Our rhubarb
Our rhubarb is firm, crunchy, depending on the variety sweet, sour always fresh, tangy and juicy – a true happiness!
Uli Bonn, one of our growers for rhubarb:
“Happiness to me means getting up in the morning and going to work with joy and confidence despite all odds.”
The Wiesenhof of the Bonn family is located in the beautiful Stommelerbusch in the left part of the Rhine in the Cologne Bay. Classic agriculture has been practiced here for three generations, specialty crops have been grown for 40 years now, and rhubarb for 20 years.
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The arable land is located on the low terrace of the Rhine, which results in highly variable soils (30 – 70 soil points). The groundwater level of 7 meters located here is very conducive. Due to the proximity to the Rhine, we encounter a mild climate here, which ensures the earliness of rhubarb and strawberries.
Cultivation methods
Rhubarb is grown in the open ground. The root system is inspected for pest infestation and rot, placed in the ground and covered with soil. After that, be sure to provide adequate watering to keep the plant moist.
For earlier harvesting, the plants can be covered with a flow and thus harvested about 3-4 weeks earlier.
The plants need a nutrient-rich, humus-moist, sandy soil. Since rhubarb are deep-rooted, the soil should be deep and have a pH of 5.6 – 7.2. They also require sunny to semi-shady locations.
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Cultivation
Rhubarb is fertilized by bees and bumblebees and need to be watered at dry times. The plants stand up to 8 years and are therefore winter hardy.
Picking
Rhubarb is harvested from April to June 21 (St. John’s Day). In the process, the stalks are torn, not cut – otherwise the remaining plant will rot and possibly die from it. The leaves are cut and packed in boxes directly in the field.
Our varieties
Framboozen rood
Rhubarb from Frutania
Our season for rhubarb begins as early as the beginning of March with greenhouse produce and in fields with vegetation heating. From April follows goods from the field with double foil cover. A particularly tasty variety is the raspberry rhubarb of the variety “Framboozen rood”, which is mild in taste and attractively colored. This variety accounts for 95% of the crop. The entire season extends from early March to mid-June.
Consumer tips
Purchasing
When fresh rhubarb, the stalks are firm and slightly shiny, the ends are juicy and should not look dry at all.
Storage
Simply place the rhubarb wrapped in a damp cloth in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. There it remains fresh and crisp for several days. Rhubarb can also be frozen well: Either prepared ready to cook and raw or already prepared (for example as compote) freeze or preserve.
Preparation
Rhubarb tastes good as compote, jam or in cakes. The fine acidity of rhubarb creates a delightful contrast, especially with sweets, and gives many sweet dishes a refined fine-sour note.
The rhubarb
Small encyclopedia
Rhubarb is a plant doctor from the family of knotweed. It is a deciduous perennial herbaceous plant and originated in the Himalayas and was cultivated in Russia from the 16th century. The plant consists of 95% water, 1.3% carbohydrates (fructose, glucose, sucrose, starch), 06% proteins and 3.2% fiber. It also contains many vitamins such as vitamin C, A, B1 and B2.
