Rhubarb is a delicious cool-weather veggie and a great addition to any edible garden - even mixed in between flowers in a sunny perennial bed.
The Chinese call rhubarb "the great yellow" and have used rhubarb root for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. During Islamic times, it was imported along the Silk Road, reaching Europe in the 14th century through the ports of Aleppo and Smyrna. Rhubarb was grown in Scotland from at least 1786, having been introduced to the Botanical Garden in Edinburgh.
With its delicious edible leaf stalks loaded with a tangy yet sweet, crisp flavor, it often serves as the perfect companion for strawberries or as the main ingredient in pies, jams, and jellies. Here are a few tips about how to plant, grow, and harvest Rhubarb:
Take the root and crown and place it on the ground. Don’t put them more than 1 or 2 inches into the soil or they won’t come up. Once flower stalks appear on the growing rhubarb, remove them right away so they don’t rob the plant of nutrients. Cutting the seeds will trick the plant into continuing to produce delicious ruby red stalks, thereby extending the delectable season for rhubarb-strawberry pie.
Water the plants during dry weather. Rhubarb doesn’t tolerate drought. If newly planted, Rhubarb should not be harvested the first year, to help the plant establish itself. Wait a year or two before you begin to harvest.
Make sure the plant is ready to be harvested. The best time to harvest is from spring to early summer—usually May to early July. Although they can be picked into late summer, stop collecting the stalks well before the first frost, to help ensure that the plant makes it through winter. To harvest, the stalks should be at least 10 to 15 inches long.
Gently grab near the base of the desired stalk and slowly pull and twist. Make sure to cut the leaves off the stalks and discard them: they are poisonous and should never be consumed.
Splitting rhubarb will give new life to the plant. Dig around the root clump (6 inches deep) and lift the whole plant from the ground. Divide the root ball into sections containing at least one bud and up to two to three buds with plenty of roots by cutting down through the crown between the buds.
Prior to transplanting, soak the refrigerated sections in room temperature water overnight. Select a planting site that is in full sun with a slightly acidic soil pH of 6.5. Add lots of compost or composted manure and a handful of rock phosphate or bone meal per planting hole. Mulch around the plant, best with straw.
Happy Gardening!
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