Many thanks to all of you who helped me with some great suggestions for bringing the patch of rhubarb back to life. There was a patch in the back corner of the yard that had been neglected before we bought the house. It's about a hundred times better looking now than when I started. So now I'm wondering, can I start harvesting? Many of the stalks are deep red at the base, but they fade to green at the top. Can they still be used? Do they have to be red along the whole stalk? I'm anxious to get some picked since a neighbor brought some rhubarb salsa to a neighborhood party. It was amazing and she gave me her recipe (in exchange for the promise of fresh tomatoes as soon as I pick some). Thanks all :-D
Hi Liberty, You can pull the stalks off any time and use them, as long as they are not tough and stringy they can be harvested and used any time throughout the summer, but the later the season the tougher the stalks, I would suggest using the ones from the center first. Take one, and twist and pull the stem, breaking it away from the base of the plant. trim off the base and the leaf. chop the stem up after you have washed it, and if its not stringy and tough proceed on to another one. You can use the rhubarb until it gets too tough to do so. and don't use more than 1/3 of the plant until you see more growth appearing. Usually you would start with the outside stems because they are easier to pull off. Nor does the color of the stalk make any difference to harvesting. the color of the stalk just reflects the genetics or strain of the plant.
I think thats pretty normal. I have not grown rhubarb but I think when it reaches about 10 to 12 inches tall it would be tender and could be used. It will get taller than that. I would like to try it here in Texas. Maybe this fall !
they will be tougher this time of year, and less likely to put up new shoots, so leave a few healthy stems. when pulling the stems push your thumb down the stalk, so it goes into the root and carefully pull, you should get a white skirt to the bottom of the stem. make sure this comes out or it could result in rot, i found out the hard way please post the salsa recipe as that sounds great. my favorite is 3 big stems chopped fine tablespoon of honey. cook in a pan until soft lid on. pass through seive if extra tough. eat with greek yoghurt.
Thanks everyone for the advice. It was perfect for what I was looking for. I did pick five or six good looking stalks. There's still plenty left. I would have like to picked earlier in the year, but the plant was so unhealthy that I couldn't. I don't want to overdo it this year. I made the rhubarb salsa and it was sooooo delicious. Here's what I did: 2 cups diced rhubarb 3 green onions chopped 1 med apple chopped 2 tsp lime juice or juice from 2 squeezed limes 2 tbs of honey 1 jalapeno pepper (seeded) 2-3 sprigs of cilantro, chopped Blanch the rhubarb in boiling water for two minutes, drain and strain. Mix everything together and put in the fridge until ready. I'll never be mistaken for a chef by any stretch of the imagination, but I almost felt like I was by the time I finished this. I did make one mistake in that I blanched the rhubarb too long and a lot of its flavor was gone. Also, I couldn't taste the one jalapeno, so next time I'll try two.
