste. In addition, the plant contains many vitamins, carbohydrates, carotene and pectin.

Description

Rhubarb is an excellent honey plant of the buckwheat family. The plant is cold-resistant, so it can be successfully cultivated in the northern regions.

Figure 1. External features of rhubarb

The stem is tall (up to 2 m), hollow inside, externally colored green with red stripes. The leaves are of different sizes: the stem leaves are small, the basal leaves are large, with long petioles (Figure 1).

The roots are reddish or dark brown in color and can spread over a radius of 1 meter and penetrate up to half a meter deep.

Note: The culture begins to bloom after the second year of life with large (up to 50 cm long) inflorescences and bears fruit with brown triangular nuts.

The plant loves moisture and prefers loamy soils. It propagates both through planting seedlings from seeds and vegetatively.

Peculiarities

Since rhubarb tolerates cold well, it overwinters well, grows and produces crops in Non-Black Earth conditions. Undemanding to light, but needs well-moistened soil. With insufficient moisture, the petioles become coarse and lose their juiciness, which significantly affects its taste.

Note: A huge advantage of this crop is the early ripening of the crop. So, in the conditions of the Non-Black Earth Region, the petioles begin to be harvested in May, when there are no other open-ground vegetables yet, and acute vitamin deficiency is felt.

In terms of its chemical composition and amount of nutrients, rhubarb is similar to an apple. Spinach, beans and various types of cabbage will be excellent neighbors for it in your garden.

At the same time, it is quite unfriendly to potatoes and tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots, as well as onions and legumes.

In the first 2-3 years of cultivation, about 2 kg of green products can be collected from one bush, and in the next - from 4 to 6 kg.

Conditions

The plant prefers well-fertilized organic, loamy soil. Although it can grow and develop in partial shade, it would still be better to set aside an area for it that is well lit by the sun. The successful location of the bed promotes long-term growth of the crop in one place (up to 15 years).

You can grow rhubarb using seedlings, as well as by dividing rhizomes. In order for the bushes to form smooth and powerful, appropriate care is required, consisting of fertilizing, watering, loosening, weeding, removing flower stalks, and controlling pests and diseases.

You should also know that harvesting can begin no earlier than the second year after planting.

Landing and care, planting dates

When growing rhubarb, it is more advisable to plant varieties that differ in terms of ripening and quality of petioles. For example, varieties with green petioles are used for making cabbage soup and puree, while red ones are suitable for jelly, compotes, and as a filling for pies.

Having decided on the varieties, start pre-sowing soil preparation. Already in the fall, add organic matter (manure, compost, humus) at the rate of 2-3 buckets per 1 sq.m., digging the area with the bayonet of a shovel. With the arrival of spring, mineral fertilizing (urea, superphosphate or potassium chloride) should also be added to the soil. In addition, on soils with high acidity they should be limed.

Figure 2. Methods of growing crops: seeds, seedlings and dividing the bush

How to grow rhubarb from seeds? They are sown in rows on a prepared site in late April - early May.

If you prefer vegetative propagation, then the divided rhizomes are planted in early spring or autumn (Figure 2).

Subsequent care consists of thinning, weeding, loosening, fertilizing and watering the plants.

Planting and care in the open field

Plant propagation can occur either through planting prepared seedlings or by dividing rhizomes.

To get rhubarb seedlings, you need:

Conduct pre-sowing preparation of seeds by soaking them in water for a day until they swell. The swollen seeds are germinated under a damp cloth.
When the first white sprouts 1-2 mm long appear, the seeds are dried and sown in a container with moist soil to a depth of no more than 2-3 cm.
After waiting for the first true leaves to appear, the plants are thinned out, leaving seedlings at a distance of 20 cm from each other, and at the end of May the finished seedlings are planted in open ground.

It should be noted that a bush grown by planting seeds will begin to bear fruit only after a few years.

Rhizomes can be planted both in spring (in May) and in autumn (in September). To do this, it is necessary to dig an adult plant (at least 4 years old) with a root, then divide it into parts so that each has at least 1-2 growth buds. Divided plants are planted in the soil to a depth of 25-30 cm.

Note: Both when propagating by seedlings and when dividing rhizomes, the distance between planted plants should be about 1 meter. It is necessary to ensure that the apical buds are covered with a not too coarse layer of soil (1-2 cm), and the soil itself fits snugly against the roots.

Planting and caring for a plant include watering, fertilizing, loosening, weeding of plants, as well as pest and disease control (Figure 3). So, every spring it is necessary to fertilize the bushes with complex fertilizer. During bolting, it is necessary to remove flower stalks in time, and in the second half of summer it is recommended to stop collecting petioles to prevent the plant from weakening before winter. Every 3-4 years, organic fertilizers are applied between the rows (1-2 buckets per 1 sq.m.).

How to properly plant rhubarb and care for it is shown in detail in the video.

We figured out how to grow rhubarb from seeds, it remains to find out the rules for caring for grown bushes. Although this plant is unpretentious, proper care will ensure you a good harvest. Let's consider its main features.

Peculiarities

Immediately after planting, it is necessary to mulch the soil (garden compost, leaf humus) - this promotes the rapid reproduction of seedlings.

Periodically weed out weeds, especially during the growing season, and also water the bushes regularly (at least 2 times a week).

Figure 3. Rhubarb care

It is mandatory to remove honey plants immediately after they begin to bloom. To meet the plant's need for nutrients, it is necessary to fertilize with organic fertilizer 2-3 times during the entire growing season, and the best time for this is early spring or late autumn. It is not advisable to apply fertilizers in the summer, as they can provoke flowering and lead to a decrease in yield.

Plants affected by various diseases are removed from the garden beds, and to prevent infection, young bushes are planted at the proper distance.

Methods

To obtain an earlier harvest (a month earlier than usual), experienced gardeners advise covering the bushes with special ceramic caps with a hole in the top (Figure 4). In this way, the upper shoots receive light, and the stems, being in the shade, subsequently grow less fibrous and, therefore, more tender.

Note: When mulching the bed in the spring, the rosette of leaves is left open, but in the fall it is covered with mulch for a favorable wintering.

If the plant was planted with seeds, then you can gradually begin to harvest it already in the 2nd year of growth. In the future, its petioles can be collected throughout spring and summer, but the bush cannot be completely exposed. When collecting petioles, you must carefully separate them from the base. And after the harvest is complete, it is necessary to cut off all the leaves of the plant so as not to weaken it before winter.

How to water rhubarb

Since this is a moisture-loving plant, its bushes need regular and abundant watering. So, during periods of drought, watering is done 1-2 times a week at the rate of 1 bucket per 1 sq.m., and on very hot days the leaves are sprayed.

Insufficient moisture causes the stems to become coarser and lose their juiciness.

Note: This is explained by the fact that the roots of the plant do not penetrate into the depths of the soil, where it is possible to replenish moisture reserves, and the leaves have a large evaporating surface. Therefore, in arid areas, this plant is grown only on irrigated lands.

The plant makes the greatest demands on moisture during mass harvesting. With appropriate, abundant watering, the harvest can be obtained for the longest possible period of time.

Figure 4. Growing rhubarb under cover

In winter, rhubarb does not need watering, and in the spring-autumn period it does not tolerate excessive soil moisture. Therefore, it is not recommended to plant it in low places with stagnant water in the soil.

Rhubarb: benefits and harm

Rhubarb is not only tasty, but also quite healthy (Figure 5). As you know, its petioles are rich in various useful substances: vitamins, carotene, organic acids, mineral salts. What benefits and harm does rhubarb bring to the body?

Note: It is recognized that the use of petioles strengthens the heart muscle, prevents the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases, as well as the development of various types of tumors.

One of the useful qualities is the ability of the culture to improve digestion, and relatively small doses of the plant have a fixing effect on the body, and a higher concentration, on the contrary, has a laxative effect.

Since the petioles of the plant are rich in vitamin C, eating them is a good prevention of infectious and colds.

Traditional healers use it as an astringent and anti-inflammatory agent, for dyspepsia and to normalize the digestive tract.

Figure 5. Health benefits of rhubarb

The presence of pectins in the plant makes it possible to use it for the treatment of obesity, as well as for diseases of the liver and gallbladder.

In addition, chrysarobin, a substance found in rhubarb, helps in the fight against psoriasis. Quite good results were obtained in the treatment of diseases such as anemia, sclerosis and even tuberculosis.

However, it can bring not only benefits, but also harm. This plant is not recommended for consumption by people suffering from diabetes, gout, rheumatism, as well as pregnant and lactating women.

Significant doses are contraindicated if there is a history of bleeding of various etiologies (gastrointestinal tract, hemorrhoids), acute pyelonephritis and cystitis.

You will learn more information about the beneficial properties of rhubarb from the video.

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