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The farmer who is leading a rhubarb revolution

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A rhubarb revolution in Herefordsh­ire

‘WE’RE THE ONLY people who produce forced rhubarb outside the traditiona­l season of the Yorkshire triangle,’ explains farmer Chris Chinn, who has supplied Waitrose since 2013, and has found a way to extend the crop’s season, from March through to the end of June.

The ‘forcing’ of rhubarb was first developed in West Yorkshire in the 1800s, in a nine-square-mile area still known as the ‘rhubarb triangle’. Here mature plants are lifted from the soil and moved to heated forcing sheds, where deprived of light they send out tender, vivid stems.

‘We said, can’t we leave the rhubarb crowns where they are in the field but somehow remove the light from them?’ says Chinn.

Originally a mechanical engineer, in 2003, frustrated with his job, Chinn returned to work on his family’s farm in Herefordsh­ire’s Wye Valley, where he now oversees the harvesting, packing and processing – his brother Henry looks after the planting.

Establishe­d by his great-grandfathe­r in 1925, Cobrey Farms covers 3,000 acres, and the family also grow asparagus, blueberrie­s and potatoes.

A few years after his return, Chinn realised that forced rhubarb was becoming increasing­ly fashionabl­e, and by working with chefs, such as Mark Hix, he discovered a gap in the market – anyone who wanted rhubarb beyond March had to move to the outdoor variety. ‘It’s greener, more tart and tougher, which is absolutely fine for pies,’ he says. ‘But the delicate, sweeter pink stems allow chefs and more adventurou­s home cooks to do something smarter,’ he says.

Chinn devised a new, innovative method of growing the vegetable under a polythene sheet. ‘It’s black on one side and white on the other, so we can then control the amount of solar radiation that converts to heat.’

After the rhubarb is planted it’s left to grow for two or three years until it’s ready to harvest. ‘We cover it up in January and February before the buds start to grow – it’s important that the full stem is grown without light.’

Once the stems are eight to 12 inches long the crop is harvested by hand. ‘You have to be quite careful,’ Chinn says. ‘It turns a dark blue-y black colour if it’s bruised.’ Picking has to be done at dawn or dusk, to minimise exposure to light.

For Chinn it’s been a success. ‘The first year we sold two tonnes to Waitrose, and now we sell 50,’ he says. This year he wants to extend the season to the middle of July, and one day he hopes to offer year-round forced rhubarb. ‘We’ll just keep trying,’ he says.

 ??  ?? Right Chinn among his forced rhubarb crop. Top right The tender, sweet harvested stems. Interview by Francesca Ryan. Photograph­s by Francesca Jones
Right Chinn among his forced rhubarb crop. Top right The tender, sweet harvested stems. Interview by Francesca Ryan. Photograph­s by Francesca Jones
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