planting rhubarb questions

[Berti]

I can buy rhubarb roots (aldi) and I want to plant it next month in raised beds.
the raised bed is 60 x 120 cm.
how many plants?

As soil in the bed, is the normal soil plus cocopeat/ compost blend.
Does it need anything else? I do everything organic but cannot get muck.
Can get organic fertilizer though or dried cow stuff.
Which one, how much?

Thanks : just trying out the rhubarb thing...

[grahamhobbs]

1 plant will ultimately fill the raised bed, definitely not more than 2 - but what a waste of a raised bed. Rhubard does not need mollycodling, just stick it any ground, it's virtually a weed.

[Berti]

well its no waste of a raised bed....I only have a small space (six of those beds)
four of them are for veg roulation scheme, one is for raspberries, one for rhubarb.

so, 2 rhubarb plants are OK (is what I was thinking to get)?
on my allotment I had three plants (inherited from last owner) on about that space....
so two must be doable????

[MKG]

I have to agree with Graham - rhubarb doesn't need any nursing. However, if you've already planned things ... just be aware that I have two plants occupying an 8 foot by 4 foot space. When they're in full growth, you can't see any soil around them - they're bloody huge. They get a feed once a year and, apart from that, look after themselves.

Mike

[Berti]

hi mike how old are your plants.
the plants (roots) I am talking about are young ones.

[MKG]

Hi Berti ...

This is the fourth year for those plants, so they're coming up for division soon. But they attained that size in their second year. We were surprised by that, but it just goes to show - put rhubarb in a place it likes and it's going to go like a train. Oh - I forgot to say that they're not in a raised bed, just a "little" space we had spare on the sunny side of the greenhouse. I'm sure you know what I mean - "What can I stick in there?" kind of thing.

Mike

[Berti]

wow mike! *whistles*

[Millymollymandy]

If you have dry soil/climate then rhubarb does need mollycoddling. When mine was in the veg patch with good soil and getting watered it was enormous. Now (because it was too big!) they are sited at the end of the chook run on what was once a compost heap and I haven't had anything worth picking in 4 years. That could be due to the fact they were forced before moving but they are taking a long time to come back to life again!

If they don't get watered regularly they just shrivel up and look dead and go into hibernation in summer, veg patch or out of veg patch, so I do think of them as plants that need a lot of looking after. I think Berti's idea of putting it in her raised bed is a good one.