Old Rhubarb Variety

When I was a kid living up north, a few of the older generation had rhubarb patches in their back gardens. The stuff they used to grow was huge. Each stem must have been nearly three foot tall and they were the thickest stems that I have ever seen in my life.

Now quite a few years later I haven't seen it since. It used to have a great taste, really sharp and acidic. You had to peel it before eating as the skin was quite tough and stringy. The only name that I remember people calling it was 'Cow Rhubarb'. I don't know if this was a local name for it, I lived on the East Coast in the Immingham/Grimsby area.

I would love to find a few crowns of this again as all our family love rhubarb and we would make many a crumble if I could get hold of it again.

Any ideas Ladies and Gents.

Thanks Neil.

 

I don't know the answer to your question, but I feel very strongly that the best advice is to grow a variety that you like the flavour of - so starting with Cow Rhubarb would be a good solution

"three foot tall and they were the thickest stems that I have ever seen in my life" doesn't sound like a recipe for the tastiest, juiciest, sweetest but I have probably been brainwashed by the marketing people!

In case it helps here are some opinions on varieties that you ought to be able to get easily. I have a Brand-X that existed at a previous property, and we "brought a bit with us" when we moved here. I have also bought a Timperley Early since then to get an earlier crop.

https://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=544

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardenin...h-are-the-best-rhubarb-varieties-to-grow.html

No idea of the provenance of this site, but they do have loads of information about Rhubarb:
http://www.rhubarb-central.com/rhubarb-varieties.html
I'm guessing from the way they spell "Colour" that it is a UK site.

 

Thanks for the reply and info Kristen.

I have had a look at the links you posted and found them a great source of info. I have thought about messaging a few rhubarb farms in the UK to see if they can shed any light. I suppose if they don't know what the variety is, nobody will.

Cheers Neil

 

Good idea! That Rhubarb Central site seems to be a Mecca - the owner might well know - and if not I suspect he'll spend hours trying to find out for you

 

I sent him a message earlier so will see what happens. In the meantime I had a look through Ebay and found these.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271259093157?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

I don't know much about this variety but I will try it out and see if I can get any to germinate. I have a heat mat in the shed so will drag it out to give the seeds some added warmth.

 

Excellent! Looks like a monster!

I grew from Rhubarb from seed, but hadn't given any thought to the variability and I chucked them in the end as I thought I would be better off with named varieties (Vanity! and all that )

Hopefully your WonderBarb will give you some quality humongous plants (and then we'll all want a bit of course ...

 

Blimey! Is that seller based in Chernoble?!

Tomato:


Sweet pea:


Poppy:

 

I understand 'Glaskins Perpetual' is said to be an old variety...only know it has thick juicy stems and a long cropping season....so not much help...i'll tell you of the flavour in about 3 years time,if i can wait that long

 

I seem to remember that the summers were warmer and longer back then, at least in 1975 and76.
Seriously the RHS have a collection of rhubarb cultivars at Wisley . The National Trust have a collection in the walled kitchen garden at Clumber Park.
I don't remember any three foot long rhubarb when I was growing up, but I do remember productive rhubarb patches with long thick stems and massive leaves. Certainly a lot bigger than I manage now. This is in part due to shallow soil and being on a hill so it dries out quickly.
Rhubarb needs good fertile deep soil and plenty of moisture. It was said to do well on the site of an old outdoor toilet.
Rhubarb originated on deep soils of the Steppes of Central Asia on flood plains fed by melting snow.
Nigel
Ps In Lincolshire when I was growing up "Cow"was a word used to describe a number of things that were big, tough and sometimes rank.

 

Where did you grow up in Lincolnshire. I spent my younger years in Brigg/Scunthorpe/Immingham area, and this is where I saw all this huge rhubarb. Now thinking about it, maybe it wasn't nearly three foot tall. I know that when you are young you always think everything is bigger. Is was thick though, really thick.

Hopefully these seeds I ordered will do the trick in the next few years.

 

Neil
I grew up in Boston (1960 to c1977) and had relatives in Grimsby, probably still do.
Nigel

 

For anybody that may be interested, I received a reply to an email that was sent to me by Mr Chris Margrave, the Head Gardener at Clumber Park's Walled Kitchen Garden. This gentleman is certainly in the know where rhubarb is concerned.

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Identification of rhubarb varieties is not easy and still something we are working on with the varieties in our collection. The best guide is the trials report written up by the Royal Horticultural Society in their journal Vol LVI Pt 1 January 1931, based on the rhubarb trials carried out at their Wisley garden in 1928-29. The report describes some of the physical characteristics of the 31 rhubarbs. Stem skin and flesh colour, amount of ribbing on the stem and the cross section of the stem and smoothness or hairiness of the leaf are among the characteristics used.

You should also be aware that if your rhubarb plant was raised from seed, rather than as a division from a named variety, it will be a unique seedling and won't have a name.

Sincerely

Chris Margrave
Head Gardener
Clumber Park

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If anybody is having trouble identifying rhubarb, the info above my help.

Cheers Neil