Rhubarb bed

This is the rhubarb bed I mentioned a few days ago. I built four adjacent beds for perennial food plants in 2020.

Rhubarb, asparagus, skirret and horseradish.

The asparagus is settling in well. It’s in the bed behind the rhubarb (and needs weeding).

The skirret is growing and spreading nicely.

The horseradish was a huge mistake because it’s far too rampant and I’ve spent the last year digging it out.

The rhubarb was doing very well, until I decided to force it last spring, to get early sweet shoots. I ignored the fact that it was a hot spring. The rhubarb cooked inside the upturned bins in which it was forcing. Literally. The crowns got so hot that they died. So I have replaced them, after giving the soil a good feed this week and then covering it with degradable paper weedmat. And I shan’t be forcing them in spring.

I do love rhubarb. These are red-stemmed varieties “Ruby Tart” and “Crimson Crumble”. I’m hoping for great things…