Forcing Rhubarb

Once again Sunday wasn't too bad a day remaining cloudy and mild.

As you might be aware we live just a few miles outside the famous Rhubarb Triangle in Yorkshire. It’s this time of year when the forcing of rhubarb gets into full swing but this year there’s a problem. It’s been too mild for the rhubarb roots which need a frost for successful forcing and we just haven’t had any.

The good news for them is at least they have some rhubarb roots left. After last year’s very dry summer I reckon I’ve lost most of my rhubarb. There were some signs when we visited the plot last week that one root has survived and had some healthy looking buds forming. 

There should be four very large clumps of rhubarb in this bed but so far only two are showing any signs of growth. It looks like this clump will need some weeding and feeding to bring it into full production in a few months time.

I have never actually tried forcing rhubarb as normally it’s a pretty early crop and we have some still stored in our freezer so for me it doesn’t really seem worth the effort.