There was quite a rhubarb out in the garden this morning.
No, it wasn’t a loud and boisterous argument that we had… it was a couple of huge rhubarb plants in need of harvest.
The easiest (and healthiest for the plant) way to harvest rhubarb is to just grab a stalk near the bottom of the plant and give it a sideways pull. They come right off with a satisfying “snap”.
Only the stalks (technically, a “petiole”) can be eaten. The leaves are poisonous so they make their contribution by going into the compost.
When I delivered this bushel of rhubarb, I took an informal poll asking how each person was going to prepare their share of the rhubarb.
Rhubarb pie was the most common response, followed by rhubarb sauce, rhubarb wine was mentioned as a distant third.
One lady mentioned that as a child in Germany, her mother would pick a tender stalk of rhubarb for her, dip it in sugar and serve it fresh as a sweet candy-like treat. I’m going to try that tomorrow, it sounds delicious…kind of sweet and sour and crunchy.
This time of the year (during harvest time) rhubarb will send up seed stalks. If you want to keep your harvest going, break off those seed stalks as soon as you see them. This way, you should be able to harvest stalks from a mature rhubarb plant (three years or older) for several weeks.
Now, we have had the other kind of “rhubarb” in the garden from time to time but that’s a whole ‘nother story!
Bob
Thanks for the article about rhubarb. I remember eating it as a kid. Wow, it was sour.
Isn’t there a weed that looks a lot like the rhubarb plant?
Comment by victoria mcintyre — May 30, 2007 @ 8:19 am
Hey, Bob. I have a “Mother-in-Law’s Tongue” plant that was ma’s. I divided it last year so I could give one to each of my siblings. The “tongues” are so tall, they keep falling over. I heard the tongues can be cut into pieces then planted by just pushing them into the dirt. Is that true? Can the “tongues” be cut down? They are doing very well. Little tongues are popping up all over the place. Anyway, they are so tall, I can’t move them. What should I do?
Comment by victoria mcintyre — May 30, 2007 @ 8:26 am
i have a bunch of those rhubarb imposters in my yard…it seems like the deeper i dig, the bigger they grow, what ARE those things?!?!
Comment by vanessa — May 31, 2007 @ 5:34 pm
The plant with the huge leaves that look sort of like Rhubarb is Burdock. Although most of us consider it a noxious weed, at one time it was used as a source of medicine to treat a wide range of health problems.
Although neither Judy or I have tried it, the roots are edible when cooked and are said to taste like artichoke hearts. They can also be pickled. So if they get to be too much for you, just go ahead and eat ‘em.
Comment by Bob — June 1, 2007 @ 4:07 pm
Hey! Vickie,
If your Mother-in Law’s tongue plant get to be too big, you can always donate it to Disney World! They have huge specimens planted at the entrance of “Under the Sea”. The plants in that display resemble seaweed!
The leaves can be cut into sections and rooted to produce new plants, but when you do that, the new plants lose the yellow stripes.
The best way to reproduce them is to separate the baby plants. That way they keep the yellow stripes.
Comment by Bob — June 1, 2007 @ 4:14 pm