• Zoboomafoo@slrpnk.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    11 months ago

    The plant has an energy reserve underground that is allowed to build up for a year or two before starting to harvest.

    If you are doing it sustainably, you can harvest the shoots until they start showing signs of undernourishment, then you stop harvesting and let it build energy back up.

    Forcing the rhubarb is an option for the shoots you plan on eating, they grow faster and sweeter than if they grow naturally

    • NielsBohron@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      11 months ago

      The plant has an energy reserve underground that is allowed to build up for a year or two before starting to harvest.

      Not a botanist, but I’m pretty sure that’s why rhubarb is so sweet. Those energy reserves are mostly sugar, so maximizing the energy reserves maximizes the sweetness, like you note below.

      • hydroptic@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        Yeah the rhubarb that people grow in their own gardens without a rhubarb torture cellar is way more sour than store-bought, in my experience.