ProvenBerry^n^ ^ ^ KNOTT’S BERRY PLACE , , Trees and Vines 
Hints on Growing Cherry 
Rhubarb 
Cherry rhubarb should be set out four 
feet apart in rows spaced six or seven 
feet across, and may be planted any 
time from October until April. It pro¬ 
duces enormous crops so must have 
good land or plenty of fertilizer. When 
the plants are set out they should be 
watered well, so that the soil is well 
settled around the plant, and they 
should be watered often until the plants 
are growing nicely. Throughout the 
first summer they should be watered 
often enough to keep the ground moist 
and the plants growing vigorously. A 
very good method of irrigating is to 
crowd a little dirt to the rows and flood 
the whole middle between the rows. If 
you will scatter ten pounds of manure 
per plant between the rows and culti¬ 
vate it in, two or three times a year, the 
results will surprise you. In addition to 
the manure, the best commercial grow¬ 
ers use a light application of sulphate 
of ammonia, or other nitrogenious fer¬ 
tilizer, immediately after each cutting, 
at the rate of one pound to each eight 
or ten plants. This costs comparatively 
little and it surely makes the rhubarb 
grow fast, and the faster it grows the 
finer the quality, and the more cuttings 
you can get during the season. 
From plants set out in the spring 
very little if any rhubarb should be 
picked before September. When picking 
it is best to pick all the stems that are 
good at one time and then not pick any 
more from those plants until they have 
grown large again. If plants are picked 
right down close as fast as they grow, 
and never allowed to grow up big, it 
will eventually kill the roots. Rhubarb 
is harvested by simply pulling the 
stems from the plant and cutting the 
leaves off. For market the leaf is cut 
just above where it joins the stem, so 
as to leave just a little green leaf with 
each stem. This makes the pack look 
nice and the stems do not wilt as fast 
as if the cut were made on the stem; 
and it also adds a little weight. 
For shipment it is packed in special 
rhubarb boxes, holding either 20 or 40 
pounds. For local trade it is usually 
packed in apple boxes rounded up to 
hold about 40 pounds and tied over the 
top and around the box with binder 
twine. It can be carried to the stores 
in bulk and sold out by the pound. 
In many sections of California Cherry 
rhubarb can be picked all fall, winter, 
and spring; there being very little mar¬ 
ket for it during the hot part of the 
summer. 
Should aphis (small plant lice) attack 
the rhubarb it should be dusted with 
Nico-dust. Ordinarily lady bugs keep 
the aphis in check. 
Always give rhubarb an abundance of 
water. The great leaves spread out to 
the sun will transpire more water, on a 
hot or windy day, then the roots can 
gather from soil that might be damp 
enough for some crops. 
A Few Successful 
Combinations 
The Year Around Combination. Plant 
Cherry rhubarb to sell through the fall, 
winter, and early spring; Youngberries 
for late spring and early summer; Ma- 
catawa blackberries a few days later, 
and Himalaya blackberries for late sum¬ 
mer and early fall. These are all money 
making, easy to grow crops that will 
give you something to sell every month 
in the year. They are adapted to a wide 
range of soils but all must have plenty 
of water. A combination like this 
spreads your work through the year and 
produces a steady income. 
As an Inter-Crop. Both Cherry rhu¬ 
barb and berries make fine crops to 
interplant between young Avocado or 
Orange groves. They are both profitable 
enough to carry the expense of bringing 
an orchard into bearing. Both last about 
as long as a crop should be kept be¬ 
tween the rows. Both should be ferti¬ 
lized enough so that the soil would be 
left richer after taking them out than if 
it had been kept clean cultivated. Rhu¬ 
barb particularly is great for making 
the ground loose and friable. Its large 
Third cutting of Cherry rhubarb just thirteen months from planting. 
17 
