Rhubarb

Early Summer. Famous for pie and wine, but also good in sauce, bread, juice, soup or cooked with meat and fish. Rhubarb’s clumps of juicy acid leaf stalks were once a staple food. The root is a toning purgative herb traditionally used every spring for thousands of years. There are dozens if not hundreds of rhubarb varieties. May have originated in Siberia and been carried across Asia on the Silk Road to Turkey and then into Europe. Victorian cookbooks included rhubarb compotes, fools and charlottes. Eventually brought to North America through the efforts of Ben Franklin and John Bartram. Low-maintenance; will continue through summer if flower stalks are removed and new leaves allowed to grow. Leaves are not edible.

Growing Rhubarb

• Soil: Well-drained rich slightly acidic soil.
• Sun: Full sun.
• Spacing: Plant crowns 2–4' apart in rows 3–4' apart.
• Planting: Plant the top of the root division level with soil surface. Add a bushel of well-rotted manure or compost to each planting hole.

  When plant is established, fertilize liberally with compost and balanced garden fertilizer every spring, as it’s a heavy feeder.

• Harvest: Never remove more than two-thirds of the stalks from a plant. Two years after planting, harvest for no more than 4 weeks. Thereafter you can harvest for 8–10 weeks each year. Water during dry spells for extended season.
• Dividing: Every 10 years or so, divide plants in early spring. Leave about 1/3 of the clump in place, and cut up remaining crowns into fist-sized pieces to replant or share with friends.