Cultivation
The cultivation method for forced rhubarb was developed in the early 1800s. The fields were fertilised with large quantities of horse manure and 'night soil' from the nearby urban areas and woollen waste from "mungo and shoddy" mills.
The rhubarb plants spend two years out in the fields without being harvested. While in the fields the plants store energy from the sun in their roots as carbohydrates. The roots are subjected to frost before being moved into sheds in November where they are kept in complete darkness. In the sheds the plants begin to grow in the warmth and the stored carbohydrate in the roots is transformed into glucose resulting in forced rhubarb's bittersweet flavour. The sheds are long low buildings which are heated; originally with coal, which was plentiful and relatively cheap in the area but has been replaced by diesel.
Forced rhubarb grown in the sheds is more tender than that grown outdoors in summer. Without daylight the rhubarb leaves are an anaemic green-yellow, and the 2-foot (61 cm) long stalks smooth textured and crimson. Traditionally the pickers pull the stalks in candlelight as any exposure to strong light will stop the growth. By the end of March the harvest is over and the root stock is totally exhausted and used for compost.
Read more about this topic: Rhubarb Triangle
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