Rhubarb Jungle
I got down and dirty with my rhubarb this afternoon!
It is quite a jungle out there! That hard Winter has done wonders for this rhubarb, that and the 6 inches of composted horse manure I put on it this Spring.
It got me thinking that it reminded me of something a few years ago...
I visited the sub-tropical Trebah Garden in Cornwall and walked through their Gunnera Passage!
Of course..rhubarb and gunnera are related! Just one is a bit bigger and spikier than the other!
posted by Matron @ 5:27 PM
16 Comments:
That gunnera passage must be a sort of 'Honey I've shrunk the gardener!' ?
Matron your rhubarb looks great! I have one crown in its second year, how much can I take from it this year?
Your mention of composted horse manure brought back memories. When I was about 6 I stayed with my maternal grandmother one summer. Whenever the coalman, rag and bone man or milkman went past the house I was handed a bucket and shovel and sent to follow the horse. Not my favourite chore! Granny would put some in a sack which dangled in a water barrel for watering her roses.
Damo - how long is a piece of string? Depends how big the crown is. The more you take from it, the less it will be able to build up a crown for next year. If it had say 6 stalks, I might pick two and let the rest grow all season. You might pick 3 and be lucky and the crown might develop some more this year. I left mine until the 3rd year.
I see some sweets in your future :-)
That's a very healthy rhubarb patch, you must be looking forward to some pretty yummy pies soon.
Gunnera grows like mad in Cornwall. I used to walk around the Land's end Peninsula a lot when I lived down there, and there was a little valley floor on the southern coast path which was carpeted with the stuff. It easily reached over my head.
I've heard a designer say that rhubarb is the poor man's Gunnera.
I can see the resemblance. Your rhubarb is looking fab, you'll get plenty of crumbles out of that.
That passage is enchanting and the rhubarb delicious looking!
I want to get lost in the rhubarb jungle.
Simply beautiful!
The rhubarb looks absolutely delicious! Let us know how they taste once you harvest. The Trebah Garden in Cornwall is gorgeous. I never made it to Cornwall before...closest I got was near Bristol. I'm very envious!
Great looking rhubarb...I'm envious of all the compotes and crumbles you'll get to make!
Oh, a Gunnera Passage! I must go there someday! Did you feel like a baby dinosaur? Your rhubarb looks amazing! Did you put it under a garbage can again this year or just leave it be?
Karen, it is a very weird perspective to walk under that Gunnera, definitely prehistoric. I didn't cover my rhubarb this year, just let it grow and grow!
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