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Tending Edible Gardens. Container Gardening. Container Plants. I always have a lot of rhubarb in the freezer for making all sorts of delicious baked and cooked recipes all winter long. If your rhubarb plants have been hit by freezing temperatures they can still be harvested as long as the stalks are still upright and firm. The leaves may show some frost damage, but since they are discarded, this is not a worry.
If the plants have been affected by freezing temperatures and the stems appear to be mushy and soft, do not eat them. Severe cold injury may cause the oxalic acid crystals in the leaves to migrate to the stalks increasing the concern of poisoning by consumption of the stalks.
If in doubt about the safety of eating stalks which have been hit by frost, do not eat them. Fresh or preserved rhubarb makes the most delectable rhubarb pies, tarts, cookies, cakes, breads, muffins, desserts and so much more It can even be baked or stewed, and also makes amazing dinner or supper menus!
Use rhubarb with pork, beef chicken, fish or lamb to make scrumptious dinner meals too! Use the navigation bars of this website for links to over amazing recipes to make with your harvested rhubarb! It is fun combining rhubarb with different fruits, combining the tart goodness of rhubarb with the sweetness of other fruits! A very common combination is rhubarb and strawberries.
Growing rhubarb takes VERY little effort, and harvesting rhubarb always produces an abundant reward! Below or use the navigation bars at the left hand column are links to additional pages with helpful information about growing rhubarb in the home garden.
Enjoy this Page? Please Share! Rhubarb stalks should always be twisted clean from the crown, as twisting or pulling invigorates the roots to produce more. Pull gently, while twisting the stalk to ensure it comes away neatly. Make sure not to cut or damage the central bulb of the plant which can stunt its growth.
Collect only a third of the stalks per plant each season. This avoids over-stressing the rhubarb plant. Always keep at least 2 stalks on a plant to encourage it to produce again in the next season.
Pull or cut the leaves from the stalk and discard them. The leaves contain oxalic acid, which is poisonous and should not be eaten. Remove the leaves with your fingers or use a knife or kitchen scissors to carefully cut them off the stalk. Then throw them away or add them to the compost. Make a rhubarb spray from the leaves to keep the pests off plants in your garden like broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.
Do not feed the leaves to animals either! Tidy the plant by removing broken or flowering stalks from the base. Never leave any broken stalks on the rhubarb plant as these can cause infections to grow. Either eat the pieces or discard them. Remove any flowering stalks, too. This allows the plant to focus on growing healthier stalks instead of flowers. Part 3. Wrap the rhubarb stalks loosely in aluminum foil.
Lay the rhubarb along a sheet of aluminum foil and fold the edges over the stalks. Leave a small space for air to get in and out. Place the wrapped rhubarb in the fridge for 2 to 4 weeks.
The best spot in the fridge for your rhubarb is the vegetable crisper drawer because it has the highest humidity. After 1 month or if you notice moldy spots, toss any uneaten rhubarb.
To freeze the rhubarb properly, first rinse it and pat it dry with a paper towel. Then chop the rhubarb into small pieces and put them in an airtight container or resealable freezer bag. Place the container in the freezer to use within 1 year.
Label your container or bag with the date and the contents using a permanent marker. Frozen rhubarb is great for smoothies or baking. If rhubarb that is several years old is transplanted to a new area, does that become its first year of growth? Yes it does, when you only transplant the roots.
I have gotten away with treating a transplant like a mature plant the first year by moving the whole plant and have been able to keep the roots moist and surrounded by the "old" dirt, the same way that you would plant a tree or a large scrub. Not Helpful 9 Helpful Not Helpful 11 Helpful Chop or scissor the leaves into one inch bits. Boil for ten minutes in 4 cups of water.
Strain, adding 4 drops of dish soap for "stick ability" , then transfer to an empty spray bottle. Not Helpful 33 Helpful Should I leave the white flowers that shoot out of the top alone, or should I cut them off?
These flowers will produce seeds to make more plants. You can usually catch seed heads before they turn into full-on flowers. This is the case whether you catch the seed head in its early stages or you end up needing to remove a tall stalk with several seed heads. If you let your plant go to flower, the edible stems will taste the same and your plant will still live for many more years.
And wines. And crumbles, cakes, jams, and ice creams. And if you need further inspiration, our sister site, Foodal , has plenty of ideas for what to do with your fresh harvest. Mine, of course, is pie. Let us know in the comments if you have any extra harvesting tips we should know about, and what you plan to do with your freshly harvested pie stalks! See our TOS for more details. Originally published on March 2, Uncredited photos: Shutterstock.
With additional writing and editing by Clare Groom and Allison Sidhu. As a freelance writer, she contributes to several websites and blogs across the web. The bottom part of the stalk that you say to cut off is the tenderest, sweetest part of the whole stalk. Hi Val. Thank you for the tip!
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