Rhubarb forcer

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Rhubarb forcers in a restaurant vegetable garden Terracotta rhubarb forcers.jpg
Rhubarb forcers in a restaurant vegetable garden

Rhubarb forcers are bell-shaped pots with a lidded opening at the top, used to cover rhubarb to limit photosynthesis. They encourage the plant to grow early in the season and also to produce blanched stems which are sweeter and more tender than usual. [1] The pots are placed over two- to three-year-old rhubarb crowns during winter or very early spring. Once shoots appear, the lid is taken off, causing them to grow towards the light. [2]

Contents

Around 18 inches (46 cm) high and 14 inches (36 cm) wide without the lid [2] , they are traditionally made of terracotta but can be as simple as an upside-down plastic bucket. [3]

History

The use of rhubarb forcers dates back to the early 1800s, when the forcing technique was developed in the United Kingdom. [4] The Chelsea Physic Garden takes credit for the discovery, claiming that one of their gardeners found some rhubarb growing underneath a bucket and realized the potential of the technique. [5] This led eventually to the implementation and widespread use of rhubarb forcing in an area of West Yorkshire known as the Rhubarb Triangle, where farmers use entire sheds to block the daylight rather than individual pots. [6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "How to grow rhubarb". RHS. Retrieved 2025-03-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. 1 2 Amos, Sharon (2002-02-02). "Go with the throw". Telegraph.co.uk . London: Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 2013-03-08. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  3. ↑ "How to force rhubarb". www.gardenersworld.com. 2019-08-28. Retrieved 2025-03-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ↑ Lee, MR; Hutcheon, J; Dukan, E; Milne, I (2017-03-01). "Rhubarb (Rheum Species): The Role of Edinburgh in Its Cultivation and Development". Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. 47 (1): 102–109. doi:10.4997/jrcpe.2017.121. ISSN   1478-2715.
  5. ↑ "History of Chelsea Physic Garden". Chelsea Physic Garden. Retrieved 2025-03-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ↑ Buhay, Corey (2024-04-16). "The English farmers who harvest rhubarb by candlelight". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2025-03-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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