Gardening Resources & Tips

[herbidacious]

Has anyone grown rhubarb in a somewhat shady spot? I had to move mine when I had the greenhouse constructed. I gave some to my neighbour and put the rest in two very big pots. It's survive but I know it would prefer more room (having seen what the roots were doing when I dug it up.) I have a raised bed that gets some sun but not a lot as it's beneath (deciduous) trees. It will get sun before the trees come into leaf.

[scullion]

our rhubarb, on the allotment is in full sun but neighbours who used to live over the road had a large bed on the north side of their place, close to the building, so it had shade for a lot of the day.
it produced more than they could use - really long fat stems - i made some lovely wine from it.
it's a plant that can tolerate some shade - but it does like a good dose of horse manure if you have any.
i probably won't be taking much from ours this year as most of it was moved into a dedicated bed a couple of months ago from clumps spread all over the place.

[herbidacious]

Ok will give it a go then. Thank Scully. I do have some bags of manure one of which I thought I'd dig in first. (Or get someone to do it for me?!?) No idea what animal it came from though!

[herbidacious]

P.s. not sure if I asked this before (I meant to). how long do you wait before resowing seeds that have been in a propagator? I suppose it depends on the type.
I have stuff I sowed 7-10 days ago which came up in 3-4 last year. Same packet as last year but not officially out of date. Mainly calendula and cosmos.

[Suffs]

Our rhubarb is on the eastern side of the house so is in shade afternoons/evenings and is
incredibly productive.

[herbidacious]

Great! This is exciting. I have two raised beds that are not well used because shadyish. (Leafy greens are just eaten by things that are not me.)

[Suffs]

Gooseberries are also happy in partial shade.

[Suffs]

You can see how happy Rhubarb ‘Timperly Early’ is in partial shade

[herbidacious]

That's splendid. Much better than mine ever did when it was in full sun.

I hope I am not underestimating the amount of shade. It strikes me though that it probably comes under 'worth a go' anyway.

It's the same bed as my raspberries, but they probably do get more sun. I have never had enough to make jam, it has to be said, but I enjoy what I get.

Gooseberries are on the other side, also a bit shady. They don't do brilliantly.

In either case they might suffer a bit from the flooding. Neither of the beds are submerged but it will still have some impact, I imagine. The rhubarb was well above the flood line.

[Suffs]

I’ve just added a pic of some rhubarb I’ve just picked yo take to MIL tomorrow. .

[herbidacious]

Lucky lady!

[Suffs]

I must say we grow it as much for its visual input in the garden as for its yield … even giving plenty away we could never keep up with its output
Who needs a gunnera when there’s rhubarb?

[herbidacious]

Well quite!

Yes I suppose there is only so much you can eat and we don't have much of a freezer.

This is the recipe I want to try:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/m ... vneet-gill

[Suffs]

That does look good … I might try that … when I get a moment …

[slimpersoninside]

Oooh, that recipe does look good, right up hubby's street. I think I have a tin of custard in the cupboard and probably enough rhubarb in our garden. Thanks Herbi!

[scullion]

Who needs a gunnera when there’s rhubarb?

yeah, but you can't hide, or walk, under rhubarb!

[Suffs]

You ain’t seen my roobarb!

Tomatoes, courgettes and squashes all potted on. 4 beefsteak, 8 Roma,, 6 All Green Bush and 10 Uchiki Kuri … I hope DD can find a home for some of the squashes! One of her customers sent me some knitting wool … maybe she’d like some squash plants in return …

[herbidacious]

I wish I had room for squash.

My aubergine plants seem to be dying. I have ordered some online. I feel sad about it though. I was growing varieties you can't buy plants of.

I think all my peas and beans came up. I am running out of room for seedlings now. I have one big shelf in the greenhouse unused and some hardy annuals that can go in there. The sitting room is gettig jungle like.

Time for a tomato cull/give away at the weekend, I think. Let's hope it doesn't jinx things as the aubergine cull seemed to.

[Amber]

I used to have a lovely recipe for rhubarb and ginger jam. If my daughter brings more rhubarb from her allotment, I may have to search for it again. I’d love to grow rhubarb in the garden.

[herbidacious]

I've still not moved mine, not surprisingly. But I just looked it up and should wait until winter anyway.
Rhubarb and ginger jam sounds lovely, Amber.