Here’s a technique to hurry along your spring rhubarb.
In late winter, work some well-rotted manure into the soil around the clumps and cover them with a barrel or basket, 2 or 3 feet tall, with the bottom removed. Pack soil and fresh manure around the outside of the barrel to encourage warmth, and to produce succulent stalks weeks in advance of the normal season.
You will enjoy treats from this ancient plant with extra-early servings of its savory sauce in pies and tarts. Old-timers say that nature gives us the rhubarb harvest in spring to benefit our bodies after the harsh winter months
Doris Stebbins
Danville, Vermont
