Rhubarb Season!

I don't think I've ever had rhubarb.

And that dump cake sounds nommy!

TedTheewen said:

About how many jars do you fill with it?

Click to expand...

Oh geez, now I have to remember? Heck I dunno.
I'll see if I can find it tomorrow. =)

It seems like about 10 jelly jars....
but lemme look it up.

I LOVE rhubarb. Alas, while I can occasionally get rhubarb where I am (currently Malaysia), it's not very good. I used to get it by the bushel in Canada. Jams, crumbles, chutneys... Yum!

So. You know. I'm jealous.

I think it's a bulky plant for most modern small gardens. (Or fashion: why does no-one grow lilac any more?) We used to have rhubarb at the old house, but I don't have many garden spots that aren't already in use. Maybe some gardener will know: rhubarb being a clumping plant, how would it do grown in a large tub? It's decorative enough, it might work in the last sunny spot by the door.

I've 2 very established rhubarb crowns* and a 3rd just getting going.
How much can/should I harvest at a time?
Usually I just pick enough for a crumble but I'd like to get some put up in the freezer. I remember hearing/reading that the more you pick the more it grows - is that true?
I'm just worried that if I over harvest it, I'll do some damage to the crowns.

*I think those crowns are actually multiple crowns and that the rhubarb has divided it self as there are multiple "clusters" of stems in each patch.

JustKia said:

How much can/should I harvest at a time?

Click to expand...

Harvesting rhubarb is a little like asparagus, in that there's a period of time that you can pick, and the plant produces more stems. I found a great article here on wiki that explains it all.

I couldn't tell you specifically because I don't know what growing season you are in or how long the plants have been established. If the plants have been there at least three years... and they are flurishing, then you should be able to pull out firm reddish stems that are between 1.5cm/0.5" and 2.5cm/1" wide. Don't go crazy with it.

I have 4 plants that have been here 10 years. I just went out and carefully selected several of the thicker stems. The thinner ones I left will soon get wider because I thinned it.

I doubt I picked an eighth of what was there, and I'll go back out in three or four days. If I remember, I'll continue to do this until about the 4th of July. =)

To answer Ted about the number of jars...

I checked my cookbook and it doesn't say. Apparently in 1936 they just assumed you had a pile of jars.

I made two batches last fall and if I remember correctly (yeah-right) I know I filled about 20 jelly jars. However... I'm one of those people that has come up short a time too many when I'm canning and have learned to be prepared.

So what I did then, and what I would do again, is have a 2 pint jars (twice the size of a jelly) all washed and handy just in case I flubbed it big time.

The other thing I'd have handy... are some dinner rolls. The Rhubarb Marmalade is amazing (warm or cold) on some warm dinner rolls. So don't can it all! - toss that not-quite filled last jar into the fridge to Nom on later! =)

I had an English teacher in high school who told us that in television, all the extra actors in any given scene (restaurant, dinner party, subway, whatever) in regards to all that background noise they make? She said they are all saying "rhubarb." Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb, said over and over by all the extras makes the perfect background to sound like people actually conversing.

I think this is a lie, but it's stuck in my memory. It's been 25 years but still...you say rhubarb, I think television background noise. It's awful. Maybe I should sue someone.

Is it true that one should avoid harvesting rhubarb that is flowering? Mine starts flowering about the same time the tulips bloom each spring, but keeps going for quite a while after that... -_-

TedTheewen said:

If a stem starts to flower, get rid of it. Cut it.

I can't believe you have rhubarb flowering already...are you sure it's going to seed?

Click to expand...

It's absolutely flowering, lol, the flower stalks are waist-high with big bunches of white flowers. The second year I had the rhubarb I tried cutting the flowering stalks off but they just came back over and over all summer, and it was tiring the plant out to keep producing more flower stalks, so I game up. After ignoring the rhubarbs entirely the next year the crowns were much bigger and healthier.

This isn't a picture of my plants but mine look almost identical to this example:

My Grandmother taught me about rhubarb. How to pick it, clean it, and how to make pies. Still, today, when I mention rhubarb, so few people understand what I'm talking about. I hate to say all the older people do... but ahem...

So it came to no surprise to me at all when the dear little lady that worked at the service desk at our local grocerue* store asked me in passing if I knew where to get some rhubarb. Of course I knew, I had it growing in my garden. She perked right up and asked if I might have enough to spare to make two pies. We figured out how many pounds she needed and the next day I picked, washed, cut, bagged and delivered a little more than what she'd asked.

It's been that way now every spring for the last seven years. Last week I went out, picked, washed, cut, bagged and then stuck the 'barb in the freezer figuring I'd see her yesterday or today - except - she passed away on Friday at age 88. (Yep, was a fixture at the store. Worked four hours five days a week until she didn't call in Friday morning.)

So now I'm kinda stuck.
Do I take her bagged rhubarb down to her daughter's house?
Or do I go ahead and make the pies and then take those down?

either would be a wonderful gesture but........

pies!

That was my first thought, but if I don't make them just like Mom did... well, it's still the thought right?

Cray!!!


(My Mom made good rhubarb pies but her garden is smaller these days).

Aw man, shouldn't have read this thread, now I'm craving rhubarb and it's crazy expensive at the farmer's market.

Once we own a house, I'm definitely going to plant some. Until then, I'll just bite my tongue at the price and buy it as a treat once a year.