I’m so excited that my rhubarb is up and growing like gangbusters!
Rhubarb, if you like it, is a great frugal crop for those of us in the north. A perennial-once you plant it you’ve not only got it for life…but every 4 years or so you can dig it up, chop the roots in half and either double your crop or share it with a friend!
My rhubarb came from fellow blogger and buddy Kathy Purdy over at Cold Climate Gardening. Two years ago we headed out to her yard with a shovel and dug up a chunk. Actually we should have taken a Pickard…and her son had to finish the job. This was truly an heirloom old farmyard patch and the roots were so intertwined we couldn’t get them apart!
The first year you replant rhubarb you just let it grow-no picking! The roots need all the energy they can get from the leaves. The second year you are supposed to pick lightly-it’s still settling in. But the third year? Go to town!!
Last year I picked lightly and made a few jars of tart rhubarb jam. The kids LOVED it!! What can I say. I’ve got interesting kids 
We have been semi hoarding the jars all winter to make them last, and now the kids areas thrilled as I am to see the Rhubarb coming up.
Do any of you grow rhubarb? What are your favorite recipes? I’d love to have you share.
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Not exactly a recipe, but when I was a kid, my mom would cook a bunch down into a sauce with strawberries and plenty of sugar. Then we would eat it on pancakes (warm was best). We called it rhubarb syrup, but it had a texture more like slightly runny jam.
I love it, but don’t think I can grow it now. I live in an apartment with a small balcony, and rhubarb doesn’t really seem to me to be the ideal container crop, especially with winters down to -40. It can survive in the ground here, but I don’t think it would do as well in an exposed pot.
My grandmother had rhubarb in her garden and made rhubarb pie that I enjoyed when I was young, but I never got her recipe. I think I was wary of the quantity of sugar or other sweetener in it.
On the topic of another recent post, I saw a blog entry about a family’s chickens at http://balancingeverything.com/.
When we lived in MI I had a huge patch of rhubarb that grew from starts my neighbor gave me. Seems rhubard doesn’t like the climate as much in so. Mo but have managed to start a decent patch from seed. My favorite thing other than a strawberry/rhubarb ple is to cook equal parts rhubarb/strawberries with a cup or two of fresh pineapple. They seem to be featured at our grocery right now so it was good timing. Add 1-1-1/2 cups sugar and cook until thick. I store it in containers in the freezer. Yummy in yogurt or ice cream. Just mixed some with yogurt to try making some popsicles.
I love rhubarb!! We can’t grow it here in South Carolina, but my mom still has a patch at her house in PA. And her patch came from the farm where my mom grew up. Mom would make straw-rhubarb jam & straw-rhubarb crisp. I have a great recipe for a creamy cheesecake-like rhubarb dessert. Mmmmm
I had a spot in my garden that was a bit dry and too close to some trees for any grass to grow. So, I planted a rhubarb “hedge”. Now, a few years later, I have a well established patch that produces well.
My favourite recipe is to make rhubarb syrup that becomes rhubarb punch. Wash and chop up the rhubarb stalks, and stew until soft. I strain the mixture… the pulp is sweetened and frozen until I have the urge for a rhubarb crumble. I sweeten and condense the liquid to make a syrup, then freeze that. When the summer thirsties arrive, put a scoop of the frozen syrup (1/3 of a cup?), mix with club soda or Sprite and you have a refreshing summer beverage. Everyone recognizes the flavour but can’t identify it right off… good for doorprize competitions at community functions.
This is a great idea! I love the thought of having frozen concentrate to make a summer drink. I bet it would be good made into a wine spritzer as well!
Ah, being from Minnesota, I know rhubarb well. As a kid we’d break off a stalk, wash it with the water from the garden hose, and eat it fresh.
My mother would make rhubarb crisp…and it was AWESOME!
Is it possible to grow rhubarb in GA? And if so, how do I go about it? We live just south west of Atlanta. It’s one of my favorite things for pies and jam and crisps and breads. Thanks. Donna
Donna-Honestly I don’t know. Your best bet would be to contact the Georgia Cooperative Extension Office in your area and ask them-they will know!
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