Growing Rhubarb in Southern Grayson County
Part 4
By Krystl Philyaw
Grayson County Master Gardener
Welcome back to those of you who have been following my experiment. In October, I transplanted eight small but healthy Rhubarb plants I had started from seed during the summer. By early November, they were hanging on and looking like they would make it to spring. When I began to write this article in January, the bed had taken a drastic turn for the worse. I was down to just one plant (see photos). The wacky weather in December and January did not help.
Before the super freeze in mid-February, our winter had been mild. The weather people call it a La Nina. For us here in Texas, that means warmer and drier than average. For the most part, it had not been weather that Rhubarb likes to grow in during winter. By the time the snow and single-digit temperatures arrived, there were no signs of Rhubarb growing. I had resolved to try again next year.
In late February, I decided to plant carrots in the bed where the Rhubarb had been residing. Where one of the holes for the carrot seeds was supposed to go, I encountered something growing. Just a tiny nub of something. Could it be the last plant from January was coming back? It WAS!! As of March 15, all eight plants have reemerged. Carrots and Rhubarb are not known to be companion plants for each other, but they will be growing side-by-side until late May or early June.
The way the bed looked in January, I thought this would be my last article; it will not. I will continue to chronicle the Rhubarb’s progress, with the hope it makes it all the way to harvest. I should not get ahead of myself, but I will start looking for recipes. Check back in April for an update. Happy planting.
Grayson County Master Gardeners Association is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization sponsored by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Reach us by email at [email protected], by phone at 903-813-4204, our web page txmg.org/grayson, or our Facebook group.
November 22, 2020
Last surviving Rhubarb – 1-24-21
Reemerged plants with carrots 3-15-21
Rhubarb 3-15-21