Gardeners with rhubarb should do one important thing this month (Image: Getty)
Spring and summer desserts are better when made with seasonal fruits, which is why rhubarb is a core ingredient in pies, tarts, cakes, pastries, and jams. The sweet yet sour stalks emerge earlier than most garden crops, but that means they finish earlier, too, and that time is nearing, according to gardening experts.
In June, rhubarb stalks should be thick, juicy, and dark pink in colour, though some varieties may be green or have red and green streaks. Healthy-looking leaves are another indicator that your rhubarb plant is where it should be by this point in the year, though it doesn’t mean you can continue eating the fruit. The team at Haxnicks warn that while rhubarb stems “remain edible and tasty through the summer”, it is a pivotal time for gardeners growing this culinary delight.
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While rhubarb originated in China and Siberia, it is now widely cultivated in Britain (Image: Getty)
By early June, mature rhubarb crowns have poured most of their stored energy and nutrients into a season’s worth of colourful stalks.
Continuing harvesting beyond this point risks depleting the plant’s reserves so severely that the crowns struggle to regenerate, leading to stringy and sparse stems with no vigour next spring.
The Haxnicks gardening experts said: “In general, it is best to stop harvesting by June or at least taking only a few stalks after then.”
Doing so allows rhubarb to rebuild its root energy bank before autumn frosts arrive.
Gardeners who choose to continue picking can do so until the first frost in autumn. But if this isn’t done sparingly, you risk killing your plant altogether, warns Gardening Know How.
Picking rhubarb beyond mid-summer can be detrimental to next year’s fruit (Image: Getty)
How to grow rhubarb
When you stop picking from mature plants, it is best to replenish the soil around the crown. Gently fork in a layer of compost or well-rotted manure, being careful not to disturb the crown itself.
Young rhubarb crowns (those planted in autumn) need a little more attention in their first growing season. Gardeners should avoid harvesting the fruit altogether at this time as the plant needs every leaf for photosynthesis and to build a robust root system.
In the second year, gardeners may harvest just a handful of stalks, but it’s important to leave more than you take.
By the third spring, a careful light harvest – pulling rather than cutting stalks and leaving at least half the stems intact readies the plant for fuller production, notes the Royal Horticultural Society.
How to store rhubarb
If you’re sad to see the end of the harvesting season for your garden rhubarb, then a simple storage hack will help the stalks last longer.
Once picked, wash the stalks with clean water before storing the fruit. Freshly cut rhubarb can be kept in a plastic bag in the fridge for two to four weeks.
Alternatively, cook your harvest into rhubarb sauce, then refrigerate or freeze for later use.
