Prompted by other posts about rhubarb this post shows the state of play on the plot today and a year ago. I'm an advocate of blanching (as opposed to forcing where the crowns are lifted and brought into dark heated sheds.)
Lifting the lid on the dalek today for a second picking of blanched stems:
Here's how they compare to their non-blanched neighbours
And here's how this result is achieved:
And just to prove that the plants recover here is a picture from last year when the dalek was over the clump at the end:
You can see above that this clump is just as vigorous this year. Next year the bin will be going over the clump at the other end and once again we will have a crop of blanched rhubarb a good couple of weeks in advance of the rest of the crop!
