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  • From: Clifford Cain - uk yahoo <cc_syorks@yahoo.co.uk>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Re - Rhubarb
  • Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:50:47 +0000

As the current thread is under way - just thought I would interject with a little background on Rhubarb growing here in the UK and how our warming climate is impacting upon its commercial production.
I am in the county (equivalent of State in USA) of Yorkshire where the Rhubarb Triangle can be found. This is an area between the cities of Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield where rhubarb was widely grown commercially, producing forced rhubarb since Victorian times when the medicinal benefits of Rhubarb became prominent. Forced rhubarb lacks the acidity of green rhubarb, green referring to being grown outside rather than the colour of the stalk in this instance. A collection of over120 cultivars was established at Harlow Carr Gardens and formed the national collection. Since the RHS took over the gardens they moved the collection south to Wisley which is a shame because the reason Yorkshire grows so much rhubarb is due to the winter cold. The crowns would be grown in the fields and fertilised with shoddy, waste from the wool mills , a traditional industry now as good as extinct in the area, which would provide nitrogen. Coal mining was another traditional industry from which slag was used as a fertiliser. The soils of the area are clay based and receive around 300mm winter rain.
Three year old crowns would be dug from the field in winter, late November to early December, as they should have been subjected to frost. The growers are finding that now they are having to chill the crowns after lifting because our winters are not as cold as they used to be and we are not seeing extended cold spells until January. The crowns are then washed to removed soil, so as not to damage the emerging stalks and placed carefully into light excluding forcing sheds which are low sheds that are gently heated (50°F rising to 60°F, but no higher as this detrimentally affects the colour and firmness of the stalks). The warmth brings on the crop, the retained water from the washing sufficient to keep the crowns healthy, though if they show signs of drying they will require watering, which is heated to the same temperature as the forcing shed, so as not to check the growth. Once the forced crowns have been harvested they are disposed of, having no further energy in them, it is more commercially viable to vegetatively propagate by division of plants. Apparently Rhubarb does not come true from seed, which is why they are vegetatively propagated. Having said that there are a couple of varieties that are more stable from seed, particularly Victoria. Rhubarb can also be propagated via root cuttings.
Rhubarb occupies the land for 3 years and as such needs a long, 7 year crop rotation
Rhubarb varieties are grouped according to the earliness of outdoor harvest. So group 1s are very early (April 18-24), group 2s Early (April 25-30) and group 3s Late (May).
Here in the UK Forced Rhubarb is now a premium priced product, and the majority of that sold still comes from Yorkshire although the Dutch are copying the Forced methods. Green Rhubarb, that grown outdoors, makes less of a sale.
As for the different types you can simplistically divide into red and green stalked kinds (on the plant before cooking) but closer inspection shows that some stalks are concave, flat, thin, thick, ribbed or smooth. and permutations of the above. Combined with leaf characteristics of more or less downy or without hairs - results in 14 groups of rhubarb. Rhubarb is currently at the centre of trials on cancer treatments - utilising the root as per old Chinese medicine. The irony is that rhubarb used to be grown for the medicinal qualities of the root rather than for the edible qualities of the leaf stalks.
To celebrate the historical links with Rhubarb, Wakefield holds an annual Rhubarb Festival at the end of February / early March which includes tours of the Forcing sheds. Local restaurants offer Rhubarb themed food. From a foodies point of view we see Rhubarb as a sweet - forced rhubarb cut into chunks, placed in a non aluminium pan, add the juice of an orange, cover and bring to the boil, remove from heat and allow to stand. The stalks will be tender. Last February I went on a tour of the sheds which was enlightening. You could hear the leaves pop as the broke through their casing. The sheds are mystical due to these popping sounds and the fact that the rhubarb is harvested by candle light, so as not to adversely affect the colour of the stems. After the tour I went to the pub across the road and had pigeon breast cooked in Rhubarb, followed by rhubarb crumble and custard. Delicious.
On a personal level, I have 17 cultivars growing in large pots. I have to say that when eating green rhubarb, prior to obtaining my collection I would not have acknowledged the variation of types and flavour. Now having my own mini collection there are definite distinct flavour characters between them.
Regards
Clifford Cain
Bawtry, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK







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