Rhubarb or _pie-plant_ is becoming as indispensable to the garden as
corn, or potatoes, or tomatoes. No family should be without it. It
comes in after winter apples are gone and before green apples come in
again for tarts. By a little attention it may be had from the last of
March through the whole summer. Indeed, it may be had through the
whole year. The root contains within itself all the nourishment
required to develop the leaves and stalks at first, without any other
aid than warmth and moisture. If then it be lifted late in the fall or
during open weather in winter, and put in large pots, nail kegs,
boxes, etc., put in a warm room, or cellar, it will soon send up a
supply of leaves. It is not even necessary that there should be much
light, for the want of it only makes the stem whiter and of a milder
acid. The roots thus used may either be thrown away, or set out again
and not used until they have recovered, which will be in about one
summer.
For early spring use, select a warm spot in the garden, and late in
the fall dig in around your roots a good supply of rotten manure.
Cover them with coarse manure, straw, or litter. As soon as the frost
comes out of the ground, knock out the ends of a barrel and put one
over each plant from which you propose to gain an early supply. Put a
quantity of coarse manure around the outside of the barrel to maintain
the warmth, and, in cold nights and during cold rains, lay a board
over the open top. Thus treated, you may have tarts in March. But the
main supply of this wholesome plant is to arise from open cultivation.
The roots may be gained from seed or from division of old roots.
Eastern writers recommend sowing the seed in autumn; but in the West
spring sowings have vegetated much better than an autumnal planting.
In April sow the seed in deep mellow and rich beds. Keep the plants
free from weeds and in a growing state during the summer. They may
require a little shading during the hottest days of summer. The next
spring we transplant them to a trial-bed; for, it is to be remembered,
that the seed does not necessarily give a plant like its parent. Let
them be set two feet apart every way, and during the season it can be
seen which are the largest and best; these are to be raised in the
fall, divided and transplanted, and the rest thrown away. Out of a
hundred plants, not more than two or three may be worth keeping. In
the spring of 1842 we planted seed obtained in New York, for the
Victoria Rhubarb (a new kind), which had been imported but a few
months. Of fifty plants only three proved worth keeping—one of these
for its earliness and the others for size.
When you have secured roots from which you wish to form a bed for your
main supply, divide them either in the fall or spring into as many
pieces as there are buds on the crown, each piece having, of course, a
bud. The smallest slice of root will live, although a large portion is
preferable. Do not be too timid in dividing; the plant is exceedingly
tenacious of life—it can hardly be killed. We have had roots lying in
the open air for weeks, and when replanted growing with undiminished
vigor. Every one who has, for a single season, tended a garden, knows
what _dock_ is, and how tenacious of life, so much so, as to make it
quite a trouble. The rhubarb is a full-blooded vegetable brother,
belonging to the same family of plants.
This plant thrives most luxuriantly in a rich, sandy loam; the earth
should be spaded and mellowed to at least twenty inches depth. We
prepare ground for it as follows: Mark out the row with a line, throw
out the top earth on one side; throw out a full spade depth of subsoil
upon the other side. Throw back the top dirt, mixing it freely with
well rotted manure. Now put in the soil which was taken from the
bottom of the trench; as this is comparatively poor—mix it largely
with manure. We make rows four feet apart, and set the plants three
feet apart in the row. Very little care is needed in after
cultivation. The large leaves will shade the ground and check weeds. A
good supply of fresh manure, well dug in once a year, will keep the
plants in heart and health for a long time.