Rhubarb forcers are bell-shaped pots with a lidded opening at the top, used to cover

rhubarb Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The plant is a herbaceous perennial that grows from short, thick rhizomes. ...

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. The pots are placed over two- to three-year-old rhubarb crowns during winter or very early spring. Once

shoot Shoot most commonly refers to: * Shoot (botany), an immature plant or portion of a plant * Shooting, the firing of projectile weapons * Photo shoot, a photography session; an event wherein a photographer takes photographs Shoot may also refer t ...

s appear, the

lid A lid or cover is part of a container, and serves as the closure (container), closure or Seal (mechanical), seal, usually one that completely closes the object. Lids can be placed on small containers such as Tub (container), tubs as well as large ...

is taken off, causing them to grow towards the light. Around high and wide without the lid, they are traditionally made of

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

but can be as simple as an upside-down plastic bucket.

History

The use of rhubarb forcers dates back to the early 1800s, when the forcing technique was developed in the United Kingdom. The

Chelsea Physic Garden The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines. This four acre physic garden, the term here referring to the scie ...

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. This led eventually to the implementation and widespread use of rhubarb forcing in an area of West Yorkshire known as the

Rhubarb Triangle The Rhubarb Triangle is a area of West Yorkshire, England between Wakefield, Morley, and Rothwell famous for producing early forced rhubarb. It includes Kirkhamgate, East Ardsley, Stanley, Lofthouse and Carlton. The Rhubarb Triangle was ...

, where farmers use entire sheds to block the daylight rather than individual pots.

References

External links

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How to force rhubarb
Gardening tools Rhubarb Pottery shapes {{Horticulture-stub

History

See also

References

External links