Rhubarb belongs to perennials and is a representative of the buckwheat family. It is grown for the sake of juicy petioles, which taste like apples or lemons. About the main plant varieties and about growing it in the open ground - below.
Description
Rhubarb, although it relates to vegetables, is a large-leafed herb. Large leaves on long stalks are collected in a rosette. Leaf blades are usually rounded with smooth or corrugated edges. In some species, the leaves are dissected and carved. The plant can grow in height by 2-4 m. The root system is represented by rhizome. It is fleshy, branched and pivotal. It penetrates deep into the soil - up to 1.5 m deep.
Fresh “rhubarb sticks” are eaten, dipped in sugar, but much tastier are stewed fruit, jelly, jams and fillings. They go well with gooseberries.
The culture blooms more often in the second year, but sometimes it only throws out an inflorescence in the third or fourth year. Flowers crayons collected in panicles. They are often pale green in color, less often have a reddish or pinkish tint. The flowers are bisexual, that is, immediately both female and male. However, it also happens that, due to underdevelopment, flowers of the same sex are formed. After pollination, fruits are formed. These are trihedral achenes with brown wings. Ripened seeds quickly crumble. Germination is maintained up to 4 years.
Varieties and types
There are about 50 species of rhubarb, they all grow in Eurasia. In Russia, under natural conditions, you can find only 3 wild species. However, for gardeners, the cultivated species is the most interesting - garden or wavy. It is cultivated in the plots, and it is suitable for eating. Some gardeners prefer to grow decorative varieties. They differ in huge sizes - its height can reach 4 m, and brightly colored inflorescences. A medicinal form is also widespread, various potions are made from its rhizomes.
The leaves and rhizome of ordinary rhubarb contain a high concentration of oxalic acid, so they can not be consumed.
Varieties
The following varieties of rhubarb are distinguished:
- Victoria. High yielding variety. Petioles are large - about 60 cm long, 3 cm thick. They are light green, covered with specks. The first crop gives in the second – third year. Then the petioles are broken off every 20–25 days. The downside is the tendency of the plant to flowering.
- Coarse-grained. The variety has the same large petioles as the previous one. But unlike him, they are painted in dark red. And also it is resistant to diseases and colds.
- Moscow 42. High-yielding variety, resistant to shooting. Petioles in size correspond to the two previous varieties, but they are slightly ribbed. In the lower part they are colored red, in the upper part they are green and covered with red dots.
- Ogres 13. Variety with a medium ripening period, showing resistance to shooting. Petioles in length reach up to 80 cm. Their base is painted red, the upper part is green.
- Tukums 5. Another high-yielding variety. Petioles with a smooth surface and raspberry pigmentation. At the base, they are painted bright red.
- Stubborn. Early ripening grade. In the outlet, there are up to 48 petioles. At first they are green, then they are covered with a pinkish tint. Bubble blade with a wavy edge.
- Altai Dawns. You can recognize the very spreading bush and bright red petioles along the entire length.
- Zaryanka. The variety has a compact outlet. The height of the petioles covered with cherry pigmentation does not exceed 45 cm.
variety Victoria
variety Coarsely
Moscow variety 42
grade Ogres 13
grade Tukumsky 5
grade seeds
variety Altai dawns
variety Zaryanka
Breeding
Rhubarb propagates by sowing seeds directly into the soil, by seedlings or vegetatively, i.e. by rhizome division. The latter method allows you to maintain varietal qualities of the plant, but it is important to prevent its flowering. Since they are cross-pollinated when growing on a plot of several varieties at once, as a result, plants will grow from the collected seeds, which will have mixed characteristics of these varieties.
Seed cultivation
Growing rhubarb from seeds consists of several stages.
Seed production
Seeds are harvested from a plant that is older than 4 years. To do this, leave one peduncle on the bush. When ripe, they quickly crumble, so as not to be left without them, a brown peduncle with unripe seeds is cut off and left in a dry, darkened and well-ventilated place until the seeds fully ripen.
Before sowing seeds, it is necessary to determine the place and prepare the soil for the plant.
Site selection and soil preparation
Rhubarb is a non-capricious culture that grows on almost all soils. However, it develops well and grows on fertile and light soils, which must be deeply processed up to 40 cm in depth.
Places with perennial weeds - wheatgrass, burdock or thistle are not suitable for him. The site is better to choose on the south or southeast slope, where the depth of groundwater does not exceed 1.5 m. The plant tolerates shading, but in the lighted places gives an early harvest.
In one place, it can grow up to 15 years, but it should be borne in mind that after 10 years, its productivity drops markedly. Experienced gardeners are advised to transplant the culture after 5 years, after dividing it.
The soil for crops is harvested in the fall, mixing it with compost or humus. Be sure to add potash and phosphorus fertilizers. If the soil is acidic, then it is lime. In the spring, the site is again dug up and at the same time ammonium nitrate or other nitrogen-containing fertilizers are introduced.
Seed preparation
To prepare the seeds, do the following procedures:
- Soak. Before sowing, they are soaked in warm water for 8-10 hours or left in water at room temperature for 3 days. Seeds floating on the surface of the water are thrown away, since you will not get seedlings from them.
- Disinfection. Then, to reduce the risk of developing diseases in the future, they are left in a solution of potassium permanganate for 1 hour.
- Germination. The seeds are transferred to the burlap, and they are kept there until they hatch. Sprouted seeds are dried.
- Sowing. Seeds are laid in moist soil to a depth of 2-3 cm, the distance between the rows is 70 cm.
They are sown in open ground in early April, but since the seeds germinate at a lower temperature of 2-3 ° C, some gardeners practice sowing in frozen soil on pre-prepared beds.
Seedling method
Seeds are prepared before sowing in the same way as when planting in open ground. Sprouted seeds are planted in peat pots or plastic containers filled with universal soil for seedlings. Follow the rules: one pot - one seed. The containers are placed in a warm place where the sun's rays do not fall, and covered with polyethylene, thus creating a microclimate.
Regularly spray the soil with water from a spray bottle, keeping it moist, and ventilate it. After emergence, the polyethylene is removed, and the pots are moved to a bright place - on the windowsill, and maintain the temperature in the region of 20-22 ° C. By the end of summer, seedlings reach a height of 30 cm, have at least 3-4 leaves and are ready for transplanting to a permanent place in the open ground.
Wells are prepared in advance. Dig holes in the size of 30 by 30 cm, pour humus into them and add mineral fertilizers. Then well watered and left for several days alone. Transplanted seedlings by transshipment without disturbing the earthen coma.
If peat cups were used to grow seedlings, then plants in a hole are placed directly in them. The root neck should be deepened by 2-3 cm to prevent its exposure with melting snow or when watering. Then the soil is compacted and mulched with peat. The transplant is carried out in cloudy weather.
Seedling Care
In the open ground three weeks after emergence, they are thinned out at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other. Then this procedure is repeated later, but 50 cm are left between them.
Seedlings are fed after a week with slurry, and after 3 weeks, fertilizers are applied - urea, superphosphate and potassium chloride.
If the plant releases arrows, then they must be removed, otherwise the plant will be depleted.
Rhizome propagation
Only 5 year old bushes are suitable for this method. They must be carefully cut into pieces with a sharp knife. Each should have 1-2 large kidneys and a well-developed root system. Preference should be given to those "eyes" that are on the periphery. Plants derived from central buds often produce peduncles.
Rhizomes are planted in late August or spring. They are planted in pits 30 by 30 cm, in which compost and garden soil are covered. Planted flush with the ground, observing a distance between them of 70 cm. The soil is tamped and watered. The kidneys are sprinkled with humus with a layer of 1.5-2 cm.
You can propagate the culture with rhizome and without kidneys, but then you should not wait for the rapid growth of petioles. In this scenario, the development of the plant will be very slow.
Care
The plant is demanding on soil moisture, but it does not like waterlogging. Drought also does not benefit him, since a lack of moisture affects the size and taste of the petioles. With heat and lack of water, they lag behind in growth. On the table will be thin, short petioles with a bitter taste. Regular watering, on the contrary, increases the yield and quality of the vegetable.
Fertilizers are applied in early spring - either mineral or organic, coupled with an ash solution. Once every three years, humus is added to the aisles.
Rhubarb is not afraid of frost. In winter, it suffers severe colds up to -30 ° C. Withstands frosts in spring up to -10 ° C, but on condition that the buds do not have time to “wake up”. However, a comfortable temperature for it is 16-20 ° C of heat.
In the second or third year, rhubarb begins to produce peduncles. They must be ruthlessly removed, otherwise the growth of leaves will greatly slow down.
Features of growing rhubarb by year
Rhubarb has some features of growing by year:
- In the first year of planting, the stalks are not harvested. We must let the plant grow well. During this period, they monitor the moisture of the earth and irrigate in a timely manner - the earth should not dry out, but the plant should not be poured. Be sure to loosen the top layer of the soil, weeds are harvested on time. In autumn, dead leaves are removed, and the outlet itself is spud.
- In the spring of the second year, as soon as the snow came down and the soil warmed up, the top layer of soil was loosened and fertilized. Further care is no different from the previous year. Petioles that have grown to 30 cm can be broken off.
- Care in the third and subsequent years is no different. However, by this time the plant has already grown enough, and the crop can be removed several times during the growing season.
Diseases and Pests
Many gardeners note that rhubarb is rarely attacked by insect pests and is resistant to disease. In the risk zone there can only be weakened plants, in the care of which agrotechnical errors were made.
If we talk about diseases, then usually they are of fungal origin. Various pathogenic fungi settle on the leaves and petioles of rhubarb.
Among the most common lesions, plants are distinguished:
- Gray rot. The development of gray rot provokes excessive watering. Young leaves are covered with a gray fluff, which then spreads to the rest of the plant.
- Peronosporosis or downy mildew - brown spots with a purple or white tint appear on the leaves on the underside and petioles. Sources of infection are plant debris or soil. For prophylaxis, before planting, they clean the place well from plant debris and spill it with a solution of potassium permanganate.
- Cercosporosis - leaves and petioles are covered with brown spots with a velvet coating. Beet is most susceptible to this disease, so do not plant these crops nearby. Moreover, in such a close proximity, the root pest - beetroot flea can also go to rhubarb.
The treatment of fungal diseases, and all of the above diseases relate to this particular type, consists in removing the damaged parts of the plant and its treatment with 1% Bordeaux fluid.
Of the pests on rhubarb can settle:
- weevil;
- bug;
- moth;
- aphid;
- beetroot flea.
Aphid settles in numerous colonies on the back of the leaf, it will not be difficult to notice them. They suck out the juice from rhubarb, and lead to its death. Against her, a folk remedy worked well - treating a plant with a solution of wood ash and laundry soap or infusion of garlic with soap.
The jealous weevil eats leaf blades, and does egg laying in petioles. To scare off adults will help spraying plants with infusion of tobacco or mustard.
In the vicinity of rhubarb with cabbage or potatoes, scoop larvae can attack it. They live inside the petiole and feed on its flesh. Near the plants, you need to remove all weeds, and dig up the affected rosettes. So that the butterfly does not lay eggs on plants, they are treated with infusion of tomato tops or wormwood. The smell will scare away the scoop from your site.
With a large number of pests on plants, do not waste time. They must be treated with suitable insecticides. But in this case, the petiole harvest is stopped, as harmful substances accumulate in parts of plants.
Harvesting
The first petioles break off in the spring, when they grow longer, at least 30 centimeters. Why is it advised to break off manually, and not cut? The thing is that when cutting, the stump remains, which begins to quickly rot. After harvesting, 2-3 leaves or more must be left on the plant to prevent depletion of the rhizome.
The most useful are petioles, which have grown at a temperature not exceeding + 17 ° C. In comparison with petioles growing at higher temperature indicators, they contain a minimal concentration of oxalic acid. This acid in a large dose causes harm to the body, as it forms sparingly soluble salts that do not allow calcium to be fully absorbed. The highest yield is harvested from 5-6 year old specimens.
Compatibility with other plants
Rhubarb is planted with many plants. It goes well with radishes, spinach, horseradish bushes, celery and lettuce. He feels comfortable next to fruit trees with a deep root system.
It should not be planted along with legumes, especially with peas, tomatoes, potatoes, onions and root crops.
Reviews of vegetable growers
Gardeners who grow rhubarb in their gardens confirm the winter hardiness of the plant. Also, many note that he is immune to diseases and little susceptible to attack by insects. But, on the other hand, it suffers from drought, which immediately affects the quality of the petioles, and is hygrophilous.
Nikolai, 68 years old, Astrakhan Territory. I have been growing Victoria rhubarb for about 25 years. I really like his dark red petioles. Recently, the garden has replenished with rhubarb and rhubarb, it turned out to be very productive. What I want to say: the plant is not afraid of cold weather, I have not noticed pests on it yet, I read somewhere that they do not favor it because of the large amount of acid in it. Disease rarely affects, often in bad summer, when it rains every day.
Oleg, 36 years old, Moscow region. Unfortunately, in Russia rhubarb is undeservedly forgotten. Its units are grown. Although varieties for each climate zone are enough. Yes, and he is not particularly whimsical. The main watering and fertilizer.
Nina, 45 years old, Nizhny Novgorod region. I use rhubarb in fillings for pies and in compotes. True compote turns out a little unclear, but tasty. I breed him myself. Some, when they come to visit me, ask me why I planted mugs. I would never have thought that you could confuse rhubarb with burdock. Very tasty herb. The main thing is that it can be cut in the spring, when you can only dream of other vegetables. It grows quickly, does not freeze, looks beautiful. A miracle, not a plant.
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So, rhubarb is not only tasty, but also a healthy plant. If you follow the rules of cultivation, water on time and protect from pests, it will delight you with high productivity, and if you select the varieties correctly according to the ripening dates, you can enjoy them all year round.