Battling with rhubarb...

[huntsman]

Hi All -

I planted some rhubarb three years ago and read that I should not harvest for a year or two as the root system needs to settle. I would like to harvest now, but have no idea when my rhubarb is ready. I have huge leaves creating a 1 x yard sq canopy, but the stems are not very red at all, and I believe this colour is vital?

By the way, I have never had red stems on this plant, which is kinda why I waited so long...

[Darren Abbey]

The red color of the stems is as important as the red color of apples. In general, it has no relevance at all. Some varieties of rhubarb have very red stems, others have green stems, and others have either color depending on where/how it is growing.

You can harvest stems from the plant as soon as they have stems. The only concern would be that if you took too many stems, the plant won't thrive or survive. That said, you could probably harvest every stem from a plant and it will survive fine.

[Worth1]

Do you know what variety it is?
Not all rhubarb stems will turn the red you may be looking for.

Is it in full sun?
The green rhubarb will be more tart and you may have to adjust the sugar to your taste.
The stuff that makes rhubarb tart is oxalic acid and is so high in the leaves it makes them toxic.
Rhubarb is one of the few plants my Mom loved that I cant stand.
I can put it on the shelf with lemon meringue and key lime pie.
Way too tart.
Maybe if I could make it as sweet as I like it, it would be okay.

Worth

[huntsman]

Two quick replies - thank you!

It has about 15 stems as thick as a small child's wrist, and I find that if I remove 4-6 at a time for light and to feed my chickens, they are replaced in ten days or less.

They're in morning sunlight, but spend very little of the day in deep shade.

Since you think they might be ready to reap, any suggestions as to how to prepare the stems?

[Worth1]

For me I would add more sugar and I know haow to harvest it.
But I copied this from a website.
Step 1

Wash the rhubarb under cool, running water and pat dry with paper towels. Use a sharp knife to cut off the rhubarb's leaves and trim each root end. Discard the leaves. They should not be eaten.

Step 2

Cut a small slit under the outer edge of the rhubarb skin at one of the stalk ends. Grasp the edge of the slit and pull down, peeling a strip of stringy fibers off of the surface of the rhubarb. Repeat with the rest of the rhubarb stalks and discard the removed fibers.

Step 3

Slice each rhubarb stalk into approximately 1-inch chunks. Plan on 3 cups of chopped rhubarb for every pound of fresh rhubarb you prepare.

Step 4

Mix equal parts water and sweetener in a saucepan. Combine about one-quarter cup of water and one-quarter cup of your desired sweetener to cook 3 cups of chopped rhubarb. Use white sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, fruit juice or a combination of these as the sweetener. Boil the mixture, stirring until the sweetener is dissolved.

Step 5

Stir in the chopped rhubarb. Return to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes. Use a fork to test that the rhubarb is tender but still retains some firmness.

Step 6

Remove a spoonful of the stewed rhubarb, allow it to cool slightly and taste. Add up to 2 tablespoons of additional sweetener, if needed, allowing the mixture to return to a boil each time. Stir frequently.

Step 7

Remove from heat. Serve warm or cold.

[Darren Abbey]

As a young child, I would eat them raw. These days, I tend to favor them with some sugar in a tart/pie/crumble/etc. Many people like to combine them with strawberries… which I can't stand.

[PaulF]

Our three year old rhubarb was a star of the garden this year. Huge leaves, big stalks (green turning to bright red) mild flavor and lots of it. Early on we had rhubarb cobbler and strawberry/rhubarb pie, a favorite of mine. There was even a second crop about two weeks ago.

As kids we used to eat it raw with lots of sugar. Now only in pies and cobblers and bars and cookies and....

[huntsman]

This is great - thank you all!

Leaves are adored by my chickens so nothing will go to waste...

[beeman]

Originally Posted by huntsman

This is great - thank you all!
Leaves are adored by my chickens so nothing will go to waste...

The also compost extremely well due to the moisture content.

[KarenO]

From your description, I would guess that the variety you have is an heirloom called "Victoria" one of the greener stalked types in a large and vigorous plant. Can't beat it for production but if you like your rhubarb goodies to be pinker in colour, do what I do and add a handful of frozen raspberries to whatever it is you are making and that will do the trick
KarenO

[Darren Abbey]

Originally Posted by huntsman

Leaves are adored by my chickens so nothing will go to waste...

Considering the mechanism of the poison (oxalic acid), I would have imagined it would be poisonous for them too. ??

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Darren Abbey

Considering the mechanism of the poison (oxalic acid), I would have imagined it would be poisonous for them too. ??

This is the very reason you dont eat things because birds do.

If your chickens are eating the leaves make sure they are getting calcium from some other source.
The oxalic acid in the rhubarb leaves will not alow the bird to digest the calcium in the leaves.
It however will have no effect on any other calcium source the chickens are eating, only the calcium in the rhubarb.

For people this is also true for spinach and other greens.
Raw you will not absorb the calcium but cooked you will.
This can lead to kidney stones.

You can read more about this on line.

One way or the other if you have kidney disorders dont eat too much rhubarb or any other food containing this.
And always drink plenty of water.

Worth

[habitat_gardener]

I've never removed fibers from rhubarb (as in Step 2). As soon as it's cooked, rhubarb becomes silky and soft.

afaik, it's an acquired taste, and best combined with sweet fruits. We made a crumble with rhubarb and pluots this summer that was sensational! The topping was mostly rolled oats. Mild nut/seed butters (tahini or cashew) make a good moistener for the oats.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by habitat_gardener

I've never removed fibers from rhubarb (as in Step 2). As soon as it's cooked, rhubarb becomes silky and soft.

afaik, it's an acquired taste, and best combined with sweet fruits. We made a crumble with rhubarb and pluots this summer that was sensational! The topping was mostly rolled oats. Mild nut/seed butters (tahini or cashew) make a good moistener for the oats.

We never did either I would suspect it might have something to do with the age of the stalk.

But of course I have seen my mother in-law peel small yellow squash.

Worth

[bower]

"...you could probably harvest every stem from a plant and it will survive fine."

Yep, been there and done that. I actually dug mine up completely (I thought) to move to a different spot.... now I have two patches.

I am not too fussy about rhubarb, personally, so I don't often use it. It is locally popular because it's ready to pick in spring when little else fresh is available. The process of cooking we use is much simpler than what is stated above.

1. Cut off leaves and underground bit of stem, and wash the remaining stems well under running water.
2. Chop the wet stems into 1-2 inch pieces.
3. Throw them in a pot and toss in/ stir in some sugar to coat or cover. Cover the pot on low-medium heat and stir after 5 minutes or so to make sure juice is coming out of it and sugar not burning to a dry pot. (If you add too much water, the jam will be runny... unless you want to boil longer to steam it off again). Keep the pot covered and stir at intervals until the juice has exuded and melted the sugar.
4. Fresh ginger is a nice taste combo with rhubarb. If desired, it may be grated fine and added at this stage.
5. Continue to cook over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the stalks have separated into mush and the jam has boiled and bubbled for a minute or two. If not sweet enough to taste, stir in more sugar and cook another minute until dissolved.
6. Serve forth, or bottle at will. Otherwise, refrigerate after cooling.

You can also pop the chopped fresh stalks into a ziploc and freeze em for later use.

Edit: Just to clarify, the word 'stir' in number 3, above, is not exclusively the gentle circular motion, but also includes pounding, stabbing or otherwise bruising the stems a bit to get the juice flowing - same as I do with frozen berries I cook the same way. - confessions of a wooden spoon.