sharin'Sharon

I have had about all kinds of fruits I can grow here, but the ONLY jelly my kids like is mulberry-rhubarb. Whatever I pick (yes, pick---I don't shake the tree) of mulberries, I cut up twice that amount of rhubarb. Cook, run through sieve, and then make jelly from that juice. Mmmm Mmmm, good!!! Our rhubarb didn't do well last year, thinking I should maybe move them to another spot as they have been there over 50 years.

adamae

I have always been told rhubarb needs a freeze in the winter to do well. In central Arkansas that may not happen every year. I love rhubarb pie made like a fruit pie with a lot of sugar and cinnamon.....and, of course, topped with vanilla ice cream. Jokingly, I have said southerners don't know about rhubarb because they can't roll in cornmeal and fry.

DogHouseMom

I'm stunned at all these "rules" about Rhubarb. I've never grown it myself, but when I was a kid there was a nice large patch that was growing wild on the fence line of my neighbors house (perhaps *someone* planted it eon's ago but none of the neighbors could remember). We used to pick it as kids and snack on it (yes - raw!). We never had any idea the leaves were poisonous ... but we never ate them. In fact, we rarely finished an entire stalk when we snacked ... who could?? No-one harvested it to make anything ... we kids were the only ones picking it.

A lot my childhood "snacking" was in the "wild". Rhubarb, green apples (great when salted!), chew on burberis leaves, and of course vegetable garden raids I used to carry a salt shaker because I never knew when a green apple or ripe red tomato would make itself available for snacking!

noveltyjunkie

Rhubarb and ginger are a great match- good for jam (which I think you call jelly, but we only say jelly if all the fruit pulp is strained out)

LindaR

cut your leaves off and lay them under the plant to keep weeds down and for fertilizer...have done this for years

debbiemarie

Knott's Berry Farm restaurant makes an old fashioned dessert that comes with the Fried Chicken Dinner in Buena Park, CA. It apples and rhubarb cooked together with sugar to taste, oh my gosh it's good.

busygranny

I too, can't believe all the rules for growing rhubarb. Mine has been in the same spot for 40+ years, I pull the stalks when they are tall enough to use. I pull all of them. I usually harvest it 2-3 times a season. Depends upon weather, rain etc. The only rule I follow is that you can pick it when ever you want but never in the months that has an "R" it. Don't know why, but by Sept. I'm full of rhubarb. And I harvest every stalk when I pick it. I never leave a stalk.

JoanPooley

the reality is that rhubarb leaves are poison to 20% of the population, but the only way to find out was when you dropped dead ( its awful when it happenes to you, you know waking up dead is such a hassle!!!) So the powers that be decieded that it would say no to eating rhurbarb leaves

abc123xyz

If your rhubarb isn't doing well try fertilizing it with tree spikes. I did and I couldn't believe the difference. Growing like gangbusters now.

julie

I've always cut my rhubarb stalks, and my mom cut hers also. Have always had good harvests, many times more than what I wanted or needed. I too never knew there were so many rhubarb rules. It always grows like wildfire around here!