We love rhubarb in our family.  It’s one of the first crops ready in the spring, right when we are anxious for fresh produce.  It’s also very easy to take care of.

Rhubarb plants can be purchased from a nursery.  There are several kinds, but we prefer the varieties with more red in the stalks.  But the least expensive way to get your own plants is to ask a neighbor for a plant, or part of one.  They have to be dug up and the root divided, meaning cut in half, and then replanted.  Each section should have at least one bud.  Rhubarb tends to be a little touchy about this operation, so be careful and get them replanted right away.   Try to replant in later winter or early spring.   Water them in well, and keep watered for a while until the root is growing again, and they should be fine.  They do much better if they are watered freely all the time.

Rhubarb are heavy feeders.  My husband’s grandmother would pile manure on her plants early in the spring, and let the stalks come up right through it.  She also had the best plants in the area.  They can grow in pretty much any soil, but giving them what they need ensures that they will grow faster and bigger.  If you are going to have a plant, or several, you might as well get as much off of them as you can.

In most areas, rhubarb prefer full sun, but in some very sunny area, partial shade might be better.  Space them at least three feet apart.  That may seem like a lot, but with the stalks growing up to two feet long, from each plant, it’s certainly not overkill.  It’s a pretty plant, with red stalks and crinkly leaves, so don’t be afraid to put it in a visible place.

It’s best not to harvest any rhubarb off your new plant for the first two years.  The root needs to grow and gain strength, and you will be rewarded with larger and longer stalks in the future.  After that, only harvest from these plants for about a month, then just let them grow the rest of the year.  Starting the fourth summer, harvest can be extended to about two months.  However, if the stalks become thin, stop right then.  That means the plant is drained and needs to be allowed to build up strength again.

If the seed stalks are allowed to grow, they will sap a lot of the energy from the plant, and it won’t put out nearly as many edible stalks.  This is one thing that will really boost your harvest.  Every time a seed stalk grows, pull it out right down to the root.  There will be usable stalks growing on the seed stalk.  Go ahead and pull them off and use them.  More seed stalks will grow, and it is important to keep pulling them off as soon as possible.

To harvest the edible stalks, grab the stalk close to the base, yank to the side, then the other side, and it should break off right at the base.  Do not cut it off, as it will rot.

The stalks are the only part you use.  The leaves are poisonous.  Wash them and cut them into one-inch pieces, cutting off the very bottom of the stalk.  At this point they can simply be put into bags and frozen for future use, or packed in jars, filled with water or syrup, and processed for 40 minutes in a boiling water bath. Or try one of the rhubarb recipes on our web site.