Your comments and tips

20 Jul 20, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Fertiliser during the growing season. Whatever you buy just follow the directions.

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06 May 20, Jane Trembath (Australia - temperate climate)

My rhubarb looks terrible The leaves have holes and brown patches. Also the stalks have become woody and thin. Can you give me some advice about how to treat the plant? Regards Jane

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27 May 20, Claudia (Australia - temperate climate)

I had the same problem with my rhubarb. It never thrived. For 3 years, it was in a spot that received western sun and full shade in winter. The soil wad always dry, and I had to keep the water up. I moved it into a north east facing raised bed full of rich soil and mulched thickly. Did this about 6 weeks ago, and it has already doubled in size. The leaves are bigger, greener and lush. The stalks are also thick and crisp! We're coming into winter now, so your rhubarb might take a little longer to recover. Give it a good drink of seaweed at transplant. I also soak my mulch in seaweed solution before mulching. As for the holes in the leaves, that will probably be from a grub. Inspect your plant and its root ball before transplanting, so you don't bring the little muncher over too! Sometimes grubs hide in the ground. Good luck!

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08 May 20, M (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I have never grown it although my mother did nearly 60 yrs ago. Holes in it would be some kind of caterpillar/grub, the brown could be leaves dying off or lack of water. Thin stalks would be lack of nutrient, maybe the same for woody stalks. Maybe time to replant it somewhere (if possible) into new rich soil and keep the water up to it and a fert feed now and again.

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03 May 20, Pat Collins (Australia - temperate climate)

I belong to a community garden and we have been using lots of fresh horse manure to feed our rhubarb and other plants. Last year our rhubarb seemed to get very weak and then developed root rot. Would this be due to the manure being too acid? our soil is quite clayey.

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05 May 20, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Manures need to break down into compost before applying to the soil and then mixed into the soil. Manures are a great soil condition builder. Puts fibre back into the soil and opens it up to heat, light, water draining easily etc. Or you could put the fresh manure in a big tub/bin/drum and top up with water, after a week or two you could drain off the liquid and apply that. Stir the water/manure while it is soaking. Better to apply compost or broken down manures.

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27 Apr 20, Chris Calvert (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Our plants were from an earlier patch that was at least 50 years old. We have had them for about 3 years and are harvesting them almost all year. They slow down a bit in winter but we still get feeds off them then. They now get tons of manure and pellets with mulch over the coldest part of the year and they are grown in a substantial raised bed with frequent watering (not sure the watering is required as frequently but we do it when the leaves wilt a bit). The raised garden is still settling so I am hoping the watering can slow down a bit as the soil compacts and retains more of the water.

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23 Apr 20, Michael G (Australia - temperate climate)

I am in Adelaide and have just seeded rhubarb. Am I too early or will they turn into crowns to plant in spring?

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08 Apr 20, Anon (Australia - temperate climate)

What about growing rhubarb in the San Francisco Bay Area - Oakland - South/across the bay from SF?

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23 Mar 20, gary ellard (Australia - temperate climate)

have been growing rhubarb in a 2mtr square wicking bed. Have shreddard old horse manure and placed it on top of the bed as a mulch. Before i did this , i was cultivating stalks regularly but then the leaves turned red and i lost the lot. I was led to believe rhubarb loves manure of horse. Have i done any thing wrong?

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