This rhubarb crown is the ugliest thing I have ever planted. A face only a mother gardener could love. As with several plants in my garden this spring, I had no idea I was going to plant rhubarb until I spotted it at a local nursery. A few years ago I had picked up 2 rhubarb plants at a local farmers market. I planted them and everything was going well, until the chickens found them. The chickens somehow managed to eat every last bit of the plant {down to the ground} and the rhubarb never came back.
So, when I spotted rhubarb for only $3.99 per crown, I couldn’t resist. I bought a pair.
I choose a garden location rich in natural compost {the old chicken coop grounds}. I then loosened the soil about 12″ deep by 12″ wide, set the crown in the hole and covered it. I buried the top of the crown about 1″ deep. Since I’m not into using store-bought chemicals or fertilizers, {although I do use Miracle Grow about twice a year} after planting the rhubarb I simply added a plant marker and walked away.
My view on pest control and fancy fertilizers is this: Did the pilgrims use them? No. So why should I? I truly believe all you need is good soil, water and sun. That’s it. That is my secret. Oh… and a fence to keep the chickens away {that’s a biggie}.
Peace out Girl Scouts. As soon as I get the kitchen cleaned up, I’m off on another project. Have a great day!
♥ Mavis
Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden
Robin in SoCal says
So cool to see how rhubarb starts out, thanks for sharing enjoy your day!
Mavis says
I’ve never planted a crown before, just the plant. We’ll see. 🙂
Meredith says
When I scrolled down and first saw the picture, in that moment before reading the text I thought “what on earth is she holding, a dead bird?”
Then I felt kinda dumb because two weeks ago my kids and I dug up, divided, and replanted our rhubarb. I think we ended up with something like 20 plants. I really should have recognized it faster. 🙂
Marc says
Thanks for the pictures and the information. This is much closer to what I’ve been looking for than anything else I’ve found. The questions I’m still trying to answer are: 1) how long should it take to see something that shows it is alive and growing and 2) what would I see. I planted two crowns according to the most common instructions I’ve come across. One is producing side shoots (?) which are supposed to be cut off. I guess that is a sign there is life. The other seems to be protruding more from the ground and slowly opening up (unless I’m seeing things) but no shoots yet. What do you think?
Mavis says
Hi Marc, I planted my rhubarb a few months ago mine looks like a real rhubarb plant now. Come back in a few days and I will post a picture of what it looks like now. 🙂