Central Otago
Forcing rhubarb and growing asparagus
I have always grown rhubarb in my garden and just love it: the plant and the fruit, including its many uses
Ican remember it growing at our family home when I was child. We grew up on a large sheep station near Middlemarch and the vegetable garden there was huge; it provided food not only for us, but for all the families and men who worked there. The clumps of rhubarb were surrounded by rusty old drums which had been cut in half. I never thought anything of it.
The rhubarb growing in my garden was given to me 40 or more years ago by a local gardener, and will be an old variety – probably the same as the one at the family homestead. Back then they were grown by division, so every plant was an identical clone of its parent. It is an extremely good doer, and I believe that some of the newer varieties are not so robust or indeed such a good shade of red.
About 10 years ago, when travelling in the UK, I visited Chartwell in Kent.
This is the former home of Sir Winston Churchill, and still possesses a charming garden. I was so excited to see the rhubarb there, growing in gorgeous terracotta pots in spring. I was so fascinated by those pots: open-ended, around 75cm tall and with lids, and immediately I was taken back to the rusty old, cut-down drums I knew as a child. Ours didn’t have lids though, so perhaps the purpose was to keep the large, poisonous leaves off surrounding crops?
One of the gardeners at Chartwell explained the principle of growing rhubarb successfully, using these pots. First, put the pots over the plant in late winter. Here in Central Otago that will be late August – when the crowns are just emerging from the ground. Every night, put the lids on and every morning remove them. As the plant grows it will be drawn to the light, and the stalks will grow to the height of the rim, with the leaves above that. The entire stalk will be pinkish-red.
A year later, I was so thrilled to find exactly the same looking pots at Riverstone, north of Oamaru. Dot Smith, the garden’s chatelaine, had seen them at Chartwell too, and had got someone making them here, so that is where mine came from. Dot has since told me not to leave them on all season, so in summer they come off.
Now to some hints on growing good rhubarb – it loves manure.
As mine grows right next to the compost bins it gets plenty, and donkey poo too! Every five years or so divide the plant in winter – here in Central Otago, that means before the ground is solid. I recommend finding a strong man with a sharp spade to cut off the vigorous outer eyes to replant, and discard the weaker middle portion. Then give him some plants to take home and keep the same rhubarb genes going for another generation. The first season after dividing they will not produce as many or as strong stems as usual, so I don’t divide all the clumps at the same time. Rhubarb is a diseaseresistant plant and easy to grow.
Not everyone enjoys eating it – perhaps the fault is in the presentation and flavouring? When stewing I add a little orange peel, to cut the tartness. Ginger combines well with rhubarb and a favourite here is rhubarb and ginger cake, or rhubarb and ginger jam. You can freeze it raw, simply cut into desired lengths and seal in plastic bags.
I also grow asparagus.
The crowns were purchased a few years ago from a nursery and are yet to bear a decent harvest. Possibly this may have been because they were originally grown from seed. I did plant both male and female plants, with the later bearing red berries. Maybe I’m impatient! Give it time, Jane.
If it doesn’t perform pretty quickly I might be taking my spade to my sister-in law’s, who has a tremendous old stand of magnificent asparagus! Like rhubarb, it grows from a crown but a much smaller one. Here in New Zealand we eat it as a green vegetable, but in Holland I stayed with friends and they mound it up as we do potatoes, then eat it as a blanched vegetable, and consider the pale colour a delicacy. I found it to be tasteless, but didn’t dare say so. ✤