Rhubarb requires well drained ground and ample growing room.

Week 13; Plant out 750-900mm (30”-36”) apart in deeply dug, well manured ground.

Crowns of varieties with small buds should be covered with about 25mm (1”) of soil, but large-budded sorts should be set with buds just above soil level.

Emerging leaves	Mature plant	The harvest

Newly planted crowns should not be cropped until the second growing season, any flower stems that appear should be cut off, to avoid weakening the young plant.

Remove any flower stems that may appear.

Apply a generous mulch of organic matter, e.g. garden compost, composted bark or well-rotted farmyard manure to established and new plants.

Spread it around rather than over the crowns.

Week 9> apply a dressing of sulphate of ammonia at 60g (2oz) per sq m.

Do not over-feed with nitrogen-rich fertiliser as this can encourage flowering.

Week 15; Sow rhubarb seeds thinly in 25mm (1”) deep drills in the open and thin out in stages until they are 250mm (10") apart.

Week 17; Check rhubarb in forcing jars or under buckets to see if it is ready for harvesting.

If it is; grab a stalk close to its base and pull it outwards and upwards to remove it cleanly without damaging the central bud.

Carefully replace the forcing jar /bucket back over the clump, checking every few days to see if there's any more rhubarb ready to pull.

Week 24; Continue picking stems for a few more weeks, then leave plants to replenish their reserves.

Watch out for developing flower stems and cut them away at the base.

Remove forcing jars so that the plants can receive full light, and give the clumps a liquid feed.

Week 45-10; Carefully lift three to four year-old crowns when dormant in preparation for division

Avoid damaging the thick roots as much as possible.

Divide the crowns into sections with a sharp spade, each with some healthy roots and at least one strong bud.

Check for signs of hollow crowns (crown rot) disease and discard all infected material.

Replant the divisions with the growing point at, or just below, the soil surface.

n.b. prior to replanting; cultivate the soil, remove any perennial weeds, and incorporate copious amounts of organic matter.

In preparation for forcing, select a few suitable crowns and leave them sitting on the surface of the soil to allow the frost to get at them.

Week 51; Cover crowns selected for forcing with an upturned box or bucket to exclude the light.