Four plants were started from bare roots last year and did relatively well without any special care. But we need to till the garden and they are in the way, so they're being transplanted to a new spot inside the backyard fence. This should also keep the deer away - they didn't eat the plants last year, but had no problem tromping all over them to get to the other garden goodies like corn and beets.
This really is a tough looking plant. The all-knowing internet informs me that it's ok to divide rhubarb in early spring, so I figure it will be fine to transplant it, since that's practically the same thing. It's not ideal to move it in its second year of growth, but it won't be the end of the world.
Here's the new home. The yard slopes down a little away from the fence, so I'm going to build a slightly raised bed right on top of the grass.
I've outline the bed with some brick pavers and dug holes through the grass where the rhubarb will be planted. The rest of the grass will be covered up with a few inches of topsoil, so I didn't bother removing the rest of the sod.
Starting to dig out the first root ball. Doesn't seem so bad. The roots are close to the surface, maybe this will be an easy job after all! Yeah, right...
Six inches down and the roots are as thick as carrots. That's great for the plant, not so great for the person digging it up. You can see I already chopped one of the roots in half, but rhubarb is a hardy beast and will heal up just fine.
Not much closer to pulling this thing out of the ground. I felt like a paleontologist, gently brushing the dirt away and trying not to damage anything. I was not be so careful with the subsequent plants.
Finally got it out of the ground. Time for your new home, little tentacle monster.
Once I had the four plants in place with topsoil mounded around them, I covered the surrounding area with scraps of landscape fabric to deter the grass from growing through the bed. Brick pavers hold down the edges and will form a short retaining wall to keep everything in place once I cover this with dirt.
Done for the day. It's about 8 pm by this point and the sun is long gone, so the colors in my photos don't match. Deal with it! The newly transplanted rhubarb gets a good watering; I'll finish filling the bed tomorrow.
Ta-da! One sunny afternoon and several wheelbarrows full of dirt later, the rhubarb bed is filled, soaked with water, and pronounced complete. Ok, so it just looks like an empty bed right now, but I have high hopes!
Now, I'm sure my landscaping skills need work, but hold your critiques right there: I have a bit of a disclaimer. The house and entire back yard are slated for complete demolition when a new house will be built more or less in the same place. So this is a temporary project that only needs to hold up for a few years, after which it will be time to dig up the rhubarb and move it to yet another new home.
Will I actually harvest any rhubarb this year? Good question. You are not supposed to harvest rhubarb in its first year of growth, since it needs all its leaves to gather energy to build its root system and get established in the ground. The second year - this year for me - you should be able to harvest a few stems, but that is based on the assumption that you left it in the same place as last year. I, on the other hand, have traumatized the rhubarb all over again and it needs to re-establish itself in its new home. So I should simply water the rhubarb and leave its lovely red stems alone this year. Patience and self-control are not my strong suits, however, and I can't promise I won't try to get enough for at least one pie!
April 22 update: Once the rhubarb was growing well, I spread a bale of straw over the bed to keep moisture in and protect the fragile leaves.
May 5 update: These guys have really taken off! The plant below is actually starting to flower, which means it's healthy, but I will need to cut off the flowers to coax the plant into sending up more shoots. We'll definitely have a pie or two this year.
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