Roar is a rather strange plant, because although its leaves have high toxicity and should not be eaten in any case, the stems are completely safe.
Rhusena is a long -known plant used for many centuries, especially the Chinese, as a medicinal plant. And only in the last couple of centuries, rhubarb began to grow for eating.
It is well known that the leaves contain oxalic acid, which is poisonous for humans, and although you have to eat a lot of leaves to seriously poison, by mistake by eating them, you can get a strong disorder of the stomach. Therefore, only the stems of this plant are suitable for food.
This applies to livestock. Never feed chickens or other animals with rhubarb leaves, but you can add them to a compost pile.
Rhusen is a perennial plant, and it will grow perfectly in your garden for a year after year. If the soil is especially good, it can grow 0.9-1.2 m wide and the same height. Remember this when you plant rhubarb into a permanent place!
Soil preparation and climate
Good soil preparation is the key to obtaining a strong plant.
Rhusenia is a plant that needs well -fertilized soil, so 7-10 days before planting it is necessary to add compost, manure and bone flour to the ground, and then water well.
Prepare the bed in early spring and add at least 7 cm. well -fed manure. A successful mixture will be bird droppings and good compost.
Rhusen will grow on the basis of any type, but if the soil is light and rich in humus, and the place is sunny and open, your plant will flourish. Rhubates grows perfectly on moist soil, but waterlogging can adversely affect the root system.
During the growing season, you can feed the plant once a month with fertilizers with seaweed and fish emulsion, which will contribute to the formation of the barrel. It is almost impossible to overfeed rhubarb.
Rhubarb is growing best in regions with a temperate climate and an average rainfall. It is not suitable for growing in coastal subtropics and tropics.
Rhubarb needs good drainage, but he also needs a large amount of water in hot, dry weather. Regular watering during arid periods is important for strong new sprouts.
It will be ideal to plant a rhubarb in the place where he will receive the full morning sun and shade in the midday hours.
Growing rhubarb from seeds
Growing rhubarb from seeds is one of the easiest ways to obtain this plant, however, propagation of the rhizome division is a more reliable way.
It is necessary to sow rhubarb seeds in the spring, and your first crop can be obtained after the summer of next year. Just sow the seeds in the spring in the open air to the prepared place in shallow fossa, or in the room in trays or pots. Parify or transplant young plants a distance of 15 cm from each other, and when they begin to touch each other, transplant a distance of about 1 m from each other.
Propagation of rhubarb by rosettes
Often in horticultural stores, sockets of rhubarb leaves are sold. Again, you should wait at least 1 year before starting harvesting.
Prepare the fossa for planting rhubarb so that the hole is so deep that small shoots protrudes above the ground, and so wide that the whole rhizome is fitted.
Plant plants at a distance of 1 m. From each other.
Make sure the kidneys are at the soil level.
Cover the roots with a thin layer of soil and carefully compact. Pour well and mulch with compost, straw alfalfa or peas. Do not cover a sprouting rhubarp to keep it from rot.
Every year, in early spring, cover the soil with well -rotted manure or compost and slightly mix with the ground.
Feed every summer with liquid fertilizer.
Division of rhizomes
Dig and divide the rhizomes every 4-5 years, preferably not during active growth. Use pitchfork and shovel to dig the entire root from the soil. Shake the excess of the earth and cut the rhizome with any sharp knife, making sure that each part has 2-3 growth points and good roots.
Transplant into well -prepared soil to a place that is different from where rhubaries previously grew up.
Flowering rhubarb. The color of the cherries
Never let your rhubarb bloom. If you see the gathered to blossom the flower, cut it.
The color of the cherries can vary even within the same variety. The red color is obtained during cold weather, the optimal temperature is 10 ° C, the temperature above 25 ° C leads to slow growth and suppression of redness of the stems.
Even at various temperatures, if the stems of your rhubarb are green, you cannot make them red. Green petioles can have excellent taste, but if you want red rhubarb, you will have to buy a new plant.
The correct collection of rhubarb
When gathering a rhubarb crime, do not be too impatient, collecting the stems of young plants. Choose only well -rooted plants and choose the largest stems. This will allow plants to successfully take root and feel good.
Never cut the stems with your rhubarb, it is better to break them. When breaking off the stem, keep the stem at the base and carefully pull down and outwardly with a rotational movement. This will force the petiole to separate from the plant clean without breaking the rosette of the leaves.
In addition, it is advisable to prevent yellowing of the leaves on the plant. When doing this, you can get more and more large stems.
Pests and illnesses
Fortunately, rhubarb suffers from a completely small number of pests and diseases.
From time to time, you will find snails on your rhubarb, but it is easy to get rid of them by placing traps made of tanks filled into the soil, or putting wood sawdust around the plants, chopped eggshell or other similar material, t. To. Snails cannot overcome such a surface.
If you see reddish-brown spots on the leaves, this may mean that the plant is infected with rust. And sometimes caterpillars of white apple moth can appear.
Plants can be affected by false powdery mildew and spotting of leaves. These problems can be prevented by watering plants only in the morning and without getting water on the leaves.
In warm, moist regions, rot can become a problem leading to the death of the entire plant. This is why it is important to make sure that your climate is suitable for this plant.
However, rhubarb is a plant that can be used against other pests in the garden as a natural pesticide.
Usually 6-8 plants are enough for one family. It was established that rhubarb can give about 4.5 kg of crop per year, but remember that rhubarb should only be harvested until the middle of summer. And, of course, remember that there are many recipes with rhubarb except traditional Kramable.