The Crafty Cultivator

Rhubarb is ones of those classic homestead plants. It is one of the things I use to gauge whether Spring is actually happening or if we are in for another round of cold and/or snow. It hardly ever lets me down. Even though it can handle the cold and snow just fine if it starts growing, it seems to hold off a bit in the years were we get a late snow storm.

I have 2 types of rhubarb in my garden.

One, I have had since I was 12 when we moved out to the country and inherited a rhubarb plant. My guess on variety is ‘Victoria’. It was either bought and planted by the people who owned and built my parent’s house, or it was a divide from another gardener, so it is impossible for me to know what it is exactly. It gets GIANT. I love it just because of that.

The 2nd one I added in the last few years. It stays a bit smaller, and produces more of a deep red stem. It is called “Strawberry Red” Rhubarb.

Now, as I have stated a handful of times already, I am moving my entire plant collection to keep safe at my Dad’s house until we have some more stability in our living situation. This is not the most ideal time to move rhubarb, but at this point, I would rather risk losing the plant than leaving it behind. Digging these in the fall is probably the best, or the early spring before they have top growth the take care of.

Before I started digging the plants, I harvested as much as was useable. Trying to leave one or two leaves to enable the plant to keep putting energy into the roots rather than using it all up to create new leaves.

As I was digging the Giant rhubarb out, I discovered that the (also giant) root clump was kind of rotting. So I removed as much of the rotted root and planted what was left. This should help it in the long term, but it was also a lot of trauma to the poor plant, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that it will be ok.

As for what I do with the rhubarb, I end up not doing much in the Kitchen with it. Although this is likely a product of working too many hours over the last few years and not having enough time to dedicate to making things. I am on the hunt for some recipes that are lower carb, so if you have any suggestions, I would love them in the comments.

I tend to harvest the leaves and use them as a mulch on hot days. They break down fast and add to the soil. You can also use them to make a spray to deter bugs on other plants. I did this once handful of years ago and I don’t recall how effective it was, but there is an option there. Just be sure to never eat the leaves, as they are toxic.

My main Rhubarb “dream” is to someday make some stepping stones with them. My mom and I saw the idea in a gardening magazine when I was a kid and the idea has been in my head ever since. I wish we had made them while she was still here, but now it will be a fun project to do with my son. So someday there will be a stepping stone post up here.