Forced Rhubarb

A couple of weeks ago, my dear wife attended a local talk on perennial gardening.  She came home and reported on "forced rhubarb", which involves covering a head a rhubarb in the spring, just as the ground begins to thaw.  Apparently, this forces the rhubarb to grow sweet, tender shoots that can be used to make very good rhubarb wine.  This got my attention, as I have been musing about making rhubarb wine since last summer.

From a cursory internet search on forced rhubarb, I learned that this cultivation method goes back to 19th century England.  Rhubarb farmers took heads of rhubarb and placed them in dark, coal-heated sheds. The rhubarb plant would then grow stunted, pale shoots.  Under these conditions, carbohydrates from the roots are converted to glucose, which makes the rhubarb very sweet.  There must be some very interesting plant physiology behind this!

We have a very healthy rhubarb plant in our backyard.  (In Alberta, has anyone ever seen an unhealthy rhubarb plant?)  Typically, I harvest the rhubarb three times every summer.  Sometimes, I dice it up and freeze it.  Most of the time, I can it.  Canned rhubarb is great for making desserts throughout the long prairie winters.  Rhubarb-apple crisp is delicious.  It's a bonus that our oldest son likes to make it for the family.

So, I am attempting to "force" the rhubarb this year.  The rhubarb is just starting to poke up from the ground.  It may be a week too late to "force" the rhubarb properly, as the plant has already made leaves, and they have been exposed to sunlight.  I really don't know for sure, but it's worth the attempt!

(1) Rhubarb head, with new shoots.

In any case, I covered two rhubarb heads with black PVC pots.  These are just cheap garden-centre pots for larger plants.  With black duct tape, I sealed up the drainage holes in the bottom of the pots.  This is meant to keep all of the light out.

(2) Black plastic pot/bucket to cover a rhubarb head.

My plan is to keep the plants covered for the next 4-6 weeks and see if I get any "forced rhubarb".  After that, I will harvest it and make wine.  There are a number of recipes for rhubarb wine.  I like the fairly simple one posted on "Rhubarb-Central.com":

http://www.rhubarb-central.com/wines-rhubarb-wine-recipe.html