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Forcing the issue

25 January 2013

iStock

THE moveable feast of Easter gives variation to each liturgical year, just as the weather means that each gardening year is unique. In each case, the underlying structure is there to be respected.

Interestingly, most people would see the futility of planting out their summer bedding three months prematurely, and yet Easter eggs have been selling since the beginning of this month. The secular world seems to trip over itself in a bid to bring it all on, sooner and sooner. The garden slows us down. Looking out over the skeleton of last summer amid fog and frost, I am not called to action, and that is as it should be.

There is however, a discipline, born of impatience, which does offer rewards. Plunge a rhubarb plant into shelter and darkness, and, provided it has been exposed to sufficient cold beforehand, it will begin to reach for the light with tender sweet stems.

Yorkshire forced rhubarb enjoys the same name-protection rights as Stilton cheese and champagne. In the "rhubarb triangle" of west Yorkshire, the typically heavy clay soil suits few other crops, and the early onset of winter provides the "cold units" required before roots can be dug up and grown on in blacked-out sheds.

On a domestic level, a similar result can be achieved now by placing an opaque dome, ranging from a bespoke terracotta rhubarb forcer to an old bucket, over the rhubarb crown in situ. Inspect for slugs and snails first, and add a loose bundle of straw for cosiness. In a month or two, you should be enjoying an early crop. Harvest it by pulling the stems with an outward twist rather than cutting.

If you do not grow any fruit, rhubarb, although technically a vegetable, is a good place to start. Being a perennial, it is slow to get going, but can then reward you for 20 years or more.

You can buy crowns from garden centres or online nurseries. Autumn is ideal for planting, but early spring is a close second, and a sunny or lightly shaded spot is needed. The ground needs to be "clean": that is, completely free of weeds and their roots. Removing perennial weeds like couch grass or bindweed from among the rhubarb's roots is nigh-on impossible. Rhubarb is a hungry crop, and benefits from a generous helping of well-rotted manure.

Received wisdom dictates that growing rhubarb from seed is less satisfactory. After the sight of three crown-raised plants seemed to underwhelm my partner, a rhubarb enthusiast, I bought a packet of "Victoria" seed for less than £1.

I sowed two seeds per small pot, in February, using multi-purpose compost. They germinated rapidly on a sunny windowsill. I selected the stronger of each pair of seedlings to grow on for a couple of weeks before moving them into a cold frame and then planting them out in April. That was two years ago, and even last summer we were gathering juicy stems from what could definitely be called a rhubarb patch.

This year, I hope to be offering it round the village.

 

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